Wisconsin Badgers vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 3/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Wisconsin Badgers (21-9) are headed to Mackey Arena on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Purdue Boilermakers (23-7).

The Wisconsin Badgers stepped onto the hardwood against Maryland and earned the victory with a final of 78-45 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Badgers ended up finishing with 11 while Maryland totaled 16 fouls. They converted 9 of their 31 attempts from beyond the arc. Maryland finished 40.0% from the charity stripe by burying 2 of 5 tries. Additionally, Maryland had 35 rebounds (11 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Maryland recorded 9 dimes and had 1 steal for this game. In regard to the defense, Wisconsin allowed the other team to go 30.4% from the floor on 17 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 15 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In terms of rebounding, they collected 29 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Badgers made 11 of 13 shots for a rate of 84.6%. Wisconsin finished the game having earned a 48.2% field goal percentage (27 out of 56) and made 13 of 31 shots from distance.

Braeden Carrington is someone who was a factor in this game. He ended up walking away with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 24 mins played and also totaled 2 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 60.0% from the floor but finished the game without an assist.

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Wisconsin will play this game with a mark of 21-9 on the season. They have an average of 82.8 points per outing (46th in Division 1) while connecting on 45.0% from the floor. The Badgers are hitting 35.7% on three-point attempts (341 of 956) and 77.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Wisconsin is collecting 36.3 boards per game and has accumulated 474 dimes this season, which has them ranked 83rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 9.1 times per contest and as a unit they commit 17.1 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Badgers have forced 10.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.6 fouls. They are 156th in college hoops in allowing assists with 396 surrendered so far this season. The Badgers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.3% (799 of 1,804) and they relinquish 34.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are conceding 33.2% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 222nd in the country in opponents points per game (75.0).

In their last game, the Purdue Boilermakers took home the win by a final score of 70-66 when they played Northwestern. In relation to cleaning up the glass, Purdue permitted Northwestern to snag 15 in total (4 offensive). They wrapped up this game 43.8% from 3-point land via 7 out of 16 and ended up shooting 11 out of 12 at the free throw line (91.7%). The Boilermakers permitted Northwestern to bury 24 of their 47 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.1% for the game. In all, the Boilermakers shot 26 out of 49 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.1%. In terms of 3-pointers, Purdue buried 9 out of 24 attempts (37.5%). They were able to make 9 of the free throws for a clip of 81.8%. Northwestern had 14 fouls for the game which took the Boilermakers to the free throw line for 11 attempts. They turned it over 13 times, while getting 2 steals for this contest. The Boilermakers pulled down 19 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 27 in the game.

C.J. Cox was important for the Boilermakers in the game. He converted 10 out of 13 in this matchup giving him a rate of 76.9%, and earned 3 rebounds. He earned 27 points in his 28 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for the contest.

Purdue has a win-loss record of 23-7 this year. The Boilermakers are responsible for committing 15.0 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 74.2% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 19.7 times per game (3rd in college) and they are turning it over 9.2 times per game. Purdue has 2,457 points for the season (81.9 per contest) and they grab 35.6 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Boilermakers are connecting on 50.0% from the field, which ranks them 15th in the nation.

The Boilermakers are ranked 70th in the nation in PPG given up with 69.8. They are forcing their opponents into 10.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 44.1% from the field (177th in D-1). The Purdue defense gives up 33.4% on 3-point shots (258 of 772) and their opponents are connecting on 71.3% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 14.1 assists and 28.7 total boards per game, which has them ranked 245th and 3rd in college.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Purdue

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