Purdue Boilermakers vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 12/29/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Purdue Boilermakers vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Location: Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Purdue (+4)

The Purdue Boilermakers (7-3) are headed to Rutgers Athletic Center on Tuesday where they'll take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-1). Rutgers opens this game as 4-point favorites. The over/under is set at 140.

Purdue enters this one with a win-loss mark of 7-3 so far this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.8 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 17.6 fouls per contest. As a team, Purdue is pulling down 37.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 173 dimes so far this season, which is 10th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Boilermakers are connecting on 38.7% on 3-pointers (89 of 230) and 69.8% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 72.5 points per outing (187th in the nation) while hitting 46.5% from the field. On defense, the Boilermakers are forcing 12.0 turnovers every game while drawing 17.0 personal fouls. They rank 326th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 152 relinquished for the season. The Boilermakers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.5% (228 of 550) and they surrender 28.7 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are giving up 30.8% on 3-point shots and they are 98th in college hoops in PPG allowed (66.0).

The Purdue Boilermakers took the court against the Maryland Terrapins and notched a win by a score of 73-70 in their last contest. Purdue ended the contest with a 45.6% field goal percentage (26 of 57) and made 10 of their 22 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Boilermakers knocked down 11 of 17 tries for a percentage of 64.7%. In terms of rebounding, they earned 38 with 9 of them being offensive. They also recorded 16 assists for the contest as well as having 3 steals and 3 blocked shots. In reference to defending, Purdue allowed 45.6% from the floor on 26 of 57 shooting. Maryland doled out 14 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. On top of that, the Terrapins pulled down 28 rebounds (5 offensive, 23 defensive) and got 3 blocked shots. Maryland shot 47.6% at the free throw line by making 10 of their 21 shots. They converted 10 out of their 28 shots from 3-point range.

Eric Hunter is a guy who was a contributor for this contest. He notched 16 points on 6 out of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes and collected 2 boards. Hunter went 40.0% from the field and recorded 2 dimes. An additional guy that had an impact in this matchup for the Boilermakers was Brandon Newman. He grabbed 2 boards and tallied 2 dimes. He finished shooting 63.6% from the floor for the game by shooting 7-of-11 (17 points). When all was said and done, Newman was on the hardwood for 29 min.

Rutgers has a win-loss record of 6-1 this season. Rutgers has earned 564 points for the year (80.6 per game) and they pull in 39.6 rebounds per game. The Scarlet Knights commit 16.4 personal fouls every game and they connect on 60.3% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the court, the Scarlet Knights are shooting 49.8% from the field, which is 57th in college hoops. They are assisting teammates 17.0 times per contest (49th in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.7 times per game. The Scarlet Knights on defense are ranked 176th in the nation in points given up per game with 70.1. They are able to force 13.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the field (118th in D-1). The Rutgers defense surrenders 30.5% on shots from 3-point land (47 of 154) and their opponents are knocking down 70.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 13.6 dimes and 35.1 boards on a nightly basis, which is 213th and 169th in college hoops.

When they last stepped on the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took a loss by a score of 80-68 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Scarlet Knights were able to collect 20 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards for a total of 23 in this game. They also blocked 3 tries while recording 3 steals for the matchup. The Buckeyes were called for 20 personal fouls in this contest which took the Scarlet Knights to the charity stripe for 17 tries. They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 58.8%. When talking about 3-point attempts, Rutgers converted 10 of their 25 attempts (40.0%). When all was said and done, the Scarlet Knights went 24 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.4%. The Scarlet Knights permitted the Buckeyes to make 27 out of their 58 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.6% for the game. They went 21.1% from beyond the perimeter by going 4 out of 19 and finished the contest at 22 out of 29 from the free throw line (75.9%). When discussing attacking the glass, Rutgers permitted Ohio State to pull down 42 in all (11 on the offensive side).

Ron Harper Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Scarlet Knights for the game. He converted 8 of 20 for this game for a rate of 40.0%, which earned him 20 points. Jr. grabbed 6 boards in his 36 mins and accounted for 2 assists in the game. Another guy who came through for Rutgers was Montez Mathis. He notched 16 points in his 32 minutes played via 5 out of 10 shooting for the contest. Mathis wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the floor as well as earning 2 assists and 4 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Purdue (+4)

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