College hoops betting interest focuses on the Purdue vs Illinois battle Saturday at Mackey Arena as the Boilermakers look to defend home court and cover the NCAAB point spread.

This season, the Boilermakers are 11-3 overall and 7-5 ATS ATS, while the Fighting Illini are 12-2 and 6-6 ATS against the number. As for the totals, Purdue boasts a 5-7 on the OU, and Illinois is 6-6.



View Illinois vs Purdue Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had set the Boilermakers as 7-point favorites on the Sportsbook line for this contest.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
It's a betting matchup between the No. 46-rated Boilermakers and the No. 54-ranked Fighting Illini, according to the latest pro hoops power rankings here at Odds Shark. Prediction formulas run on this game indicate a possible 80-77 result in favor of the Boilermakers.



How They Match Up:
Rebounding is always a key handicapping consideration and Fighting Illini is ranked No. 142 in NCAA hoops at 36 per game. Contrast that with Purdue’s No. 135 mark in the paint. When it comes to three-point shooting, Purdue is the No. 49-ranked team in the country at 8.1 per game, while Illinois rates No. 172 at 6.3 per game.

Defensively, Illinois features the nation's No. 36-rated defense on the road, allowing 62 points per game. Purdue, meanwhile, comes in at No. 118 nationally in scoring at home.

Last time out for Illinois, they were an 81-72 Sportsbook as they battled Minnesota at home. They covered in the match as a 6-point favorite. Illinois got 21 points from Brandon Paul en route to an 81-72 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday at University of Illinois Assembly Hall.

Purdue was a 79-76 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against Iowa. They failed to cover the 5–point spread as favorites. The Boilermakers grabbed a 79-76 win over the Hawkeyes on Wednesday, behind a 16-point effort from Robbie Hummel at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.


Illinois Fighting Illini Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-1
Before playing Northwestern are 4-6
After playing Minnesota are 4-6
After a win are 8-2

Purdue Boilermakers Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 5-3
Before playing Penn State are 5-5
After playing Iowa are 7-3
After a win are 7-3

A few Fighting Illini at Boilermakers trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Illinois's last 5 games when playing on the road against Purdue
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Illinois's last 6 games on the road
Illinois is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Purdue
Illinois is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Purdue is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Purdue is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Illinois
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Purdue's last 5 games when playing Illinois
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Purdue's last 5 games when playing at home against Illinois


Next up:
Illinois at Northwestern, Wednesday, January 4
Purdue at Penn State, Thursday, January 5