Halftime Report
After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Purdue looks much better today on their home court. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Marshall 39-24.
If Purdue keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 5-1 in no time. On the other hand, Marshall will have to make due with a 3-2 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Marshall Thundering Herd @ Purdue Boilermakers
Current Records: Marshall 3-1, Purdue 4-1
How To Watch
What to Know
If the oddsmakers’ predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for Purdue. They will look to defend their home court on Saturday against the Marshall Thundering Herd at 12:00 p.m. ET at Mackey Arena. The timing is sure in the Boilermakers’ favor as the team sits on 20 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while the Thundering Herd have been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
Purdue is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Marquette just ended the team’s four-game winning streak on Tuesday. The matchup between them and the Golden Eagles wasn’t a total blowout, but with Purdue falling 76-58 on the road it was darn close to turning into one. The match marked the Boilermakers’ lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Trey Kaufman-Renn, who went 7 for 10 en route to 16 points plus eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Marshall’s game on Saturday was all tied up 34-34 at the half, but luckily for them it didn’t stay that way. Everything went their way against Bellarmine as Marshall made off with an 83-62 victory.
Marshall was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bellarmine only posted eight.
Having lost for the first time this season, Purdue fell to 4-1. As for Marshall, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Purdue hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 79.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Marshall struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 82.5. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Odds
Purdue is a big 19.5-point favorite against Marshall, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 19.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 149.5 points.
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