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Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers Tide Betting Preview

Big Ten rivals will square off Thursday night as the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-8, 7-5) take on the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2). The Boilermakers will host this one at Mackey Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.

Purdue is the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -275 to win, while the Hawkeyes’ moneyline sits at +220. The spread features Iowa as 6.5-point underdogs (-106), and the over/under for total points is 151.5.

Iowa Looks For Signature Win As Road Underdogs

At 15-8, the Hawkeyes have had a solid season, but they would still love to pick up a signature win over the top-ranked Boilermakers. To do so, they will have to win as underdogs on the road, where they are just 2-4 this season.

Still, Iowa comes in on a three-game winning streak, including a 81-79 win over Illinois in their last outing. In the win, Tony Perkins had a game-high 32 points, while Kris Murray added 19.

Iowa has one of the best offenses in the nation as they rank 11th in scoring, averaging 81.5 points per game. They have struggled a bit on the road, though, averaging just 69.8 points.

Defensively, Iowa struggles. They rank 262nd in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 73.5 points per game.

Boilermakers Look To Bounce Back From Loss

On Saturday, the Boilermakers suffered just their second loss of the season, as they lost on the road 79-74 to No. 18 Indiana. In the defeat, Zach Edey led the way with 33 points and 18 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Boilermakers to pick up the win.

The 7’4” inch Edey leads Purdue in scoring as he is averaging 22.4 points on 62.7% shooting. Edey also leads the team in rebounds (13.2) and blocks (2.2), while adding 1.4 assists per game.

The only other Boilermaker averaging double digits is guard Fletcher Loyer. In 24 games, he is averaging 12.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

Defensively, Purdue ranks 11th in the nation, allowing opponents an average of just 61.1 points per game (58.4 at home). On the offensive side, they rank 95th, averaging 74 points per game.

Take Purdue To Win And Cover

Looking at the trends, Iowa is both 7-2 straight up and against the spread in their last nine games. In their last eight against Purdue, though, they are just 2-4.

For the Boilermakers, they are 19-1 in their last 20 home games and 11-1 in their last 12 games against the Hawkeyes when playing at home.

This game will come down to two things: defense and Zach Edey. While Iowa’s offense is elite, so is Purdue’s defense. On the other end of the floor, Iowa will have a tough time keeping Edey out of the paint and Purdue should be able to find baskets at will.

While Iowa has played well as of late, expect Purdue to bounce back from their loss Saturday and will both pick up the win and cover the 6.5-point spread (-114).

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