Wisconsin vs. Purdue game prediction, odds, and injury updates
The Wisconsin Badgers take on one of the biggest games of the season when they travel to play against No. 7 Purdue in Mackey Arena. It’s a game they Wisconsin may not need to win in terms of tournament chances but they definitely want it to boost their resume. Purdue is eyeing Wisconsin with the same idea. The game will take place right after the top 16 seeds are announced by the selection committee for the NCAA tournament on CBS. It’ll be a prove-it game for both of them.
Here’s a breakdown of all the things you need to know before the game.
Injury Updates
The Purdue Boilermakers and the Wisconsin Badgers both have a completely clean availability report. This means they not only don’t have any players listed as out, they don’t even have any questionable or probable.
Game Odds and Over/Under
FanDuel has the game picked as a Purdue 5.5 favorite. This is primarily due to the game being at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. The over/under for the game is 148.5. Taking the odds and the over/under together, this means that the oddsmakers have the game finishing at Purdue 77, Wisconsin 71, or Purdue 78, Wisconsin 72 (since teams can’t finish at a half point).
Prediction
These two teams have a very similar style of play but with some key differences. They both can play with an inside-out offense and can generate a lot of scoring from the guard position. Purdue may have the best point guard in the nation with Braden Smith, while Wisconsin has arguably one of the top Big Ten players in John Tonje.
For Purdue to win the game, they are going to have to win the game down low while also playing tight on-ball defense along the three-point line. They can’t get into foul trouble as they did with Michigan.
For Wisconsin, they have to slow down Trey Kaufman-Renn, who loves to score and receives a lot of love from Smith. However, they have a bit of the blueprint with what Michigan was able to do against Purdue. While Michigan didn’t slow down Kaufman-Renn or Smith, they did get to the free-throw line a bunch, and that plays into Wisconsin’s strength.
Final Score: Wisconsin 77 – Purdue 74
