NCAA Basketball Betting Picks: Iowa at Purdue

The Thursday college basketball slate gets a reprieve following a loaded Wednesday night, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t quality games to be played. There are still a handful of top-25 teams in play, and the Purdue Boilermakers are the most intriguing.

Matt Painter’s club is fresh off a loss to Indiana after they were voted the best team in the nation. They will look to get back on the right track when they host the Iowa Hawkeyes. The contest is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST from Mackey Arena and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

College basketball betting lines have Purdue as a (-9) home favorite, with the total currently set at 153 points.

MyBookie College Basketball Game of the Day for 2/9: Iowa Hawkeyes at Purdue Boilermakers

When: Tuesday, February 9th, 2023
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN

Time: 7:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN2

Iowa Hawkeyes Overview

The Hawkeyes have seemingly “righted the ship” recently after dropping consecutive games in the third week of January. Iowa has now won three consecutive games against a nice trio of resume-building opponents. In succession, Fran McCaffery’s clubs have taken down Rutgers, Northwestern, and Illinois though it should be noted that all of those victories came at home.

Iowa has won just two road games in six opportunities this season and logged a road victory just once since Thanksgiving. Something that the Hawkeyes have seemingly always done well is score, and this season has been no exception. McCaffery’s club is currently 17th in the nation in points per game at over 81. Of course, they also rank 289th in the nation in points against per game at 73.5.

Iowa is just 2-4 against the spread on the road this season but is underperforming the number by just -0.6 points. They are one of the best teams in the conference against the total, hitting the over 60% of the time, good for second in the league.

Purdue Boilermakers Overview

The loss to Indiana was not a shocking or a detrimental one for the Boilermakers, as Indiana has been rolling since mid-January, losing just once. Trayce Jackson-Davis is every bit a star as Zach Edey, and with the game taking place in Bloomington, it shouldn’t be difficult for the Boilermakers to move one.

Something that was noticeable during the Indiana game was how Matt Painter’s star freshmen performed. Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer struggled mightily, combining to go just 5-19 from the field. For Loyer, that marks the second consecutive game where he has struggled, and you have to wonder if the “freshman wall” may be playing a part in his struggles. The same could be said of Braden Smith, who is just 1-11 from three-point land over his last five games.

One interesting turn of events when it comes to Purdue is that they are outperforming the expected total lately. The Boilermakers have exceeded the total in four consecutive games, as they are the best offensive team in the Big Ten so far this season.

The Pick

These two times both have the ability to put points on the board in a big way. With the Boilermakers being the best offensive teams in the league and Iowa being arguably the worst defensive team in the league, this contest has potential to really light up the scoreboard. Take the over here.