Who’s Playing
Purdue Boilermakers @ Auburn Tigers
Current Records: Purdue 8-3, Auburn 10-1
How To Watch
What to Know
The Purdue Boilermakers will take on the Auburn Tigers in a holiday battle at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at at Legacy Arena. Coming off a loss in a game the Boilermakers were expected to win, they now face the more daunting task of proving themselves against unfavorable odds.
Last Saturday, Purdue was within striking distance but couldn’t close the gap as they fell 70-66 to Texas A&M.
Despite their defeat, Purdue saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Braden Smith, who scored 15 points along with six assists and six rebounds, was perhaps the best of all.
Meanwhile, Auburn had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 41 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 100-59 win over the Panthers. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 23 points or more this season.
Chaney Johnson was the offensive standout of the game as he went 12 for 14 en route to 26 points plus eight rebounds and two steals. Another player making a difference was Chad Baker-Mazara, who had 19 points along with six assists.
Auburn was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Georgia State only posted seven.
Purdue’s loss dropped their record down to 8-3. As for Auburn, their victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Purdue hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.2 points per game. However, it’s not like Auburn struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 88.5. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
While only Auburn took care of their fans the last time they played, neither team managed to cover. Going forward, Auburn is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 9.5 points. They might be worth a quick bet since they’re sitting on a five game streak of covering the spread when expected to win.
Odds
Auburn is a big 9.5-point favorite against Purdue, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 9.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 149.5 points.
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Series History
Purdue won the only game these two teams have played in the last 8 years.
- Nov 23, 2016 – Purdue 96 vs. Auburn 71
