Bragging rights and Big Ten positioning are on the line Saturday afternoon when the Purdue Boilermakers (11-6, 4-2 Big Ten) host the Indiana Hoosiers (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten) for a 2 p.m. ET tip. This game has seen plenty of line movement as tip-off approaches. The latest Indiana vs. Purdue odds have the Boilermakers as nine-point favorites, up two from the opening line. The over-under for total points has dropped from 143.5 to 142. Purdue has won three of four in conference play, while Indiana really needs a win to recover from a three-game losing streak. And before making any Indiana vs. Purdue picks of your own, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine's advanced model.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. And it enters Week 11 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a strong 22-8 run on all of its top-rated picks. Anybody who has followed it is way up.
Now it's locked in on Indiana vs. Purdue. We can tell you it's leaning over, and it's also locked in a confident against-the-spread pick that hits in over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see that one at SportsLine.
Purdue has experienced a roller-coaster season. The Boilermakers opened the year with four wins in a row, then dropped five of their next seven before taking five of their next six. Their up-and-down play has put them in a hole when it comes to postseason hopes, but if they can move to 4-1 in Big Ten play with a win on Saturday, they'll feel pretty good about where they are overall.
Junior guard Carsen Edwards will be a huge factor in how far Purdue can go this season. He paces the team with almost 25 points per contest, and SportsLine's model is calling for him to score 24 points against the Hoosiers on Saturday. He certainly showed he's capable of scoring last week when he went off for 36 points in an overtime thriller against Wisconsin.
But just because the Boilermakers have such a strong scoring threat, doesn't mean they'll be able to cover the Purdue vs. Indiana spread.
The Hoosiers have dropped three straight, but star freshman guard Romeo Langford gives them a chance to be competitive in any game. Regarded as a likely NBA lottery pick, Langford is hitting over 50 percent of his shots from the floor this season and is averaging 18.8 points per game.
Indiana also has one of the better front court players in the Big Ten in senior forward Juwan Morgan (16.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg), and if this duo plays up to its potential, this rivalry game could easily fall within the spread on Saturday afternoon.
So who wins Indiana vs. Purdue? And which side of the Indiana vs. Purdue spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side you need to jump on, all from the model that has returned $5,200 on its college basketball picks, and find out.
