Purdue Boilermakers at Wisconsin Badgers Betting Preview

The battle of the Big Ten could boil down to Tuesday night. The top two teams in the conference will square off as the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers (24-5, 2nd in Big Ten) take on the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers (23-5, 1st in Big Ten). The Badgers will host this one at the Kohl Center, with tipoff scheduled for 9:00 pm ET.

With the Badgers holding a one-game advantage in the conference, this is a must-win for the Boilermakers. Additionally, the Badgers won the first matchup as they took down Purdue 74-69 on the road back at the beginning of January.

Purdue will be trying to bounce back from a 68-65 loss at the hands of the unranked Michigan State Spartans last Saturday. In the loss, center Zach Edey led all scorers with 25 points while guard Jaden Ivey added 16.

For the Badgers, they have been red hot, having won four games in a row entering play Tuesday. In their last game, they took down Rutgers on the road 66-61.

In the win, the Badgers had four players in double digits, led by Jonathan Davis, who tied for a game-high 19 points. Tyler Wahl added 11 points and nine rebounds in the win.

The Boilermakers are slight favorites despite playing on the road. They are -152 to win while the Badgers’ moneyline sits at +126. The spread features Wisconsin +2.5 (-102), and the over/under for total points is 145 (-110).

More Odds

Currently, Purdue is tied for the fifth-best odds of winning the National Championship at +1300. Wisconsin is +9000 to win it all.

By The Numbers

Purdue has been one of the best offensive teams in the nation. They rank sixth in scoring averaging 81.6 points per game (76.8 on the road). The Badgers rank 151st averaging 70.9 points (73 at home).

Defensively, it is Wisconsin with the advantage. They rank 72nd overall in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents an average of 66.2 points per game. Purdue ranks 155th allowing 68.8 points (71.6 on the road).

Boilermakers Look For Revenge On The Road

Purdue has lost just one game all season at home, and it was to the Badgers. On Tuesday, they will take their 5-4 road record to Wisconsin to try to get some revenge.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin has been on a roll lately and is 11-3 when playing at home, but the Boilermakers still have to be optimistic as they come in as the favorite.

Leading the Boilermakers is sophomore guard Jaden Ivey. In 28 games, he has averaged 17.3 points on 46.4% shooting. He is also adding 4.8 rebounds, three assists, and a steal per game.

Center Zach Edey has also been phenomenal this season, averaging 14.8 points on 68.1% shooting. Edey is also averaging 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

Purdue has two others averaging double digits in Trevion Williams (11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists) and Sasha Stefanovic (11.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists).

Badgers Trying To Bring Home Conference Hardware

At 14-4, the Badgers hold a one-game lead over both Purdue and Illinois in the Big Ten. While they will finish with the 8-21 Nebraska Cornhuskers later this week, Tuesday’s matchup could determine if they win the Big Ten regular-season championship outright.

Sophomore guard Johnny Davis has been the key for head coach Greg Gard’s offense. Davis is averaging 20.5 points per game on 44.2% shooting. He does a little bit of everything as he also averages 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals.

The Badgers’ other major contributors include Brad Davison (14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds), Tyler Wahl (11.2 points, 5.9 rebounds), and Steven Crowl (9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds).

Take Wisconsin And The Points

At the very worst, with a win over Nebraska in the finale, the Badgers will hold a co-share of the Big Ten regular-season championship; however, they want it all to themselves.

Expect Greg Gard to pull out all the tricks as the Badgers look to sweep the season series over Purdue.

Don’t expect Purdue to lay down, though. After going ice cold from the outside in their loss to the Spartans, the Boilermakers will look to make a statement Tuesday.

Regardless, expect this one to be close and come down to the wire. For that reason, take the points.

In this case, that means taking Wisconsin +2.5.