Purdue at Northwestern odds, picks and predictions
The No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (7-0) head to Welsh-Ryan Arena to face the Northwestern Wildcats (5-1) on Friday at 9 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook lines around the Purdue vs. Northwestern odds as we make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Purdue, which is No. 1 in the Paste BN Sports Coaches Poll, remained undefeated Tuesday with a dominant victory over Texas Southern, 99-67. Four Purdue starters scored in double figures — they were led by sophomore G Braden Smith, who had 19 points. He nearly notched his 1st career triple-double, contributing 10 assists and 9 rebounds. It opens up Big 10 play Friday in Evanston.
The Wildcats trailed at the half in their last game against Northern Illinois, but Northwestern outscored the Huskies 48-25 in the 2nd half to win 89-67. It was a nice bounceback victory after dropping its 1st game of the season to Mississippi State. Senior G Boo Buie paced the Wildcats with 23 points and 7 assists in the win. It's nice to begin conference play at home, but not against the No. 1 team in the country.
Northwestern snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Boilermakers in their last head-to-head matchup on Feb. 12. The Huskies covered as 5-point underdogs, and the Under (131) hit.
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Purdue at Northwestern odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:27 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Purdue -295 (bet $295 to win $100) | Northwestern +235 (bet $100 to win $235)
- Against the spread (ATS): Purdue -7.5 (-102) | Northwestern +7.5 +7.5 (-128)
- Over/Under (O/U): 137.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Purdue vs. Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Purdue 70, Northwestern 60
Moneyline
PASS.
I'm confident that Purdue (-295) will win this game, but no way am I going to bet almost 3 units to win 1. Take a look at the spread and total if you want to make a bet.
Against the spread
BET PURDUE -7.5 (-102).
This Purdue team is going to be a force in the Big 10. It has all the pieces to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. You have to expect it to come out with the mindset to make a statement in its 1st conference game of the season. I believe it takes care of business in this one.
Purdue is 4-0-1 ATS over its last 5 games. Three of those wins were against teams inside the top 15 — no pushovers. Northwestern, on the other hand, has only covered the spread in 2 of its 6 games this season.
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Over/Under
AVOID.
My lean is to the Under, as you can see from my prediction for the game, but I'm not confident enough to make the bet.
The reason I like the Under is because Northwestern is going to try and slow this game down to a crawl and limit the possessions for Purdue. It is 354th in the country in pace of play. The Wildcats allow only 63.3 points per game, which is top 25 in the NCAA.
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