Get ready for fireworks!
Saturday’s college basketball slate features many of the nation’s best teams, with some playing in conference games while others are still in non-conference mode.
The marquee matchup on Saturday will be between the No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers and the No. 2 Auburn Tigers, two titans of college basketball over the past few seasons.
Additionally, we will break down the unranked, struggling Indiana Hoosiers and their home matchup against Chattanooga.
Find our complete analysis and best college basketball picks for these two games on Saturday, December 21st!
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Date: Saturday, December 21
Time: 4:30 pm EST
Moneyline: Purdue +365 | Auburn -490
Spread: Purdue +9.5 (-106) | Auburn -9.5 (-114)
Total: Over 149.5 (-110) | Under 149.5 (-110)
All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.
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I’m running out of adjectives to describe the Auburn Tigers.
After losing a hard-fought, close game to Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Tigers have since rattled off three consecutive wins by an average margin of 41 points.
In that stretch, Auburn has shot 50% from the floor and 41% from 3-point land while pulling down an outrageous 40% of its misses on that end of the floor.
The Tigers have also turned the ball over fewer than eight times per game in that span, which has become typical for this team.
On the defensive end of the floor, Auburn has been even more ridiculous, holding opponents to a shooting split of 32/24/69 in its past three outings.
With wins already over UNC, Memphis, Iowa State, Ohio State, and Houston, the Tigers have the resume of a No. 1 seed.
Now, Auburn takes on a Purdue team that has had solid moments this season but is only a fraction of what they were last season.
Without Zach Edey, the Purdue guards can’t be as aggressive on the perimeter, allowing opponents to get many more clean looks from 3-point land.
Purdue ranks just 64th in adjusted defensive efficiency and has allowed its past three opponents to shoot 46% from the field and 41% from behind the arc, an astonishingly poor number for a team that has typically valued their play on that end of the floor.
Then, there’s the glaring matchup disadvantages.
Purdue relies heavily on forward Trey Kaufman-Renn for its interior offense. The Boilers can kiss that offense goodbye with Broome defending him.
Broome might be the best interior defender and rim protector in college basketball, and Kaufman-Renn doesn’t have the skillset or shooting on the perimeter to pull him away from the paint.
But, of course, that all depends on Broome’s availability, as he only played three minutes in the Tigers’ last game against Georgia State due to a shoulder injury.
Broome is considered day-to-day, so keep an eye on the injury report leading up to gametime and don’t throw down any money until we know he can give it a go.
Date: Saturday, December 21
Time: 12:00 pm EST
Moneyline: Chattanooga +800 | Indiana -1400
Spread: Chattanooga +14.5 (-110) | Indiana -14.5 (-110)
Total: Over 154.5 (-110) | Under 154.5 (-110)
All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.
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There are no two ways about it: Indiana has played poorly to start the 2024-25 regular season.
Despite bringing in a 5-star freshman (Bryson Tucker) and a handful of highly touted recruits to add to the returning trio of Galloway, Mgbako, and Reneau, the Hoosiers have been extremely underwhelming, boasting merely an 8-3 record to begin the season.
And, most recently, the Hoosiers dropped a road game to an underwhelming Nebraska team by 17 points.
However, the box score doesn’t quite tell the full story.
Indiana was trailing by one point (68-67) to the Cornhuskers with just under seven minutes to go. Then, Nebraska went on a 17-1 scoring run to end the game.
Simply put, IU just could not convert offensively.
The Hoosiers had plenty of opportunities to keep the game close but had one of their scoring droughts that have sadly become common in the past few seasons.
Two things happened in the Nebraska game: Indiana could not throw a rock in the ocean (35% shooting from the field and 23% from deep) and the Cornhuskers were hitting everything (61% from the field and 57% from deep).
Brice Williams, in particular, played out of his mind, logging a career-high 30 points.
Nonetheless, this is a good wake-up call for the Hoosiers, a team that likely believed they could coast through games against teams with lesser offensive talent.
Now, Indiana hosts Chattanooga, a team that has a strong offensive attack but can’t defend whatsoever.
In fact, Chattanooga has allowed its past three opponents to shoot roughly 49% from the field and 44% from behind the arc.
Even an Indiana team that has occasionally had rough shooting stretches from 3-point land can take advantage of that.
The Mocs allowed Saint Mary’s, one of the slowest teams in the country, to score 86 points.
What do you think the up-tempo Hoosiers could do to them at Assembly Hall in a perfect bounce-back game spot?
I like Indiana here, believe it or not.
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