The Northwestern Wildcats (10-4) travel to face off against the Purdue Boilermakers (10-4) on Sunday, January 5th. This game will be played at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette and televised on BTN. Purdue is coming off a win in their previous game, while Northwestern is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Penn State. Tip-off is set for 2:00 ET.

Northwestern Wildcats vs Purdue Boilermakers

The Wildcats Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Northwestern’s season record dropped to 10-4 after an 84-80 road loss to Penn State on Thursday. The Wildcats, who entered the game as +4.5 point underdogs, kept it close and covered the spread.

Northwestern trailed 37-34 at halftime but put up 46 points in the 2nd half while allowing 47. The game’s total points of 164 exceeded the over/under line of 144.5.

The Boilermakers Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Purdue improved to 10-4 on the season with an 81-61 road win over Minnesota on Thursday. The Boilermakers, who entered the game as -5.5 favorites, covered the spread, and the game’s total points of 142 went over the 135.5 O/U line.

After leading just 28-27 at halftime, Purdue dominated the second half, outscoring the Golden Gophers 53-34.

Wildcats Offense Breakdown

Northwestern put up 80 points in their last game, shooting 45.9% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc. Their effective field goal percentage was 50.8%, thanks in part to hitting 56.4% of their two-point attempts. They also connected on 85.7% of their free throws, going 18-for-21 from the line.

Brooks Barnhizer and Zach Hicks each scored 20 points, with Barnhizer adding 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Hicks knocked down 3-of-6 from three-point range. The Wildcats also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and dished out 19 assists as a team.

Boilermakers Offense Breakdown

Purdue’s offense was firing on all cylinders in their last game, putting up 81 points with a 50% shooting performance from the field. They connected on 44% of their three-point attempts, hitting 11 of 25 shots from deep, and posted an effective field goal percentage of 58.6%. The Boilermakers also made 12 of 16 free throws, good for a 75% rate.

Fletcher Loyer led the way with 24 points, shooting 80% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range. Braden Smith added 20 points and 10 assists, hitting 5 of 11 threes. Purdue finished with 21 assists as a team, and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.

Wildcats Team Defense

Northwestern’s defense struggled in their last game, giving up 84 points on 50% shooting from the field. They allowed their opponent to hit 62% of their two-point attempts, with 18 makes on 29 tries.

From beyond the arc, Northwestern held their opponent to 26% shooting, with just 4 made threes on 15 attempts. However, they sent their opponent to the free-throw line 45 times, where they converted 36 of those for 80%. Northwestern also gave up 9 offensive rebounds.

Boilermakers Team Defense

Northwestern’s defense struggled in their last game, giving up 84 points on 50% shooting. They allowed the opposing team to hit 62% of their two-point attempts, going 18/29 from inside the arc.

From three-point range, Northwestern held their opponent to 26% shooting, with just 4 made threes on 15 attempts. However, they sent the other team to the free-throw line 45 times, where they converted 36 free throws at an 80% rate.

Wildcats vs Boilermakers Trends

• Northwestern has a 1-2 record in their last three road games. In this stretch, they averaged 75 points per game while allowing 75. The team also performed well vs the spread at 3-0.
• In their last five games at home, the Boilermakers have a straight up record of 2-3 while going 2-3 vs. the spread. The team averaged 68 points per game in this stretch.
• Going back to their previous five games as the underdog, Northwestern has an ATS mark of 3-2 while going 1-4 straight up.
• Over the team’s last three games as the favorite, the Boilermakers struggled vs the spread going just 1-2. However, they still had a straight up mark of 2-1.

Wildcats vs Boilermakers Prediction

For a point-spread wager in this Boilermakers vs. Boilermakers game, we suggest taking the Boilermakers at -7.5. Even though our predictions have the Boilermakers winning 76-70, we see the Wildcats as the better choice on the point-spread.

Regarding the over/under, the current line is set at 137.5, and our model predicts the Wildcats and Boilermakers to score a combined 146 points. We recommend betting on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.