Game Time: Noon PM ET, Sunday, January 30th, 2022

Venue: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana

Where to Watch:  CBS

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  NL

Caesars:  Spread: NL

VegasInsider:  Spread: NL

WynnBet: Spread: NL

Ohio State: 6-2 conf, 13-4 overall (Big Ten)

Purdue: 6-3 conf, 17-3 overall (Big Ten)

A bigtime matchup of the #16 Ohio State team vs the #6 Purdue team.  These are top notch programs going head to head.  The Big Ten will contribute heavily to the NCAA tournament this season.  In the 2021 Big Ten tournament the Buckeyes beat the Boilermakers 87-78 in overtime to win the quarterfinal.  Purdue had rallied in that game from an 18-point halftime hole to push it to overtime, but Ohio State prevailed despite the pressure.  A year removed makes a big difference in college basketball.  Kids grow, games grow, new faces dot both rosters… but still both teams are excellent and you should expect a battle from tip-off to final whistle.

Ohio State is on a three game winning streak… beating Minnesota, IUPUI, and Penn State.  Prior to that they dropped a couple of conference games to the Wisconsin Badgers and the Indiana Hoosiers.  They have 8 wins over their last ten games. Forward E.J. Liddell leads the team in scoring with 19.6 ppg and during the last game against Minnesota went over 1000 points for his college career… he gets a fair amount of help from point guard Jamari Wheeler whose numbers don’t jump off the page, but he leads the team confidently.  Jamari transferred over from Penn State this off-season and is in his fifth and final year of college ball.

Purdue is on a two-game winning streak over Iowa and Northwestern.  They lost the game before that to the Indiana Hoosiers and a game a week earlier to the Wisconsin Badgers.  There is the trend that should tell us this will be a knock down drag out battle.  The Boilermakers also have 8 wins over their last 10 games.  The two losses are to the same two teams that Ohio State lost to.  Guard Jaden Ivey leads Purdue in scoring with 16.6 ppg, but he gets a lot of well rounded help on the offensive end from Forward Trevion Williams and the other guard Sasha Stefanovic.  Both those players pour in 12 ppg while Trevion leads the team in rebounds and Sasha leads the team in assists.  They could have the advantage from the near perfect balance on the team.  Purdue tends to have a shot altering advantage against everyone because their Center is the BIG 7’4 Zach Edey who not only lays in 14.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg, but also lands 1.2 blocks per contest.

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OSU is 13-4 on the season, but 8-9 ATS.  They have logged 11 Overs and 6 Unders.  They are 3-3 in road games thus far.

Purdue is 17-3 on the season, but 11-9 ATS.  They have notched 12 Overs and 8 Unders.  They are an intimidating 10-1 in home games. That one home loss was to the Indiana Hoosiers in a close 68-65 finish.

Ohio State is 92nd in scoring with 75.1 ppg, 121st in rebounds with 33.6 per game, and 64th in AST/TO ratio with 1.3. They are shooting the ball at a fantastic rate 23rd in FG%, 40th in 3PT%, and 44th in FT%  The Buckeyes are just ok on defense ranking 141st while allowing 67.2 ppg.

Purdue is an offensive juggernaut.  They are 4th in scoring with 84.7 ppg, 18th in rebounds with 37.3 per game, and 11th in AST/TO ratio with 1.5. They are simply great shooting the ball.  They are 3rd in the nation in FG%, 4th in 3PT%,... the one area of decline is at the foul line where they are 192nd while only hitting 70.8%... The low foul shot numbers and high FG% is what you would expect to see from a team with a 7’4 kid in the middle.  There is a fair amount of either simply laying the ball in or being sent to the line.

Our prediction for Sunday, January 30th is…  Boilermakers 77 - Buckeyes 72

The Boilermakers will win this one… but you will have to pay close attention to the spread before betting.  The “up in the air” quality to this game is that Ohio State’s starting point guard Jamari Wheeler is listed as Questionable.  He could play and be fine, he could play hampered by injury, or he could miss completely.  If he plays I still give Purdue the advantage… if he misses I give Purdue the BIG advantage… This uncertainty could affect the Over Under numbers.  I would bet Purdue for the win and the Over but don’t parlay it… bet separately. 

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Ohio State is 2-1 ATS versus Purdue over the last 3 seasons.

The one game in this matchup played at Purdue the last 3 seasons resulted in a PUSH on a Purdue win.

3 of 4 games in this series have gone Under the last 3 seasons.

Ohio State: G Jamari Wheeler (foot) Quest ** F Seth Towns

Purdue: F Brian Waddell (knee) Out for season.

Ohio State: Meechie Johnson Jr, Justin Aherns, Malaki Branham, Zed Key, E.J. Liddell

Purdue: Mason Gillis, Eric Hunter Jr, Isaiah Thompson, Zach Edey, Sasha Stefanovic

OSU

Points: E.J. Liddell 19.6

Assists: Jamari Liddell 7.8

Rebounds: E.J. Liddell 7.8

Steals: Jamari Wheeler 1.6

Blocks: E.J. Liddell

Purdue

Points: Jaden Ivey 16.6

Assists: Sasha Stefanovic 3.6

Rebounds: Trevion Williams 8.5

Steals: Jaden Ivey 1.2

Blocks: Zach Edey 1.2