Purdue (16-3) at Iowa (14-5)
When: Thursday, January 27th 2022
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena,
Iowa City, IA
Time: 9:00 ET | TV: FS1
Opening Odds: Purdue -2/162
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The sixth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers might be the highest ranked Big Ten team in the conference, but they are still behind four other teams in the standings. They’ll look to move up this week when they visit the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday night in Iowa City, Ia. The reason for the fifth-place standing is they already have three conference losses and two of them have come on the road. Most recently was a 65-65 setback at Indiana last Thursday. Purdue rebounded for an easy 80-60 home win over Northwestern on Sunday. Guard Jaden Ivey, who leads the team with 16.7 points, missed that game and is questionable for Thursday’s contest with a hip flexor injury.
Iowa sits a game back of Purdue and have won seven of their last nine games. Their most recent loss was on Jan. 19 in an ugly 48-46 road loss at Rutgers. The Hawkeyes rebounded with a 68-51 home win over Penn State on Saturday. Iowa will look to split the season series after dropping a 77-70 decision in West Lafayette on Dec. 3 as 14.5-point underdogs. Patrick McCaffery led the Hawkeyes with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Tony Perkins chipped in 14 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Ivey led the Boilermakers with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The home team has won four of the last five meetings.
Purdue’s offense was on point in the win over lowly Northwestern on Sunday. The Boilermakers, who are fourth in the nation with 84.7 points per game, posted a 62.7 effective field goal percentage in the win over Northwestern. They drained 12-of-29 from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 free throws. Purdue is tops in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency (121.4) and fifth overall with a 40.1 3-point shooting percentage. In the first meeting with Iowa, Purdue shot 8-of-19 from beyond the arc and hit 27-of-37 free throw attempts. Center Zach Edey is averaging 15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds, while Trevion Williams averages 12.7 points and 8.4 boards. Sasha Stefanovic (12.1 points) shoots 41.6 percent from long range.
Iowa’s defense hounded Penn State on Saturday, forcing 17 Nittany Lion turnovers and lead the Big Ten with a 21.0 opponents’ turnover percentage. In the first meeting with Purdue, Iowa managed to cover a double-digit spread as an underdog mainly with the help of the defense that forced 17 Boilermaker turnovers. Keegan Murray and Patrick McCaffrey, Iowa’s top two scorers this season, combined for 27 points and nine rebounds in the loss to Purdue. Murray leads Iowa by averaging 22.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game with McCaffery contributing 10.8 points per game. Jordan Bohannon is third with 10.6 points per contest. The Hawkeyes are looking for their first Quadrant 1 win.
It’s not easy to win on the road in conference play, but this is the game where Purdue makes a statement. They have too much talent for Iowa to keep up offensively. I’ll lay the points.
Pick: Purdue -2.5
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