It’s a massive game in the Big Ten Conference. In the final week of the regular season, the Purdue Boilermakers are on the road at the Fighting Illini of Illinois. This is a rematch of a game played back on January 5th, where Purdue beat the Illini by 5 at home.
If Purdue wins this game, they win the Big Ten Conference outright. If Illinois wins, they have a chance to tie for the conference title with another win over the weekend, and a second Purdue loss.
The Purdue Boilermakers are going to be one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Matt Painter and his Boilermakers are 26-3 on the season. The Boilermakers have won 9 out of their last 10 games. The most recent win was at home, over Michigan State. Purdue is 6-3 on the road this season.
For Illinois, they have been red hot. The Illini are 22-7 on the season, but have won three straight games. The Illini are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Illinois has won 15 out of 17 games at home this season. On Saturday, the Fighting Illini won on the road at Wisconsin.
The Fighting Illini are favorites in this at -1.5 over Purdue.
Boilers on the Road
The three losses this season for Purdue all came on the road. The first was at Northwestern, followed by trip ups against Nebraska and Ohio State. The Purdue offense has been clicking on all cylinders as of late, scoring 87 points per game in their last three wins. On the season, the Boilermakers are 8th in College Basketball with 84.7 per game.
Zach Edey is likely the College Basketball Player of the Year. The big man is scoring 24 points per game, and also ripping down 11.8 rebounds per game. Braden Smith and Lance Jones are helping out as well, as Smith is at 13.1 per game and Jones is adding 12.6 per game.
The Boilermakers will wrap up their regular season on Saturday at home. The Wisconsin Badgers will come to town.
Illini Red Hot
The Fighting Illini are red hot right now as well. Brad Underwood’s team has won three straight since their loss at Penn State. In wins over Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, they scored 91+ in each game. The Fighting Illini offense has moved up to 7th in the country, with nearly 85 points per game.
Terrence Shannon is having an excellent season for the Illini. The guard is scoring 22 points per game. Marcus Domask, the transfer from Southern Illinois is adding 16 per game, while Coleman Hawkins is at 13.3 points per game.
The Fighting Illini will wrap up their regular season on Sunday, as they travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. Illinois will likely be the #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Illini Win At Home
What a game this should be. We are going to take the Fighting Illini to win this game at home. Illinois is playing some of the best basketball in all of the country right now. This is not a major urgent game for the Boilermakers, as they have at least a share of the conference title wrapped up.
Illinois feels they could tie for the title, and move up a spot or two in the NCAA tournament seedings. Our final bet for this game on Tuesday is going to be the Fighting Illini of Illinois -1.5 over the Boilermakers of Purdue. Enjoy the game and good luck!
