The Arizona Wildcats and the Purdue Boilermakers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Arizona is cruising along well at 8-0 overall this year following a victory versus Wisconsin last weekend. As for Purdue, they beat Alabama in their last outing which lifted the Boilermakers to 9-1 overall. Let’s get into our Arizona vs. Purdue prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Arizona Wildcats 

The Wildcats have been playing great on both sides of the ball so far, and it’s resulted in eight straight wins. Arizona took out Morgan State, Duke, Southern, Belmont, TX-Arlington, Michigan State and Colgate in their first seven outings of the year. In the 82-55 win over the Raiders, the Wildcats posted a 45-25 rebounding edge. 

Arizona notched their eighth win of the year versus a tough Wisconsin team in their last matchup. The Wildcats jumped out to a 48-31 halftime edge, then scored another 50 points from there in a 98-73 victory. Arizona’s Pelle Larsson put up a team-high 21 points with four assists and four rebounds. 

Purdue Boilermakers 

Over on the Boilermakers’ side, they’ve only got the one blemish on their schedule so far: a 92-88 overtime loss to Northwestern. Purdue beat Samford, Morehead State, Xavier, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Texas Southern and Iowa otherwise during their first nine games of the season. 

Purdue put up another win over Alabama in their latest matchup, but this one was pretty close. The Boilermakers came back from a 49-47 halftime deficit with 45 second-half points in a 92-86 result. Zach Edey was the team’s top scorer with 35 points and seven rebounds alongside a pair of assists. 

ANDREW’S FREE ARIZONA VS PURDUE PREDICTION 

I’m going to try Arizona here. You could make a case either way, though; it’ll be a good matchup. In any case, the Wildcats haven’t shown a ton of weaknesses thus far. Arizona is coming off a pretty dominant win over a good Wisconsin team, shooting 58.3 percent from the field with a 39-30 rebounding advantage. That makes 74 or more points in all eight games for the Wildcats, and 82 or more in six of those. 

As for Purdue, they got into a little trouble during the first half of the Alabama game but everything worked out. The Boilermakers have hit 71 or more points in every game so far themselves, so this one could be a high-total finish if both teams are on point. In the end however, I like Arizona to power out the cover/win.