Purdue vs Indiana Betting: Boilermakers Huge Road Favorites
Hoosiers Look to Ride Home Court to Upset
The No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers begin their journey to reclaim the No. 1 ranking with a road game at Indiana Tuesday. Purdue dropped to No. 2 in the polls after being upset by Nebraska last week. The Hoosiers aren’t what they once were, but are still tough at home. Indiana is 9-1 at Assembly Hall with a four-point loss to Kansas. But that’s about the only advantage the Hoosiers will have in this one. The Purdue vs Indiana betting odds show the Boilermakers are favored by 9.5 points with a total of 151. Purdue is -525 on the moneyline.
Purdue vs Indiana 
Day/Time:
Location: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
Streaming: Watch Live Sports
Purdue a Different Team on Road
The Boilermakers are 15-2 on the season, but both losses have come on the road. Purdue is also 6-2 against the spread away from home and 6-2 in totals. But the Boilermakers score 79.1 points away from home compared with 85 points overall.
And Purdue also allows 76 points per game compared to 69.5 points overall. There’s a huge difference in net points for Purdue away from home. But the Boilermakers are still covering the spread, which is all that really matters.
Purdue is one of the best offensive basketball teams in the country. The Boilermakers rank No. 2 in Ken Pomeroy’s offensive efficiency rankings. Purdue is No. 9 in 3-point shooting at 39.8% and No. 30 in 2-point shooting at 55.1%.
The Boilermakers are solid from the foul line and do a good job getting offensive rebounds. The only knock against Purdue’s offense is it can be prone to making some turnovers. But everything else it does pretty well.
The Boilermakers are also solid on defense. Purdue doesn’t allow many offensive rebounds or send teams to the foul line often. That helps make up for a defense that allows 47.1% shooting on 2-pointers and 30.8% on 3-pointers.
The Boilermakers don’t force many turnovers, but part of that is due to the teams played. Purdue has played the toughest schedule in the country by Pomeroy’s rankings.
Indiana Lacks Big Win
The Hoosiers have played some pretty decent teams so far this season. They’ve also lost those games, as Indiana is 0-3 against teams in Pomeroy’s top 20 this season. Indiana’s biggest win of the season is against No. 47 Ohio State.
Indiana is 4-2 in the Big Ten Conference’s college basketball standings, winning all four home games and dropping both contests on the road. The Hoosiers are 6-4 against the spread at home this season. The college basketball scores show Indiana in home totals this season.
Indiana is scoring 74.4 points per game and isn’t a great shooting team. The Hoosiers are hitting 33.7% of their 3-pointers and 53.3% of 2-point attempts.
Indiana has been pretty bad from the foul line this season, making just 66.2% of its free throws. That hurts because the Hoosiers do get to the foul line quite a bit. Indiana doesn’t shoot a lot of 3-pointers and scores 58.4% of its points from 2-point range.
On defense, Indiana is decent. The Hoosiers don’t force a lot of turnovers and allow too many offensive rebounds, but hold teams to 40.9% shooting.
Teams are making 32.9% of their 3-pointers against Indiana and 46.7% of 2-pointers. Teams do shoot a lot of 3-pointers against the Hoosiers to counter the fact Indiana is the fourth-tallest team in college basketball.
What to Expect
Purdue shoots a fair number of 3-pointers and will put up a decent amount here. The Boilermakers are strong from the outside, while Indiana is better defending inside. Neither team really pushes the tempo, so it should be a question of which team runs its half-court offense the best.
The Hoosiers are going to look to get the ball inside. It’s what they do best and they’re not going to change things up here. Purdue is a little better defending the 3-pointer than the inside, so you can’t blame the Hoosiers for looking to take the ball inside.
Who to Bet On?
The Purdue vs Indiana betting odds of Purdue -9.5 points sounds about right. It might be shaded slightly high, but this is a big revenge game for Purdue Indiana defeated the Boilermakers both college basketball games last season. That’s something Purdue probably hasn’t forgotten.
The Boilermakers have a rematch with an Iowa team they beat by 19 points earlier this season, so they should be focused for this game.
The Purdue vs Indiana betting number of 151 on the total is a tough call. The Hoosiers don’t typically see totals that high. The pace of the game won’t be there, so you have to count on solid shooting for the game to land over the number.
Even though this a revenge spot for Purdue, the game is probably a bigger one for Indiana. Assembly Hall is still a tough place for visiting teams to play at, so take Indiana +9.5 for one of your NCAAB picks tonight.
For NCAAB betting news, NCAA basketball schedule , and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
