Dean Etheridge
The Purdue Boilermakers are the number one ranked team in NCAA Basketball and they will be looking to consolidate their top ranking with another win when they face the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Mackey Arena on Thursday night. Here we look at their chances in our latest NCAAB betting picks.
- What; NCAAB
- Who; Purdue Boilermakers vs Iowa Hawkeyes
- Where; Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana
- When; Thursday, February 9th, 2023
- Start Time; 7 pm ET
The Boilermakers retained their position at the top of the rankings despite suffering a five point defeat at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers last weekend. The loss was their first defeat in ten matches, ending a run of nine successive wins.
The match against the Hawkeyes – their first since the defeat – tonight should give us a massive idea of what the Boilermakers are really made of. The best sides react to a set back, and the Boilermakers have been one of the better sides in the NCAAB recently. So this is the ideal opportunity for them to prove this to everybody out on the court.
Purdue second in the betting to win the 2023 NCAAB Championship
Off the court, Matt Painter’s team certainly has the backing of the top college basketball betting sites and the wagering punters. They aren’t the favorites to win the 2023 NCAA Basketball Championship. But they have seen their odds shorten over recent weeks, and are now second favorites, just behind the Houston Cougars.
Just a couple of short weeks ago Houston were +650, and Purdue were +1000. Now, Houston is the +775 favorites, and Purdue is +850. Two factors are having an impact here. Houston has drifted, and Purdue has shortened over recent days and weeks. Elsewhere, Tennessee is now on their own as third favorites at +1000. And they are closely followed by Alabama at +1200.
The chasing pack behind Houston is now becoming a bit more fragmented. A few days ago Kansas, Purdue, Tennessee and Alabama had all been sitting on or around the +1000 mark. A position they had all held for the previous couple of weeks. Purdue now seems to be emerging from that particular crowd as Houston’s main rival.
All the above odds are from Bovada. You can find out more about them in our Bovada sportsbook review. While full betting on the NCAAB 2023 Championship winners from the best March Madness sites can be found in our below odds table.
| NCAAB 2023 Championship Winner Betting |  |  |  |
| Houston Cougars | +775 | +775 | +775 |
| Purdue | +850 | +850 | +850 |
| Tennessee | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Kansas | +1200 | +1150 | +1200 |
| UCLA | +1200 | +1100 | +1200 |
| Alabama | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Arizona | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Baylor | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Connecticut | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Texas | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Virginia | +2800 | +3000 | +2800 |
| Xavier | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Gonzaga | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
Purdue looking to immediately bounce back with a win
As we alluded to above, the best sides always bounce back with a strong performance after suffering a setback. This is the case in almost any sport, and college basketball is no different.
Purdue were on a run of nine straight wins when they arrived in Bloomington to take on Indiana last weekend. The number one ranked side were the favorites to win on the day. But that mattered not a bit as the Boilermakers were simply blown away by a stunning first period display from the then ranked 21 Indiana, who stormed into a first period 15 points lead (50-35).
The Boilermakers did stage a second period fightback. But the damage had already been done for Matt Painter’s team, and they eventually lost 79-74 to Indiana. The Hoosiers saw their ranking rise from 21st to 18th on the back of their outstanding win.
"Ballgame, Indiana wins!" pic.twitter.com/yoR8VkV4AK
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) February 6, 2023
Prior to that loss the Boilermakers hadn’t lost since January 2nd, when they were defeated by Rutgers by one point. And even that loss required a three-point score by Cam Spencer with just under 14 seconds remaining in the match.
Iowa Hawkeyes head into the showdown on a three match winning streak
Iowa sits 7th in the Big Ten with a 6-4 conference record and is on a winning streak of three. They will go into the match with the Boilermakers with confidence after wins over Illinois (81-79), Northwestern (86-70), and Rutgers (93-82).
Their previous match before the winning run was a closely fought 63-61 loss to the Michigan State Spartans at the end of January.
Overall this season, the Hawkeyes have a 15-8 record. They’ve some decent wins to their name, such as the 75-56 victory over Iowa State in early December.
Hawkeye State. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Wqq2MZCvuy
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) December 9, 2022
But it remains to be seen if they will have enough to beat the Big Ten leaders and number one ranked side.
Purdue vs Iowa Betting and NCAAB Picks
It appears that Iowa’s recent good form has been taken into consideration as they are only getting a +7 points start on the handicap spread. Both Purdue and Iowa are -110 with the top NCCAB betting sites in this market. On the total points spread, the amount is 150.5 points. Over is -110, and under is -110.
We think that the spread amount makes Purdue great value. They have only suffered one setback in recent weeks and we expect them to bounce back against Iowa tonight.
Yes, the Hawkeyes have an upset in them, and they are in good form. But how can we not choose Purdue to win with a spread of -7 to overcome? Quite simply, we can’t and Purdue to beat the handicap spread is our NCAA basketball pick for this match.
