NCAA BASKETBALL FREE PICK – THURSDAY JANUARY 28, 2010
#16 Wisconsin Badgers (16-4) v #10 Purdue Boilermakers (16-3)
The No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers will prepare to tip off against the Boilermakers of Purdue in a Big 10 clash on Thursday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
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Wisconsin beat Purdue 73-66, handing the Boilermakers their first loss of the season the last time these two met, just less than two weeks ago on Jan 9 at the Kohl Center.
Purdue will be looking to avenge that loss and extend their current win streak to three after beating Big 10 foe Michigan 69-59 on Saturday. JaJaun Johnson scored a team-high 21 points while E’Twaun Moore had 19 points and six assists and Robbie Hummel added 13 points and seven rebounds in the win. The 6-foot-10 Johnson has averaged 21.5 points in Purdue’s four wins since Jan. 1, and is third in points for the Boilermakers at 14.2 ppg. The only area for concern for the Boilermakers is with their defense. Big Ten opponents are outrebounding them 36 to 30 through seven conference games and scoring an average of nearly 70 points per game.
The Badgers should be thanking sophomore guard Jordan Taylor who bailed them out by scoring the last eight points of regulation to tie the game, then tacked on 10 more in overtime to defeat Penn State 79-71 on Sunday. Taylor scored 18 points while teammate Trevon Hughes scored a team-high 22 points in the win that kept the Badgers at a perfect 12-0 at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin’s success has been in the their ability to shut down their opponents offense. They are the nation’s fifth-stingiest team at 56.2 points per game. However, they still need some work on their long-range shooting as the Badgers shot just 11 of 53 over their last two games. Wisconsin is 4-1 against AP Top 25 teams this season with wins over Purdue, Duke and Maryland while beating four Big Ten foes games by an average of 10.8 points per game at home.
The odds makers have the Badgers at +10-point underdogs in this one.
The Boilermakers are 9-1 at home this season while the Badgers are 2-3 away from the Kohl Center. Wisconsin will have a difficult time posting up in the paint against JaJaun Johnson while guarding E’Twaun Moore on the perimeter.
Expect this game to go down to the wire with the Boilermakers edging out a 6-point victory in the closing minutes to even the season series.
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- Wisconsin is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
- Wisconsin is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Wisconsin’s last 11 games
- Wisconsin is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Purdue is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- Purdue is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games
- Purdue is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home
- Purdue is 16-1 SU in its last 17 games at home
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