Purdue Are Huge NCAAB Betting Favorites vs. Wisconsin on Tuesday

When talking about the Big Ten this year in NCAA basketball, all you hear about is Michigan State, which was expected to win the conference title and be a Final Four contender. However, the best team in the Big Ten right now is No. 3 Purdue, and iss a solid NCAAB betting favorite to stay unbeaten in conference play Tuesday vs. Wisconsin. Let’s take a look at the latest College Basketball lines.

Wisconsin at Purdue NCAAB Betting Odds & Game Info

In four games against Top-25 teams this season, @EthanHapp22 is averaging 19.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 4.3 apg Five Things to Know before the #Badgers battle Purdue tomorrow night at Mackey Arenahttps://t.co/yjVo7KnZZF
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 15, 2018

When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind. TV: ESPN Radio: 1070 AM (Wisconsin) / 1260 AM (Purdue) Opening NCAAB Betting Lines: Purdue -16

Last Season

In 2016-17, these schools played just once, a 66-55 home Purdue victory when it was ranked 20^th and Wisconsin 13^th. Caleb Swanigan scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds – he’s now in the NBA. Wisconsin shot just 39.0 percent shooting and a dismal 2 of 14 on 3-pointers. The 3s made and percentage were season lows. Plus, Purdue had a 34-22 rebounding edge. The Boilermakers have won nine of 10 and three straight in the series — matching the school’s longest winning streak against the Badgers in eight years. The Boilermakers lead the all-time series, 107-70.

Why Bet on Wisconsin?

UW (9-9, 2-3) has made the Big Dance 19 years in a row. Only four schools — Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina and Kansas — have made more consecutive appearances in the tournament’s history. But that’s in jeopardy because of losing a couple players to graduation off last year’s club and injuries. Sophomore point guard D’Mitrik Trice had foot surgery last month and remains out. Freshman guard Kobe King is done for the year due to knee surgery. King scored 5.2 points per game and averaged 19 minutes of playing time for a backcourt that is short on experience this season. Wisconsin comes off a 63-59 loss at Nebraska last Tuesday. Nebraska won the game at the free-throw line. The Huskers were 21 of 28 from the line, including 18 of 24 in the second half. Wisconsin made just 4 of its 10 free throws, 3 of 8 in the second half. Junior center Ethan Happ had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers, who dropped to 1-6 away from home this season. Opponents are shooting 45.8 percent, the high-water mark since the 1992-93 season. UW, which led the nation with 7.4 turnovers per game in 2014-15, is averaging 11.3 this season. And building the team around one upperclassman (Happ) is something UW hasn’t experienced in the past 16 seasons. In three seasons under Greg Gard, Wisconsin is 11-10 away from home in conference play. UW is one of just three teams with an above .500 mark over that span (Purdue and Maryland). The Badgers are 26-15 (.634) overall in conference play since Gard entered the Big Ten, the fourth-best mark over that span. Happ is the only player ranked among the top 15 in points (fourth at 16.9 ppg), rebounds (4th at 8.6 rpg) and assists (15th at 3.4 apg) in the Big Ten. He is also the only major conference player averaging at least 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season.

Why Bet on Purdue?

UW is just 18-70 all-time in games played in West Lafayette. In fact, the Badgers, have won just three times at Mackey Arena since 1972, owning a record of 3-36 over that span. Each of those three victories have come in the last 13 years, as UW claimed a 77-68 win at Purdue in 2005, a 67-62 win in 2012 and a 72-58 win in West Lafayette in 2014. Purdue got a No. 1 vote in this week’s AP Top 25 and moved up two spots to No. 3, its highest ranking since reaching No. 3 in 2009-10 after extending its winning streak to 13 games with victories over Michigan and Minnesota. Coach Matt Painter’s Boilermakers (17-2, 6-0 Big Ten) are off to their best start since 1987-88 and best in the Big Ten since winning the first eight games of 1989-90. The Boilermakers last received No. 1 votes in the final AP poll of the 1993-94 season. They also received eight No. 2 votes in the poll. Purdue has won 13 games in a row and after Michigan upset Michigan State, the Boilermakers are the favorite now to win the Big Ten regular-season title. Purdue is also making a strong case to be a No. 1 seed. Purdue has six quadrant 1 wins (the most in the NCAA) and three (tied for sixth in this category) quadrant 2 wins for an RPI of 9. Purdue is trying to match the best 20-game start in school history at 18-2. The 13-game winning streak is tied the 10th-longest winning streak in school history. Purdue also puts an 18-game home court winning streak on the line Tuesday. Purdue last lost a home game on Nov. 14, 2016. Purdue’s 6-0 Big Ten start marks just the third time in school history that Purdue has started league play 6-0. The 1968-69 (6-0) team that reached the Final Four and the 1989-90 (8-0) squad are the other teams to do so. The Boilers are now seventh nationally in 3-point percentage (.415) and 36th in 3-pointers per game (9.8), both tops in the Big Ten. Purdue has five players with at least 24 made 3-pointers and all five of them are shooting at least 36.9 percent from deep. Purdue’s senior trio of P.J. Thompson, Dakota Mathias and Vincent Edwards are a combined 114-of-248 (.460) from long range. This year, Purdue’s 10 wins by 25 points are tied for the national lead with Gonzaga. The eight 30-point wins are the most nationally.