College Basketball Betting: Purdue vs Northwestern

Purdue came into this Big Ten tournament looking to prove something to the public, as well as themselves. That's because they have had to embark on the road to the NCAA Tournament without the guy who many consider to be their best player. Robbie Hummel, the 6'8" forward who does a little bit of everything, went down with a knee injury in a recent game against Minnesota is lost for the rest of the campaign. Purdue is fortunate that it has talent beyond Hummel, and there are indeed not many clubs in the Big Ten who can put people like E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson on the floor at the same time with a defensive stalwart in Chris Kramer.

Purdue Boilermakers (26-4 SU, 12-17-1 ATS) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (19-12 SU, 16-10 ATS)
Big Ten Tournament @ Indianapolis
Friday, March 12 - 6:30 PM ET

NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: PURDUE -8, Total 129

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• PUR has won 12 of its last 13 games SU
• PUR is 0-5 ATS in its last five games
• PUR has played six of its last seven games UNDER the total
• NW has covered nine of its last 13 games
• NW has played eight of its last nine games OVER the total

The general consensus among many people who follow the Big Ten is that Purdue would have a chance to make it through this tournament, especially since Michigan State rarely takes it seriously, and the Boilermakers can probably compete on even terms with Ohio State and Wisconsin on any given night even without Hummel. However, succeeding in the Big Dance might be another story entirely.

Here are some of the head-to-head NCAA college basketball betting trends for this game:

• PUR has won five of the last seven meetings SU
• NW has covered 11 of the last 15 meetings
• Six of the last eight meetings have gone OVER the total

You've got to remember that Purdue has still won 12 of its last 13 games, carries a #6 ranking into this game, and could actually have a shot to capture one of the #1 seeds when the NCAA field is announced, so that may be providing some extra incentive for them. But what is alarming is that when they were faced with a quality opponent in Michigan State in their first full game without Hummel, they folded up offensively, scoring only 44 points.

Is Northwestern a quality opponent? Well, they have won 20 games and will certainly be moving oin to the NIT if they can't make a miracle happen in Indianapolis. Bill Carmody's Wildcats spent a little time in the national rankings, and when they face any opponent, it's an unusual challenge because of the patient, deliberate, Princeton-style offense they employ.

Obviously they were enough of a problem for Matt Painter's team. Purdue has lost only four games this season, but one of those took place in Evanston back in January, as they were turned back 76-64 by the Wildcats. Northwestern's opening round win over Indiana may not tell us much, but that January 16 game, in which Northwestern dealt Purdue its third straight defeat, could be telling. They had a 42-23 advantage on the boards and executed a defensive game plan that held Purdue to 35.6% from the field. Hummel had 20 points in that game, and along with Moore, they were the only Boilermakers who were effective.