Wisconsin, second in the Big Ten standings, is out for a sweep of Purdue when Bo Ryan and the Badgers travel to Mackey Arena to pay the Boilermakers a visit.
Annually one of the most confounding teams in the country is Wisconsin. Even though Bo Ryan can X and O with the best in college basketball, a look at the roster before the season screams of this school not being in the Top 125 talent-wise.
Yet here they are, in second place in the Big Ten Conference with a 6-2 record, which appears to be improved over recent years.
The Badgers (16-4, 10-8 ATS) will lean a little heavier on guard Trevon Hughes, with versatile forward Jon Leuer out three to four more weeks with broken wrist. Wisconsin is 7-3 ATS vs. teams like Purdue allowing 64 or less points a game this season.
Last week, the Boilermakers (16-3, 9-10 ATS) broke their three-game losing skid at Illinois 84-78, getting a lift from unlikely source which seemed to elevate the entire squad. John Hart, who had played all of 33 minutes came off the bench to score 14 points (12 in second half) to lead the Purdue charge.
Coach Matt Painter hopes this leads to others being productive off the bench which invigorates the team to play more for each other, instead of feeling pressured to produce on an individual basis. Purdue is 15-7 ATS in home games after a conference game over the last three seasons.
Wisconsin has seen guard Jordan Taylor rise to the occasion with the absence of Leuer, scoring and displaying an all-around floor game. This could be a challenging spot for the Badgers; since they are 4-9-1 ATS in road games vs. teams with a winning home record.
Purdue is still a jittery home favorite, sporting 9-1 straight up mark but just a .500 spread record. The win at Champaign was followed up by mauling Michigan in the first half 43-27, before the Boilermakers let backers down by being outscored by six points in final stanza and failing to cover the 13-point spread.
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The Boilers have normally blasted the Badgers at home and are on 8-1 SU and ATS run against them, which is why Bookmaker.com has them as eight-point favorites. Purdue is 9-2 when playing with three or more days rest, nonetheless is vile at 3-8 ATS with this much time to practice.
Wisconsin took the earlier meeting 73-66 at Kohl Center as one-point home underdogs and has covered six of last seven Thursday throw-downs.
This Big Ten battle is in the 7 p.m. Eastern Time slot on ESPN with the total set at 126. The Badgers are 1-10 'under' on the road and Purdue is 6-2 'over' on Thursday nights.
StatFox Power Line – Purdue by 4