Two of the nation’s top players will face off in Big Ten college basketball action on Thursday night as Kris Murray and Iowa visit Wooden Award favorite Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue, with the Boilers as solid home favorites.

This is the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams. Purdue swept in the 2021-22 regular season, including 77-70 at home when it was ranked No. 2 in the nation. Trevion Williams contributed 13 points and 18 rebounds, including two huge ones late, and Jaden Ivey scored 19 points. Both are gone now. Patrick McCaffery led Iowa with 15 points. Tony Perkins scored 14 and Kris Murray 12. Iowa had 29 fouls, 11 more than Purdue. The Boilermakers made 18 of 29 free throws, while the Hawkeyes were 15 of 22.

Iowa did win the most recent meeting, though, a 75-65 upset in the Big Ten Tournament title game. Keegan Murray had 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. He’s now having a good rookie season with the Sacramento Kings.

Purdue leads the all-time series with Iowa by a 94-78 margin, including a 19-10 advantage under head coach Matt Painter. Purdue has won four straight games in Mackey Arena against the Hawkeyes by a total of 81 points. Just eight of the 29 meetings during the Painter era have been decided by five or fewer points. Purdue is 5-1 at Mackey Arena against unranked Iowa teams during the Painter era. The lone loss was a 70-63 setback on Jan. 2, 2016.

Before all else, Nitrobetting takes a peek at important game details that help you lock in on the best picks. Below, you can find event information, team and player stats, and the latest College Basketball odds. We also have timely betting trends and predictions at your disposal.

Iowa vs. Purdue Game Information

BRING THE RUCKUS!

Back in Mackey tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/mPWIdlRj9o

— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 8, 2023

• When: Thursday, February 9 at 7:00 pm ET
• Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN
• TV: ESPN2
• Radio: KROS 105.9 (Iowa) // WQZQ 830 AM (Purdue)
• Live Stream: WatchESPN
• NCAAB Betting Odds: Iowa (+7.5) // Purdue (-7.5)

READ MORE: TCU vs. Kansas State NCAAB Odds and Preview – February 7th, 2023

Why Bet on the Iowa Hawkeyes?

Iowa (15-8) comes off a third straight win Saturday, 81-79 at home vs. Illinois. The Hawkeyes shot 26-of-30 (87 percent) from the free throw line, led by junior Tony Perkins, who finished 15-of-16 (94 percent) from the charity stripe against the Illini. Perkins was the game’s leading scorer with a career-best 32 points. He finished 8-of-11 (73 percent) from the floor and added three rebounds, two assists and two steals to his stat line. Kris Murray was next for Iowa with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Murray’s 21.3 scoring average in conference play (11 games) is third in the league.

The Hawkeyes are 9-1 this season when making nine or more 3-pointers in a game. Iowa has seven Quad 1 wins on its resume, which ties Xavier, Baylor and Iowa State for fourth most in the nation. Purdue and Kansas are tied for first with nine, while Texas is third with eight. Iowa is ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56), 13th in the fewest turnovers per game (10.4), 19th in assists per game (16.3), and 28th in the fewest fouls per game (14.5).

Why Bet on the Purdue Boilermakers?

Purdue (22-2) comes off a 79-74 upset loss at Indiana on Saturday. It was the fourth time the Hoosiers have beaten the nation’s top-ranked team at Assembly Hall all-time. It marked the first time in the 216-game series, Purdue was ranked No. 1. The Boilers had held 24 consecutive opponents under 70 points.

National Player of the Year favorite Zach Edey was named the Big Ten co-Player of the Week for last week. It was his sixth Big Ten Player of the Week of the season, now tied with the late Caleb Swanigan (2016-17) for the most weekly accolades in school history. He is now just one shy of the league record set by Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2010-11).

Edey averaged 25.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 assists per game in just 30.0 minutes per game. He shot 22-of-28 (.786) from the field and 7-of-9 (.778) from the free throw line in the two games. For the season, Edey is averaging 22.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.4 assists per game, while shooting 62.7 percent from the field and 73.2 percent from the free throw line. In Big Ten play, his averages increase to 22.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.6 assists per game. He ranks fourth in the country in scoring, second in rebounds, first in double-doubles, 14th in field goal percentage and 21st in blocked shots.

Purdue ranks fourth nationally in the fewest fouls per game (13.4) and is first nationally in opponent free throw rate (17.1). Purdue has made 360 free throws this season, while opponents have shot just 239. Purdue has made 186 more free throws (360 to 174) than its foes this season, the highest discrepancy in the nation (Purdue +186, North Carolina +165, Iowa +160, Portland +140).

In Purdue’s two losses this season, the Boilermakers shot just 29-of-45 (.644) from the free throw line with 29 turnovers (14.5 per game). In its 22 wins, Purdue is shooting 76.1 percent from the free throw line and averaging just 10.6 turnovers per game. The Boilers have trailed for more than 20 minutes of game time (Marquette, Rutgers, Ohio State, Indiana) just four times this season.

Iowa vs. Purdue Betting Trends

• Iowa is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games.
• Hawkeyes are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games.
• The total went over in 8 of Iowa’s last 10 games.
• Purdue is 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games played in February.
• Boilermakers are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games.
• The total went over in 4 of Purdue’s last 5 games.

Iowa vs. Purdue Expert Prediction

Where to Bet on the 2022-23 NCAAB season with Bitcoin

Nitrobetting offers a solid channel for those who want to bet on the 2022-23 College Basketball Season with bitcoin. The power of bitcoin and its lightning-fast transactions make the entire NCAAB Season betting more enjoyable.

This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more 2022-23 NCAAB season previews and articles, and don’t forget to check out the latest college basketball odds on our online BTC sportsbook.