The top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (22-2, 11-1 home) welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-8, 2-4 away) in hopes to bounce back after suffering their second loss of the season on Saturday against in-state rival Indiana. Iowa comes to Hoosier State on a three-game winning streak. Purdue leads the all-time series against the Hawkeyes by a 94-78 margin.
Thursday’s Big Ten Conference tip-off is at 7 p.m. EST inside Mackey Arena in Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue is a 7.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is pegged at 149.5 points.
What to Know – Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa knocked off the Illinois Fighting Illini at home on Saturday to improve to 7-5 in conference play. KenPom rankings have the Hawkeyes at 32nd, while the NCAA NET rankings rank Iowa at 34th.
On offense, Iowa leads the conference scoring 81.5 points per game thanks to 45.85 shooting from the floor and 35.2 shooting from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes defense is last in Big Ten, allowing 73.5 ppg to opposing teams, 45.7% shooting from the field, and 34.2% from three.
Kris Murray sits right behind Edey in the league, scoring pouring in 20.5 ppg behind a 50.2% shooting effort from the field. Filip Rebraca is also in the top 20 in scoring in the league averaging 13.9 ppg and fourth in shooting percentage at 56.7%.
The Hawkeyes are 14-9 against the spread this season with a 3-3 record ATS on the road. Iowa is 7-2 ATS over its previous nine matchups.
What to Know – #1 Purdue Boilermakers
The Boilermakers remained in the top spot even after Saturday’s defeat in Bloomington to the Hoosiers. Purdue ranks fifth in the KenPom ranking and fourth in the NCAA NET.
Purdue is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring offense averaging 74.0 ppg while hitting 46.3% from the floor and 35.2% from deep. Defensively, the Boilermakers limit opponents to 61.1 ppg, 40.9% shooting from the field, and 30.6% from the 3-point line.
Purdue’s Zach Edey leads the conference in scoring, averaging 22.4 ppg. The 7-footer shoots a Big Ten-best 62.7% from the floor, which ranks 14th in he nation. Guard Fletcher Loyer is the only other Boilermaker averaging double figures, tallying 12.4 ppg.
This year Purdue is 10-13-1 ATS and 4-8 ATS on its home floor. Over their last seven games played in February, the Boilermakers are just 1-5-1 ATS.
The Pick is In
Two of the top offenses in the nation and two of the top scoring players in the conference go toe-to-toe in their only meeting between each other this season. Both teams have more Quad 1 victories than any other team in the Big Ten, Purdue with nine and Iowa with seven.
Thursday’s showdown comes down to which team can bend but not break on the defensive end. It has been a struggle all season for Iowa to present any kind of pressure on defense, and we don’t see it happening all of a sudden Thursday night inside Mackey Arena. A close first half but Purdue pulls away after the break to send Iowa home with a double-digit loss.
The Pick: #2 Purdue Boilermakers -7.5
