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Purdue vs. Michigan Prediction and Odds (Boilermakers Set to Win on Road)

By Reed Wallach

Feb 8, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Jaden Ivey (23) reacts to
Feb 8, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Jaden Ivey (23) reacts to / Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
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Purdue heads to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in a rematch of Saturday's home win for the Boilermakers.

Michigan is looking to put together an NCAA Tournament run after a slow start to the season, while Jaden Ivey and Purdue will look to solidify their standing in the race for a No. 1 seed in the field of 68.

Can Purdue's defense hold up on the road? Can Michigan find enough answers to slow down arguably the best offense in the country?

Here are the odds for the Big Ten showdown courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Purdue vs. Michigan Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

  • Purdue -4 (-110)
  • Michigan +4 (-110)

Moneyline:

  • Purdue -175
  • Michigan +145

Total: 146 (Over -110/Under -110)

Purdue vs. Michigan Prediction and Pick

While Michigan played tough in West Lafayette this past weekend, losing 82-76, I'm leaning towards a similar result playing out on Thursday night with Purdue grabbing a road win.

Michigan's pick-and-roll defense is not equipped to slow down Ivey and the likes of Trevion Williams and Zach Edey. Matt Painter has begun to lean on this action quite a bit over the past few weeks and the Boilermakers offense has only grown stronger, scoring 80+ points during their six game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Michigan is overly dependent on Hunter Dickinson, who is taking nearly 30% of the team's shots at this point. While he will surely get his once again, he scored 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting on Saturday, he will be giving up some size down low against the 7'4" Edey and can find himself in foul trouble early if Purdue plays bully ball down low.

I'm concerned about Purdue's defense long term, but I believe they have the offensive firepower to overwhelm a one tricky pony offense that Michigan trots out around Dickinson. The Wolverines don't have a prayer against Ivey going downhill and I expect he's in line for a big performance on the road.

LEAN: Purdue -4


All of Reed's college basketball plays can be tracked here, his best bets column for college basketball is 55-46-3 for +6.7 units.

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