Wisconsin Badgers vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 3/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Wisconsin (+1)

The Wisconsin Badgers (16-9) travel to Mackey Arena on Tuesday where they'll meet the Purdue Boilermakers (16-8). Wisconsin opens this contest as 1-point underdogs. The over/under is set at 128.5.

Wisconsin enters this game with a record of 16-9 on the season. The Badgers are connecting on 35.7% on shots from downtown (213 of 596) and 75.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 69.8 pts per contest (222nd in D-1) while connecting on 42.0% from the floor. They are turning it over 9.0 times per contest and as a group they commit 15.9 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Wisconsin is pulling in 34.3 rebounds per contest and has totaled 330 assists for the year, which ranks 70th in college basketball in terms of passing. Defensively, the Badgers are forcing their opponents into 12.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.3 fouls. They currently rank 225th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 290 conceded on the campaign. The Badgers defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 41.6% (573 of 1,379) and they relinquish 35.0 rebounds per contest as a group. They concede 33.9% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 25th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (63.2).

The Wisconsin Badgers stepped onto the hardwood against the Illinois Fighting Illini and ended up losing by a score of 74-69 in their last game. Wisconsin ended the contest having earned a 34.8% FG percentage (24 out of 69) and knocked down 10 of 31 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Badgers knocked down 11 of 15 tries for a percentage of 73.3%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they collected a total of 27 with 11 of them being offensive. They also doled out 10 dimes in the matchup as well as forcing 20 turnovers and having 13 steals. Concerning defense, Wisconsin allowed the other team to go 52.1% from the field on 25 of 48 shooting. Illinois distributed 13 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Furthurmore, Illinois collected 39 rebounds (5 offensive, 34 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Illinois ended up shooting 70.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 19 of their 27 shots. They knocked down 5 out of their 9 attempts from three-point range.

D'Mitrik Trice is a player who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up scoring 29 points on 9 of 16 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 38 minutes but concluded the game with no rebounds. Trice finished 56.3% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. An additional guy that was a major contributor in this game for the Badgers was Nate Reuvers. He collected 4 rebounds in 16 minutes played on the night. He finished 30.0% from the field in this matchup by going 3-of-10 (6 points). Overall, Reuvers collected 1 assist.

Purdue has a win-loss mark of 16-8 so far this season. Purdue has scored 1,702 pts this season (70.9 per contest) and they grab 37.8 rebounds per game. The Boilermakers have committed 17.5 personal fouls per game and they hit 71.4% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the court, the Boilermakers are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which ranks 137th in the country. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.1 times per contest (110th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.7 times per game. The Boilermakers are ranked 63rd in college hoops in PPG given up with 65.7. They relinquish 14.0 assists and 31.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 259th and 40th in Division 1. The Purdue defense surrenders 32.0% on 3-point shots (196 of 612) and opponents are converting on 65.8% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 11.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.3% from the floor (73rd in college basketball).

The last time they took the court, the Purdue Boilermakers took home the win by a final score of 73-52 when they played the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Boilermakers were able to corral 32 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 37 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while recording 8 steals for the matchup. The Nittany Lions were called for 15 personal fouls in the game which took the Boilermakers to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a rate of 70.6%. Regarding 3-pointers, Purdue made 7 out of their 19 attempts (36.8%). When all was said and done, the Boilermakers walked away from this one shooting 27 for 52 from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.9%. The Boilermakers allowed the Nittany Lions to convert 22 out of 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 35.5% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 20.7% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 6 of 29 and ended up going 2 of 8 at the free throw line (25.0%). When discussing rebounds, Purdue allowed Penn State to grab 24 in total (6 offensive).

Sasha Stefanovic ended up having an impact for the Boilermakers for the contest. He converted 5 out of 9 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and had 2 rebounds. Stefanovic accumulated 16 points in his 30 mins of playing time and earned 3 assists in the matchup. Someone else that was pivotal for Purdue was Jaden Ivey. He finished with 1 assist in 32 mins played, and he converted 5 of 12 from the floor. Ivey walked away from this one going 41.7% from the floor and also totaling 14 points and 5 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wisconsin (+1)

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