College Basketball Betting: Musketeers vs Bulldogs
Purdue and Butler are only separated by a short two hour drive on Interstate 65 in Indiana. T
NCAA Basketball Matchup: Purdue Boilermakers vs. Butler Bulldogs
2:00 PM EST
College Basketball Gambling Odds from BetOnline
NCAA Basketball Betting Favorite: Purdue -8.5
Over/Under: 124.5
These teams last met in 2006, when Butler defeated Purdue by three. Brad Stevens has done a tremendous job with Butler, but this year’s team has a lot of room for improvement. The Boilermakers lost a lot of talent from last year, but Matt Painter has to be thrilled to have a healthy Robbie Hummel back on the floor.
Purdue has started the season 9-2 behind the strong play off Robbie Hummel. Hummel is a guy that you can’t help but root for, regardless of what you think of the Boilermakers. Hummel has missed two straight seasons with a torn ACL, and he is back this year playing at an extremely high level.[soliloquy id=”82219″]
Hummel leads the team with 18.2 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. Ryne Smith gives the team a great three-point shooter. Smith is hitting 46% from beyond the arc this year. Matt Painter’s teams always play solid man to man defense, and this year’s squad is no different. Purdue is giving up just 59 points per game.
Butler isn’t accustomed to losing after the last few seasons, but the team has already lost six games this year. I have no doubt that Brad Stevens will help this team improve drastically by the end of the year, but this year’s team simply isn’t all that talented. The team badly misses guys like Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard. Butler is shooting the ball miserably so far this season. The Bulldogs are shooting 38.5% from the floor. They are only hitting 27.8% of their three-point tries. The most troubling part for Stevens and his staff is likely the fact that the defense has been no better than average. Opponents are averaging 64 points per game against Butler this year.
Look for this one to be played in the half court as neither team will be looking to push the pace. Purdue has more talent and in the end I expect them to pull out a hard fought win.
Prediction: Purdue 63 Butler 58
