The Northwestern Wildcats (17-7, 8-5 Big 10) welcome the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big 10) Sunday in what is likely to be a slow-paced game. Purdue topped the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-73 at Mackey Arena on Thursday. Braden Smith led the way with 24 points. The Boilermakers are first in the Big Ten Conference.
Northwestern won on Thursday at Value City Arena, beating the Ohio State Buckeyes 69-63. Brooks Barnhizer had 19 points, leading the team. The Wildcats are second in the Big Ten Conference. The teams are meeting for the only time this season.
Purdue won both games between the teams last season, the last of which was a 70-64 triumph at Welsh-Ryan Arena in February 2022, their 11th straight head-to-head victory. Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 14 points and four assists.
Robbie Beran had 13 points in the losing effort. Edey is averaging 21.2 points per game, 10th-highest in the nation, to lead the Boilermakers in scoring this season. Edey also has grabbed 12.7 rebounds per game, most in the nation.
Meanwhile, Smith is dishing 4.4 assists.Boo Buie (16.2 ppg) and Chase Audige (15.1) have supplied much of the Wildcats’ offense. Buie also has distributed 4.5 assists per game. Matthew Nicholson has averaged 5.9 rebounds per game.
Half-court execution will be paramount in this matchup that features two of the NCAA’s slowest-paced teams, as the Boilermakers are 350th in possessions per game while the Wildcats are 309th.
Purdue is 9-1 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +10.7 (72.5-61.8). Northwestern has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 69.3 points per game on average while allowing 68.9 (+0.4 margin). The Wildcats are averaging 68.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 62.1.
BOILERMAKERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Mason Gillis: 14.6 | 9.8 | +4.8
Brandon Newman: 5.4 | 9.2 | -3.8
Points per game:
Mason Gillis: 10.0 | 5.8 | +4.2
Caleb Furst: 4.2 | 6.6 | -2.4
Rebounds per game:
Braden Smith: 3.0 | 4.5 | -1.5
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Ty Berry: 7.4 | 14.4 | -7.0
Points per game:
Brooks Barnhizer: 9.2 | 6.4 | +2.8
Ty Berry: 3.0 | 8.6 | -5.6
Rebounds per game:
Robbie Beran: 2.6 | 5.0 | -2.4
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Purdue -4.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
