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— Sunday, March 13th Iowa Hawkeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers
The final conference title game to be played before the brackets are released will be the Big Ten Championship Game as the No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers face the No. 24 Iowa Hawkeyes. As the No. 5 seed, Iowa has won three games in three days while No. 3 seeded Purdue has won two days in a row. The Big Ten title game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Purdue swept Iowa in the regular season, winning 77-70 at home in December and 82-71 in Iowa City in January. Purdue leads the all-time series 94-77 and have won seven of the last eight, but they are 1-2 against Iowa in the Big Ten tournament with the last meeting in 2009. Iowa is 2-1 in the Big Ten title game with wins in 2001 and 2006, while Purdue is 1-3, winning in 2009.
Boilers Well Balanced
Purdue is 13-18-2 ATS on the season, and the over is 18-16 in their 33 games. With two wins in the last two days in Indy, they are now 6-0 in neutral site games this season and 11-5 away from home overall. They are 6-2 against ranked teams, with both losses coming to Wisconsin.
So far in the tournament, Purdue has knocked off Penn State by eight and Michigan State by five. They put five players in double figures against the Spartans on Saturday, led by Jaden Ivey with 22 after he had 17 against PSU. Zach Edey has 26 points in the two games and grabbed ten boards against Michigan State.
Ivey had 19 and 15 in the two games against Iowa this season, while Trevion Williams was also in double figures in both games, scoring 25 total points. Purdue made eight 3-pointers in the first win and went 13-for-22 in the second win. They out rebounded the Hawkeyes by 17 total in the two games but also turned the ball over 32 times.
Ivey leads the team on the season at 17.2 ppg, while Edey averages 14.8. Williams (11.5) and Sasha Stefanovic (11.1) are also in double figures scoring-wise. Edey averages 7.5 rpg with Williams at 7.3, while Stefanovic leads the Boilers with 79 3-pointers made.
Iowa Rides With Murray
Iowa is 21-13 ATS this season, and the over is 22-11-1 in their 34 games. They are 4-0 in neutral site games, with three of those wins coming this week. Iowa is 1-5 against ranked teams on the season with a February win at Ohio State.
Iowa started their Big Ten Tournament with an impressive 112 points against Northwestern. They followed that up with an 84-74 win over Rutgers, and a banked-in 3-pointer by Jordan Bohannon beat Indiana 80-77. Keegan Murray has scored 86 points in the three games, with Bohannon adding 35 and Tony Perkins with 30.
Iowa has the fifth-ranked offense in the nation at 83.3 ppg, led by Keegan Murray at 23.4 ppg. Murray leads the team with 8.6 rpg while shooting 55.7% from the field and 38% from 3-point range. Murray missed the first loss to Purdue with an ankle injury and had 12 in the second game, shooting 4-for-11 from the floor.
Bohannon (11.2) and Patrick McCaffery (10.2) are also in double figures scoring-wise, and Joe Toussaint leads the team with 3.4 apg. Kris Murray averages 10.1 ppg and shoots 41% from 3-point range. Bohannon has made 84 3-pointers on the season while the Murray’s have combined for 96, 55 from Keegan and 41 from Kris.
Betting Analysis
- Purdue Boilermakers -2 (-105). Money line -125
- Iowa Hawkeyes +2 (-115) Money line +105
- Total Points 148 Over -110, Under -110
These are two of the top 10 scoring teams in the nation as Iowa ranks fifth and Purdue seventh. The Boilers are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and the Hawkeyes are without a true big man. Murray is at his best on the season right now for Iowa with six straight 20-point games, and Ivey will be a tough matchup for Iowa. Look for a lot of scoring in this one from the start.
Betting Pick: Over 148 (-110)
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