A Big Ten battle between the Washington Huskies and No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers is on the schedule Wednesday night, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
The meeting will mark just the third time these programs have faced off. Purdue has come out victorious in both games, which occurred during the 2008-09 and 2024-25 seasons, respectively. Purdue produced a 69-58 win in last season’s matchup.
Purdue enters as a heavy 16.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook with the game total set at 151.5 points. Washington holds +1000 odds of pulling off the upset.
Washington at Purdue prediction, preview
The Washington Huskies are off to a 9-5 start to the season, and are 1-2 in Big Ten play. They have dropped games against Baylor, Colorado, UCLA, Seattle, and Indiana so far this season. Their most notable win so far came on Dec. 6, when they took down USC, which was previously ranked 24th at the time. Washington is 7-7 against the spread with an over record of 6-7-1.
Danny Sprinkle’s squad is averaging 82.4 points per game, which ranks 89th in the country. The Huskies rank 99th in offensive rating, 196th in field goal percentage, 271st in three-point percentage, and 38th in rebounds per game. Defensively, Washington is holding opponents to 72.5 points per game, which ranks 160th in the country. They rank 119th in defensive rating, 89th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 148th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
Freshman forward Hannes Steinbach headlines the production, averaging 18.3 points and a conference-leading 11.8 rebounds per game. He is also shooting a team-best 40% from three. Desmond Claude adds 15.1 points and 2.2 assists. Wesley Yates III and Zoom Diallo each add over 14 points per game, and the latter leads the team with 3.4 assists. Franck Kepnang is tied for the conference lead with 2.6 blocks per game, also contributing 5.6 points and 6.9 rebounds. Quimari Peterson adds a nice scoring spark at 9.7 points per game, while Bryson Tucker and JJ Mandaquit also play some notable minutes.
The Purdue Boilermakers are off to a 13-1 start to the season and look the part of legitimate national championship contenders. Their lone loss came against Iowa State. They have three ranked wins already this season, beating Alabama, Texas Tech, and Auburn. Purdue has gone 9-5 against the spread, and the game total has gone under in nine of their 14 games.
Matt Painter’s squad is averaging 86.4 points per game, which is the 47th-best rate in the country. Purdue ranks seventh in offensive rating, 19th in field goal percentage, ninth in three-point percentage, and tallies the third-most assists per game. Defensively, opponents are scoring 66.5 points per game against the Boilermakers, which ranks 35th in the country. They are producing the 58th-best defensive rating and rank 40th in opponents’ field goal percentage and 35th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
Purdue has an experienced roster with 69.6% of last year’s roster and 79.6% of their scoring production returning. Fletcher Loyer leads the team in scoring at 14.4 points while shooting 40.6% from deep. Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game, along with his 13.8 points. Braden Smith adds 12.6 points with a Big Ten-leading 9.6 assists. Oscar Cluff also adds 11/4 points and 8.8 rebounds. Purdue also leans on Daniel Jacobsen, C.J. Cox, Jack Benter, and Omer Mayer as notable parts of their rotation.
Washington at Purdue pick, best bet
Purdue has been absolutely rolling since their loss to Iowa State, who also have their eyes set on the national championship. The Boilermakers enter this matchup on a five-game winning streak, with each victory coming by 16 or more points. They would have covered the 16.5-point spread in four of the five matchups.
This season, Purdue is producing an average margin of victory of +19.9 points. Eight of their 13 wins have come by at least 17 points, including a 47-point rout of Eastern Illinois.
Washington is a solid squad that will put up a battle. Its ability to attack the offensive glass and create additional offensive possessions should be kept in mind. But the Huskies’ guards have been inconsistent shooters, and star forward Hannes Steinbach will face his toughest frontcourt battle yet.
Purdue is the better team on both sides of the ball and has the home crowd behind it. Mackey Arena is among the more difficult places to play in the country, and it should make things difficult for the inexperienced and inconsistent Washington roster. Expect the Huskies to show some fight early, but for the Boilermakers to emerge as the clear superior team as the game progresses.
Don’t blink at the 16.5-point spread, given the rate at which Purdue has comfortably covered lofty spreads this season. Experience is a rare thing in college basketball these days, and the Boilermakers have plenty of it. Count on the experienced Purdue squad to keep its foot on the gas pedal and beat Washington by at least 17 points Wednesday night.
