Jacksonville vs Purdue Odds
| Jacksonville Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+33.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | OFF |
| Purdue Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-33.5 -110 | 147.5 -110o / -110u | OFF |
Purdue returns home to Mackey Arena to take on Jacksonville, which is the weakest opponent on its schedule thus far this season. That's not necessarily an indictment on Jacksonville as a team, it's more so that Purdue has played one of the toughest schedules in recent memory, and won its biggest games.
Purdue looks like a juggernaut for the second straight season, with National Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey down low, emerging star point guard Braden Smith running the show and a shotmaker extraordinaire like Fletcher Loyer flanking them on the wing.
Purdue has upgraded from 276th in the country in 3-point shooting last year all the way to seventh in the sport this season.
On paper, Jacksonville is not the most intimidating matchup. But historically, those have been the types of teams and games that have given Matt Painter and company problems. The Boilers' losses in the NCAA tournament in recent years include games against North Texas, Saint Peter's and Fairleigh Dickinson.
In their final game before the holidays, let's find out what we should expect from Purdue in this game.
Jacksonville Dolphins
Not much stands out from Jacksonville's profile that could give Purdue many problems in this game. The Dolphins are a mediocre team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, ranking 231st in Offensive Efficiency and 296th on defense.
They don't attempt many 3s, as just 33% of their shots come from beyond the arc.
On defense, they let opponents shoot 40% of their attempts from deep, which opens them up to losing the 3-point battle on most nights.
Jacksonville has only beaten one team ranked inside the top 300 on KenPom this season, a nine-point victory over Robert Morris in November. The Dolphins have suffered blowout losses to Xavier, Pittsburgh and UCF, which doesn't exactly bode will for their chances in this game.
Purdue Boilermakers
On the other end, Purdue should be coming in with extremely high confidence. After Loyer, Smith and Edey all notched 20 points or more in their huge win over Arizona, this offense feels unstoppable.
Purdue has faced a series of elite teams already this year, earning wins over Gonzaga, Marquette, Alabama and Arizona all before Christmas break. The Boilers have also been good against the few cupcakes they've played though, beating Samford, Morehead State and Texas Southern all by 30 or more points.
Jacksonville is the lowest-rated opponent they've played this season.
The one thing to be concerned about is that Purdue hasn't always played its best under Matt Painter in the final game before Christmas.
Last season, the Boilermakers beat New Orleans (332nd on KenPom) by just 21 points in their last game before the break. The year before, they earned just a 20-point win over Incarnate Word (353rd).
Jacksonville is rated higher (273rd) than those two teams were, so there's a small reason for optimism for any Dolphins backers.
Jacksonville vs. Purdue
Betting Pick & Prediction
Outside of the holiday break concerns, there's nothing on paper that signals that Purdue should be concerned here.
This team is simply too good, too big and too talented from top to bottom to struggle against poor opponents.
Back Purdue to keep the momentum rolling.
Pick: Purdue -30
ESPN Bet Sportsbook is now another option to maximize your Jacksonville vs. Purdue action. You can now use our ESPN BET promo code TANBONUS for a new user welcome.
