Michigan Wolverines (7-11) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (17-2)
January 23, 2024 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Purdue Boilermakers -16.5; Over/Under: 152.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Michigan Wolverines and the Purdue Boilermakers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Mackey Arena. Michigan is fresh off a Thursday loss to Illinois that dropped the Wolverines to 7-11 overall. As for Purdue, they’re 17-2 on the year after a win over Iowa this past weekend. Let’s get into our Michigan vs. Purdue prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines went just 6-5 over their first 11 games this year, losing to Long Beach State, Memphis, Texas Tech, Oregon and Indiana. Michigan is 1-6 since then with losses to Florida, McNeese, Minnesota, Penn State, Maryland and Illinois alongside a lone win over Ohio State.
Back on Thursday versus Illinois, the Wolverines were within one point going into the second half. Michigan faded from there on a 51-37 deficit and lost 88-73. Leading team scorer Tarris Reed put up 20 points with five rebounds, and Olivier Nkamhoua posted 16 points with four boards.
Purdue Boilermakers
Over on the Purdue side, they only lost one game in their first 15 outings: a 92-88 overtime affair versus Northwestern on December 1. The Boilermakers would fall to Nebraska on January 9, but since have beaten Penn State, Indiana and Iowa in succession over the last three.
Matched up against Iowa on Saturday, the Boilermakers were up by 13 points in the locker room. Purdue hit a 37-36 run in the second half, cruising to the win 84-70. Zach Edey was the team’s leading scorer on 30 points and 18 rebounds. Lance Jones added 17 points as well.
ANDREW’S FREE MICHIGAN VS PURDUE PREDICTION
I’ll stay with Purdue. The Boilermakers are playing some pretty solid basketball over the last three games and coming off a nice win over a decent Iowa team. Purdue hit 44.8 percent from the field in that one, but the more important stat was the 50-24 rebounding advantage (19-4 offensive). The Boilermakers have scored well this year, and they’ve hit 72 or more points in five straight games.
As for Michigan, it’s been a struggle against some tough teams lately. The Wolverines have scored 71 or more points in 10 of their last 11 games, however they’re also giving up quite a bit on defense—73 or more in five of the last seven. Purdue should score well here, and I don’t see Michigan finishing anywhere close.
