#16 Purdue vs #2 Auburn: NCAA Basketball Predictions, Odds & Best Bets (12/21)

The SEC and Big 10 battle it out in a big football game tonight in Columbus, however there is also a huge basketball game involving those conferences as well. The Purdue Boilermakers face the Auburn Tigers as both teams find themselves ranked in the middle of December.

The Boilermakers have lost both of their true road games this year, and have a neutral site loss to Texas A&M, which was their last game a week ago. It’s not necessarily their shooting that disappears when they go on the road, but it might be the lack of a home whistle. They certainly struggle to take care of the ball at times, especially when facing frisky defenses.

Auburn has been dominant all year long. They are 2nd in the country in the AP Poll, but 1st on most advanced analytical sites, with one loss to Duke so far. Since that loss, they have beaten their last three opponents by an average of 41 points, which includes a 38 point victory over Ohio State. Will they handle business in this contest?

#16 Purdue Boilermakers vs #2 Auburn Tigers: Top 25 Saturday Matchup

Matchup Information – Purdue vs Auburn

• Venue & Location: Legacy Arena (Birmingham, AL)
• Date: Saturday, December 21st, 2024
• Tip Off: 4:30pm Eastern
• Broadcast: ESPN

Betting Odds

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Spread

• Purdue +9 (-110)
• Auburn -9 (-110)

Money Line

• Not Listed at time of writing

Total

• Over 150 (-110)
• Under 150 (-110)

Can Purdue Win Away from Home?

The Boilermakers have certainly had their struggles away from home, and I see the same trend happening in this game. This is *basically* a home game for Auburn, and I guarantee it will feel like it in the arena. I really think Johni Broome is going to expose Trey Kauffman-Renn and the rest of Purdue’s front court.

Sure, the Boilermaker’s guards are much more experienced, but that hasn’t proven to be an issues for the Tigers yet. Both their guards and forwards are producing on both ends of the floor, and I think their ceiling is much higher than their opponent’s. In this game specifically, I think we could see another dominating Auburn win.

BUT… I am not rushing to back the Tigers at the current number. For starters, it’s slowly climbing and I missed the -7.5, which was still iffy in my eyes. Auburn is amazing on both sides of the ball, and while they do rank 178th in pace, the only thing they don’t do well offensively is get to the free throw line. Defensively, they defend the perimeter as good as anyone in the country, and force tough, contested shots.

Purdue’s offense is very efficient, but things change away from home. While they have seen some great defenses this season, the Tigers are going to be the 2nd hard nosed, defensive SEC team they’ll face in a row.

#16 Purdue Boilermakers vs #2 Auburn Tigers Best Bets

Purdue vs Auburn Prediction: Auburn Wins & Covers, Under 150

Best Bets: Purdue TT Under 70.5 (-115) BetOnline

This Tigers’ defense is the truth, and as good as these Boilermaker shooters may be, there will always be some rust away from home. Purdue’s team shooting percentage drops over 5% from being at home to being away from it, and I trust Auburn to keep that number low, as they are 15th in eFG Defense.

While Auburn speeding this game up does worry me, I know the tempo Purdue prefers to play at, and they’ll play that way until they have no other option. By then, it’ll be too late. Auburn ranks 16th in 3P Rate Defense and is Top 100 in 3P% Defense as well. Against a Purdue team that takes over 40% of their shots from deep and knocks down the same percentage, the Tigers defense will have their work cut out for them, but I believe they are up for the challenge.

In recent games, Purdue has struggled to take care of the ball and get to the free throw line, and against this defense, things will most likely stay the same.

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