USATSI

No. 18 Purdue just needs to win its final game to secure a double bye in next week's Big Ten conference tournament. Purdue is currently tied for third in the conference standings at 13-6 with No. 13 Maryland and No. 12 Wisconsin, who each play on Saturday. The Boilermakers, however, are on the road against an Illinois team that just vanquished Iowa and No. 17 Michigan by 20 points each in its past two games. The two Big Ten foes finish their regular seasons tonight in Champaign at 8 p.m. ET.

Purdue at Illinois odds

  • Spread: Illinois -4.5
  • Total: 159.5
  • Money line: Illinois -190, Purdue +158

Illinois opened at -3.5 in the only meeting between these teams this regular season and has been bumped up to -4.5 over Purdue. The total has also swung by a point, increasing from 158.5 to 159.5. The Fighting Illini are -190 on the money line (wager $190 to win $100) per SportsLine consensus, while the Boilermakers are +158 (wager $100 to win $158). 

The SportsLine Projection Model model leans to the Under in this matchup and projects one side of the spread to hit well over 50% of the time. You can see the model's latest projections, along with expert picks for Purdue-Illinois, on SportsLine. SportsLine expert Chip Patterson has already locked in a play on the total for this clash.

After a four-game skid in February, Purdue seems to have turned things around with consecutive double-digit home victories over UCLA and Rutgers. The Boilermakers will go as far as Braden Smith takes them, as the junior guard is very likely to make an AP All-American team for his efforts this season. Smith is second in the country in assists (8.7 per game), tied for ninth in steals (2.4 per game) and is shooting 40.6% from three on six attempts from beyond the arc per game. He does it all for Purdue, as his 16.3 points per game is also second on the team, only behind forward Trey Kaufman-Renn's 19.4. Fletcher Loyer is the final cog of this Big 3, as the sharpshooter is putting up 14.1 points per game and shooting a remarkable 48.2% from three-point range. 

After reaching as high as No. 13 in the AP top-25 rankings, Illinois has been inconsistent as it's dealt with injuries and illness. The Illini have not won more than two games in a row since early January, though they have a chance to amend that with a third straight win tonight. Illinois has five double-digit scorers, with freshman and likely NBA first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis leading the way with 15.4 points per game. The Illini's major problem this season is that they've really struggled with their outside shooting, as they've only hit 30.8% of their threes (325th). But they are elite in other areas, including rebounding (42.9, second in CBB) and two-point shooting (57.4%, 14th in CBB).