Purdue Boilermakers at Michigan Wolverines Betting Preview
Monday features a battle of the Big Ten as the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers (21-3, 10-3 in Big Ten) take on the Michigan Wolverines (12-9, 6-5 in the Big Ten). The Wolverines will host this one at the Crisler Center, with tipoff scheduled for 9:00 pm ET.
Since being upset by Indiana, the Purdue Boilermakers have won six games in a row. On Tuesday, they took down No. 13 Illinois 84-68.
In the win, Jaden Ivey had a game-high 26 points to go along with four rebounds and six assists. Zach Edey (13) and Trevion Williams (10) also scored in double digits.
Michigan has won just two of their last four games, but they are coming into this one off of a 58-57 road win over Penn State on Tuesday.
Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines as he had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Eli Brooks also added 16 in the win.
The Boilermakers are slight favorites despite playing on the road. They are -144 to win, while the Wolverines are +118 to win. The spread features Michigan +3 (-120), and the over/under for total points is 148.
More Odds
Purdue currently has the fourth-best odds to win the National Championship at +900. The Wolverines are +15000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Purdue has one of the best offenses in the country. They rank fourth overall averaging 84.5 points per game (80.6 on the road). The Wolverines rank 112th averaging 72.4 points (75.8 at home).
Defensively, it is Michigan with a slight advantage. They rank 140th in the nation in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents an average of 68.3 points per game (65.9 at home). The Boilermakers rank 148th allowing 68.7 points per game (71.7 on the road).
Purdue Hoping To Create Separation In Big Ten
With three teams (Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin) in the Big Ten tied at 10-3, Purdue knows every win is important at this juncture. While they swept the season series against Illinois, they dropped their first matchup with Wisconsin. Even though they have another contest with Wisconsin upcoming, the Boilermakers are hoping to pick up a conference win to help keep pressure on the others.
While Purdue has four scorers averaging double digits, they are led by sophomore guard Jaden Ivey. This season, he is averaging 17.7 points on 48.4% shooting. He is also chipping in 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
The other three double-digit scorers include Zach Edey (14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds), Trevion Williams (12.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, three assists), and Sasha Stefanovic (11.9 points, 3.7 assists).
Michigan Looking For Revenge At Home
These two played each other less than a week ago as Michigan lost on the road to Purdue 82-76. On Thursday, they will look to repay the favor as they host Michigan at the Crisler Center, where they are currently 7-2.
At 7’1”, sophomore Hunter Dickinson has been leading the Wolverines offense while being an intimidating force on both ends of the floor. This season, he is averaging 18.1 points (on 57.9% shooting), 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game.
Aside from Dickinson, the Wolverines have two others averaging double digits in Eli Brooks and Caleb Houstan. Brooks is currently averaging 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, while Houstan is averaging 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Take Purdue To Win And Cover
This game is simply a case of one team just having too much talent for the other. Even with Dickinson dropping 18 points, having just 11 turnovers, and shooting lights out, the Wolverines still lost by six in their first matchup.
Granted, it will help that they are playing at home, but the Boilermakers are just too long, too deep, and too talented on offense for Michigan to pull off the upset.
Expect Purdue to win and to cover the modest three-point spread.
