Free Picks: NCAA College Basketball Best Bet of the Day 1/3/22

No.24 WISCONSIN 10-2 (1-1) at No.3 PURDUE 12-1 (1-1)

This is a matchup featuring two ranked teams in the Big 10 Conference.

Purdue: The 3rd ranked Boilermakers are averaging 87 points per game and have 4 players averaging in double figures. They are hitting 10 made three-pointers per game and are shooting 41% behind the arc, and 51% overall. When you shoot that well as a team, you can win a lot of games. Purdue is really good on defense also holding opponents to 40% shooting and 66 points per game. They have very good wins over North Carolina, Villanova, Florida State, NC State, and Butler. They are 1-1 in the conference with a home victory 77-70 over Iowa and an upset loss at Rutgers. They need to hold serve playing at home.

Wisconsin: The Badgers are their typical tough, defense oriented team. They are averaging 68 points and 40% shooting overall. Shooting the 3-ball is not a huge part of their game as they average a little over 6 per game. They are led in scoring by 6’5″ Johnny Davis (20.9) and 6’4″ Brad Davison (15.2). Defensively they are holding opponents to 61 points per game and know how to win close games. They have good wins over Texas A&M, Houston, St.Mary’s, Marquette and a conference win against Indiana. Their two losses have come against Providence and a conference game on the road at Ohio State.

Purdue is a 12.5-point favorite. I think this is a fairly large spread against a good defensive team like the Badgers. The key will be if they can score enough to keep up with the high-scoring Boilermakers.

Best Bet: Wisconsin +12.5