Peterson: Best bet for Purdue vs. Illinois

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The Illinois Fighting Illini are the lone team in the Big Ten that has yet to suffer a loss in conference and will put that undefeated Big Ten record on the line at home against Purdue on Monday.

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (-2, 150)
(stats as of Sunday morning)

 

The Boilermakers are fourth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage and entered the weekend No. 1 in the country in points scored on a per-possession basis, but have also slipped to 89th in points allowed on a per-possession basis.

Both teams have dominated the glass, with Purdue second in the country in rebound rate and Purdue third, but Illinois has done the better job of prolonging possessions, getting a rebound on 39.9 percent of their missed shots.

Purdue has allowed 38.9 percent of opponents points from made 3-pointers, which is 20th in terms of highest percentage of points allowed on 3s, and Illinois is 17th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage.

In their last nine games, Purdue is 2-7 against the spread and is running into an Illini team that has covered eight of their last 10 games.

Pick: Illinois -2

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Greg Peterson
Greg, originally from Wisconsin and a UW Oshkosh alumnus, is widely recognized in the sports media industry, particularly for his expertise in college basketball, which earned him the nickname "Hoops" from Brent Musburger. He has worked with Vanderbilt and Oregon's flagship stations and joined VSIN in 2017. Greg contributes to various channels, hosting "The Baseball Betting Show" and "Coast To Coast Hoops" podcasts, and writes for DK Nation, building on his experience with over 500 articles for the New York Post. Known for his analytical approach, he produces daily spreadsheets for college basketball and MLB games, focusing on educating bettors about the importance of betting on numbers rather than teams.