Although there are some tremendous matchups on the weekend’s college basketball slate, they all take a backseat to the Indy Classic matchup pitting undefeated top-ranked Arizona against former No. 1 Purdue.
The Boilermakers opened December atop the rankings but lost their Big Ten opener at Northwestern in overtime. The teams would be top regional seeds per the NET Rankings if the NCAA Tournament started today and marks only the seventh non-conference regular-season meeting between top-three teams.
Seven-foot-4 reigning Player of the Year Zach Edey leads Purdue into Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where it has played annually for well over a decade at either the Big Ten Tournament, Crossroads Classic or last season’s first Indy Classic.
Knowing it’s walking into an arena that will be loaded with Boilermakers fans is an unbeaten Wildcats team that has already won at Duke and beaten a pair of Purdue’s conference brethren, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Handicapping Arizona vs. Purdue odds calls for figuring out whether you believe the ‘Cats have the goods to contain the Boilers’ behemoth, who comes off a 35-point effort in a win over Alabama.
Arizona has faced a couple of excellent big men already this season in Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (10-for-20, 25 points, 8 rebounds) and Wisconsin 7-footer Steven Crowl (5-for-9, 11 points, 2 rebounds), coming out on top against both.
Their own 7-foot senior, Oumar Ballo, is averaging 12.5 points and 6.3 boards and has loads of experience defending quality big men, and freshman backup Moteijus Krivas (8.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is 7-foot-2.
Purdue’s last win over a No. 1 team came in Indianapolis in the Fieldhouse, then under different naming rights, back in November of 2000 against an Arizona team that featured Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, and Luke Walton.
These teams last met in Nov. 2017 in the Bahamas in a game the Boilermakers won 89-64 against a squad led by future NBA No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton. Arizona has lost eight of 12 matchups in this series, last winning in 2001.
Arizona vs. Purdue odds: Point spread, moneyline, total
Here are the latest college basketball betting odds for the Wildcats vs. Boilermakers:
Arizona betting news: Well-rounded Wildcats are battle tested
The Wildcats dominated Wisconsin 98-73 last Saturday, crushing a team known for its sound defense and slowing teams down with its deliberate pace. The Badgers hadn’t given up that many points in nearly three decades.
Although that game was in Tucson, Arizona has also made winning plays down the stretch to beat the Blue Devils in Durham on Nov. 10 and also won a tight one over Michigan State at a neutral site in California. The ‘Cats are battle-tested, but this will be their toughest game yet.
Arizona (8-0 SU, 8-0 ATS) has covered in all of its games, scoring at least 97 points in five of them. Five of its players are averaging double-figures in points, led by North Carolina transfer Caleb Love (14.1 ppg). They have always looked to run since Tommy Lloyd took over the program, but this season’s team also excels on the defensive end in addition to employing a fast-paced, explosive offense.
Given the presence of Edey, Ballo’s ability to excel is going to be the X-factor between winning and losing. He’s coming off a great effort against a Wisconsin frontcourt featuring excellent size, missing just one of his eight shots and finishing with 15 points and nine boards.
Krivas, from Lithuania, is agile and solidly built. A third 7-footer on the roster, Estonian sophomore Henri Veesaar, hasn’t played this season due to an elbow injury but was reportedly getting closer to debuting.
This will be a great stretch for wing Pelle Larson and new guards Love and Jaden Bradley (Alabama) to continue to gel prior to Pac-12 play because Arizona will face the Crimson Tide in Phoenix and 2023 NCAA Tourney darling Florida Atlantic in Las Vegas next week.
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Purdue betting news: Boilermakers in midst of 32-game nonconference regular-season win streak
The Boilermakers (9-1, 6-2-2) recovered from their stunning loss at Northwestern by hammering Iowa 87-68 and defeating Alabama 92-86, narrowly covering the spread in a game held in Edey’s hometown of Toronto.
Point guard Braden Smith added a career-high 27 points to help avoid an upset, and the team’s last three games actually serve as great preparation for facing an Arizona squad that will challenge Edey to get up and down the floor.
Purdue has a 32-game non-conference win streak going in regular-season games, the longest streak in the country over the last eight years. The Boilers’ last loss came against Miami (FL) in Dec. 2020, so that run will be on the line here in what’s essentially a home game since West Lafayette is roughly an hour drive from Indy.
Purdue has plenty of depth and size to pass this test, which could get them bumped back to No. 1 after rising there following its Maui Invitational conquests of Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette.
Edey’s stamina and ability to avoid foul trouble will be tested here, but he held up well in Hawaii, in extra minutes in Evanston and most recently against Nate Oats’ Bama squad. Look for Arizona to put him in pick-and-roll actions on defense and crowd him in the paint on the offensive side of the ball.
Matt Painter will have to be smart with substitutions to ensure he’s fresh down the stretch, and it’s likely that this will end up being a tight game. Purdue is 3-1 on the season in games decided by six points or less.
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Arizona vs. Purdue prediction
Given how adept Edey is able to land opponents in foul trouble, we should see this score get into the 80s for both teams for multiple reasons. Arizona is going to want to push at all costs since it isn’t as effective when it gets bogged down running halfcourt offense.
Even though Purdue works through multiple actions to try and ensure that Edey touches it on each possession since he can suck in a defense or score effectively down low if not doubled, his ability to get to the free-throw line and make his attempts at a solid clip will generate points with the clock stopped, aiding the high side’s cause.
Pick: OVER
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