Purdue vs. Indiana College Basketball prediction, preview
After a 17-1 start to the season, Purdue now takes a two-game losing streak on the road to Assembly Hall for a big rivalry game. After the Boilermakers blew a late lead in a road loss to UCLA to lose in the final seconds, they returned home to do the same against Illinois. The Illini got a ridiculous 46 points from a freshman in Keaton Wagler, but Purdue was still controlling the game until the final seconds.
Now Purdue will look to bounce-back and avoid a three-game losing streak, but will have to do so in a hostile environment. Indiana will provide a strong home court for the Hoosiers, which has provided mixed results for the Boilermakers in recent seasons. Purdue has been a strong road team in general, and that’s been no different this season — 7-1 away from home and 4-1 in true road games.
While Indiana is 10-2 at home, that doesn’t tell the full story. The Hoosiers had a 10-0 start at Assembly Hall, but have started taking losses as the competition has become more difficult. IU got off to a tremendous start against Nebraska, but got dominated in the second half and fell at home. The following Saturday, Iowa came into Assembly Hall and dominated the game. So while this one will have juice in the building, we’ve seen the opposition come into Assembly Hall and crush the Hoosiers.
Indiana finally snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday night against a lowly Rutgers team, but against strong competition, it hasn’t gone well. Indiana is 0-4 as the underdog this season (1-3 ATS), losing those games by an average of 14 points. I lean towards laying the points with Purdue, despite the number getting bet up, and personally have Purdue to round out some moneyline parlays. Winning at Indiana is not as difficult this season, and Purdue is in a big-time desperation spot.
