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Purdue Boilermakers vs. UCLA Bruins NCAAM prediction, pick for Tuesday 1/20/26

Purdue Boilermakers vs. UCLA Bruins NCAAM prediction, pick for Tuesday 1/20/26

Sports Betting Picks College Basketball DraftKings Network

Published:

By: Ryan Wohl

The Purdue Boilermakers, who are ranked No. 4 in the country, are in Los Angeles, California, to take on the UCLA Bruins at 10:00 p.m. ET. Purdue has a 17-1 overall record while being 7-0 in the Big Ten, while UCLA is 12-6 with a 4-3 conference record. Since losing to Iowa State on December 6, Purdue has won nine consecutive games.

Here is my best bet for tonight’s Purdue-UCLA matchup. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Purdue is -5.5 with UCLA being a +210 underdog on the moneyline.

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Purdue vs. UCLA (10:00 p.m. ET)

Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are Purdue’s top two scorers this season and create an elite backcourt. Smith leads college basketball in assists with 9.4 to go along with 14.7 points, while Loyer scores 13.4 points per contest. The Boilermakers also have a veteran frontcourt of Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff. Kaufman-Renn averages 12.7 points and 9.1 rebounds, as Cluff averages 12.2 points and 8.2 boards.

Purdue has the best offensive rating in the country while being ranked No 4 overall on KenPom. The Boilermakers shoot it 51.3 percent from the field (second in the Big Ten) and 39.2 percent from three-point range (first in the Big Ten).

UCLA is coming off an 86-74 loss to Ohio State on January 17 and is 2-3 in its previous five games. The Bruins have struggled this season, especially in Big Ten competition. UCLA has five double-digit scorers, but it averages only 78.2 points per game. Tyler Bilodeau averages 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3 percent on three-pointers. The Bruins have a deep rotation of guards with Skyy Clark, Donovan Dent, Trent Perry, and Eric Dailey Jr.

This is Purdue’s second contest of its two-game road trip in Los Angeles, California, after beating USC 69-64 on January 17. Purdue has won eight of their last nine games by at least six points and has won 16 of their 17 games this season by six-plus points. Although UCLA has a talented roster, they have lacked consistency, especially against better competition. UCLA’s last five losses have come by at least eight points.

College Basketball Pick: Purdue -5.5 (-112)

Ryan Wohl

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.