It’s been a really disappointing season for Tom Crean and his Indiana Hoosiers. Fans and alumni have gotten increasingly frustrated with him this year as what started off so promising has totally run off the rails. Now, Indiana is on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament and needs as many wins as possible in order to make the Big Dance. The Hoosiers got a big win against Northwestern on Saturday to keep their hopes alive, but a win over their in-state rival, the Purdue Boilermakers, is really what they need.
At 7 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at Mackey Arena. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Tuesday schedule.
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Indiana has not been good away from home this season, posting a mark of 2-5-1 ATS on the road. The Hoosiers haven’t had a good ATS record in recent weeks either, covering just once in their past five outings.
Purdue suffered a defeat at the hands of Michigan over the weekend, but is still in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers have been a very different team at home than they have been away from home, especially against the number. Purdue is 10-3 ATS in Mackey Arena, but just 2-6-1 ATS on the road.
Last Meeting
When these teams met in Bloomington earlier in the month, the Hoosiers had the Boilermakers where they wanted them in the first half. They went to halftime with a four-point lead and Thomas Bryant had a great game, hitting 8 of his 12 shots from the floor, and finished the night with 23 points.
However, despite playing at home, Indiana was in foul trouble throughout the night. Both Johnson and Juwan Morgan ended up fouling out and the Hoosiers sent the Boilermakers to the free-throw line 24 times. Purdue ended up making five more foul shots than Indiana did and coincidentally that ended up being the difference in the game.
The good news for Indiana is that the Hoosiers didn’t let the Boilermakers beat them up on the boards. Purdue has three big guys that can rebound, but Indiana ended up grabbing one more rebound on the night.
Matchup to Watch
Caleb Swanigan and Vince Edwards had good games the last time these teams met, but while Swanigan notched another double-double, it was Edwards that stole the show. Edwards led all scorers with 26 points and also brought down 8 rebounds. He went 8 for 11 from the floor and sunk three three-pointers as well.
The Hoosiers were able to collapse on Swanigan and force him to make mistakes last time. Swanigan turned the ball over 5 times and was not extremely efficient either. After being a double-double machine over the early part of the season, he has been underwhelming in a close win against Penn State and a loss at Michigan over the past two weeks.
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Indiana had an awful shooting performance the last time these teams met and only stayed in the game because of Thomas Bryant. If you take out Bryant’s numbers, the Hoosiers hit just 14 of their 45 shots from the field. You need to play defense like Saint Mary’s or Virginia to win with those numbers and Indiana’s defense isn’t that stout.
The Hoosiers haven’t won a road game since beating Penn State back on January 18, but they have come close. They lost to Minnesota by just a point and almost defeated Iowa their last time away from home. However, this Purdue team is better than both and has a legitimate home court advantage. The Boilers will use that push from the crowd to get the win and cover here.
College Basketball Odds: Purdue 75, Indiana 67
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