Purdue Boilermakers vs Butler Bulldogs Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/18/2021

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, December 18, 2021

Venue:  Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN 

Where to Watch:  Fox

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Purdue -15.5, Butler +15.5; Over/Under:  132.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Purdue -15.5, Butler +15.5; Over/Under:  132.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Purdue -15.5, Butler +15.5; Over/Under:  132.5 points

 

Purdue Boilermakers:  9-1 (5th place, Big Ten)

Butler Bulldogs:  7-3 (10th place, Big East)

 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Will Rogers is on a NCAAB 16-5 DEC. RUN! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

 

Purdue Boilermakers:  4-1 last 5

Butler Bulldogs:  4-1 last 5

 

 

 

Purdue is coming into this game with a 9-1 record overall and they are 3-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They only have 1 loss all season and that was against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights but they are coming into this game off of a win against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in their last game. Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams off the bench both led the team in points in that game with 22 each while Sasha Stefanovic was next on the team with 12 points. Williams also led the team in assists in that game with 9 and he led the team in rebounds as well with 12. They were 50% from the field, 23.8% from 3-point range, and 68% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 87.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 66.1 PPG against them. Purdue has an ATS record of 6-4 this season and their O/U record is 6-4.

 

 

Butler is coming into this game with a 7-3 record overall and they are 1-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game on Saturday afternoon. Their last loss was against the Texas A&M Aggies but they have gone on a four-game winning streak since then with wins coming against the Chaminade Silverswords, the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, the Oklahoma Sooners, and the Eastern Illinois Panthers in their last game. Bryce Golden led the team in points in that game with 20 while Aaron Thompson was next on the team with 14 points. Jair Bolden also scored 10 points in that one as well. Thompson led the team in assists in that game with 10 while Ty Groce led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 43.3% from the field, 27.3% from 3-point range, and 80% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 64.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 58.3 PPG against them. Butler has an ATS record of 3-7 this season and their O/U record is 2-8.

 

Purdue is coming into this Crossroads Classic game as a 15.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Both of these teams have been playing well in their recent games but Purdue has been having a much better season. Purdue is also 3-0 in neutral site games while Butler has struggled this season with a 1-2 record. Both of these teams also play defense well but Purdue has a much stronger offense than Butler that averages almost 20 points more per game and that could be the difference in this game. Purdue is still a top 5 team but they will be playing their games hard after that loss to Rutgers as they look to climb back into 1st place on the AP Poll over time. The best bet to place in this game is on Purdue to cover the spread here as their offense will overpower them.

 

Purdue Butler Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Saturday, December 18, 2021 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Purdue 88 Butler 62.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert college basketball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Purdue Boilermakers Butler Bulldogs prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAB and NBA predictions and previews.

 

 

Purdue Boilermakers: 27-18 O/U as a favorite. 80-51 O/U in all neutral court games. 53-27 O/U as a neutral court favorite or pick. 29-15 O/U in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 13-6 O/U against Big East conference opponents. 

Butler Bulldogs: 81-48 ATS in all neutral court games. 43-25 ATS as a neutral court underdog or pick. 25-10 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 178-113 ATS in non-conference games. 155-102 ATS after a combined score of 125 points or less. 19-13 ATS after playing a home game.

 

 

Purdue Boilermakers:  B. Waddell (F) out for season - Knee injury.

Butler Bulldogs:  B. Nze (F) Out indefinitely - Shoulder injury. P. Thomas (G) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed injury. B. Hodges (G) Out indefinitely - Knee injury.

 

 

“In the first half he got away from us with those threes. And we talked about him not getting any triple threat jab threes, and we let we let him do that twice. Then he gets two pin downs, it makes a really tough shot, and we foul him on one of them. So right away, if you let a guy move and shoot and you contest it, you prefer him not to shoot it, but you're still making the move and shoot - Head coach Matt Painter after their loss against Rutgers.

 

 

“We are going to turn this thing around.” - LaVall Jordan on his team this season.

 

 

 

Z. Edey 

C. Furst 

J. Ivey 

S. Stefanovic 

I. Thompson

 

J. Bolden 

B. Golden 

T. Groce 

Jayden Taylor

A. Thompson

 

 

PPG: J. Ivey (16.4)

APG: S. Stefanovic (4)

Reb/G: T. Williams (9.3)

 

PPG: C. Harris (11.6)

APG: A. Thompson (4.6)

Reb/G: B. Nze (5.5)

 

Coaches:

Purdue Boilermakers: Matt Painter (17th season)

Butler Bulldogs: LaVall Jordan (5th season)