Best College Basketball Picks Today: Indiana vs. Purdue Rivalry Headlines Slate

One of the most famous rivalries in college basketball adds another chapter to its story on Friday night when the Indiana Hoosiers travel to West Lafayette for a Big Ten battle with the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers.

While the Indiana versus Purdue game is the only ranked matchup on Friday’s college basketball slate, Butler and Georgetown, two struggling Big East programs, will also face off in a conference showdown.

Continue reading below to find out our best college basketball picks today for these two games!

Find the latest live updated odds for the best bets to make on college basketball today below. Click on any of the odds or sportsbooks in the tables to head to your preferred sportsbook and place your bets on College Basketball.

Indiana @ No. 10 Purdue Odds

PICK: Purdue -11.5 (-120)

Get ready for a beatdown of epic proportions.

On Friday night, the 10th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will host the Indiana Hoosiers at Mackey Arena, one of the most hostile environments in college basketball, for an in-state rivalry game.

Purdue Prediction

Despite losing 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, a two-time Wooden Award winner, to the NBA this past offseason, the Boilers have found a way to pick up the pieces that he left behind and still put together an exceptional season.

Led by the trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn, the Boilers have a 16-5 overall record, including an 8-2 Big Ten. 

Most of Purdue’s success can be attributed to its efficiency on the offensive end of the floor, where it ranks sixth in adjusted offensive efficiency, 16th in effective field goal percentage, 17th in 3-point percentage, and 14th in assists per game.

Loyer has been the team’s sniper from 3-point land (46.7% shooting from deep), Kaufman-Renn has been the primary scorer (18.1 points per game), and Smith has been everything else. 

In fact, Smith averages an eye-popping 15.4 points, 8.9 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game on a 43/39/86 shooting split.

Purdue has won eight of its past nine games, with a loss to an Ohio State team that is on a hot streak being the sole blip in that span.

The Buckeyes also knocked down 11 3-pointers, which was the most 3s they have made in a game since November, so it was an outlier game for Purdue.

Now, the Boilers host Indiana, a team that can’t seem to string together any momentum despite their abundance of individual talent. Can the Hoosiers keep this game close?

I’ll gladly lay the 11.5 points with Purdue.

Indiana Prediction

The Hoosiers have been blown out by every great team they have faced this season. Look no further than their performances against Illinois (25-point loss), Gonzaga (16-point loss), and Louisville (28-point loss). 

Maryland is the only team that sits in the top 25 of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin that Indiana played close; however, the Hoosiers were on their home floor. And even still, the Terrapins won the game at Assembly Hall.

Every time the Hoosiers have had a chance to prove that they can compete with the best teams, they have fallen flat on their face. 

And while they do have a matchup advantage with Oumar Ballo in the paint, it would not shock me to see Purdue foul him if he gets too deep in the paint and force him to knock down free throws.

Ballo has only hit 59% of his free throws this season, which is an improvement for him, but still a rough and inefficient mark.

Plus, the Boilers have had an entire week to prepare for this game, and that should be plenty of time for head coach Matt Painter to poke all of the holes necessary in Indiana’s offense (or lack thereof) and defense.

After all, look at what Purdue did to Indiana last year; the Boilers won by 20 or more points in each of their two matchups.

Butler @ Georgetown Odds

PICK: Butler +3.5 (-104)

Butler has had quite the free fall since making back-to-back National Championships in the early 2010s. In that decade, the Bulldogs had a number of impressive seasons and great runs, but in the past handful of years, they have struggled mightily.

Butler Prediction

This season, Butler holds merely a 9-12 record overall and a 2-8 record in the Big East; the Bulldogs’ only two wins came at home against Seton Hall (182nd in adjusted efficiency margin) and DePaul (129th in adjusted efficiency margin).

Further, Butler has dropped 11 of its past 13 games. In that stretch, the Bulldogs have allowed opponents to shoot 47% from the field and 34% from behind the arc. Not great.

Georgetown Prediction

Georgetown has also had more than its fair share of struggles in recent years. In fact, the Hoyas have only had a .500 or better record in one of their past five seasons.

They are still far from being an NCAA Tournament-caliber team, especially on the offensive end of the floor, but head coach Ed Cooley has at least turned this squad into a top 30 defense.

While Butler has yet to secure a road win this season, the Bulldogs have been competitive in some of those games, particularly against Marquette, UConn, and St. John’s.

And Georgetown’s offense has had some really suspect outings recently. The Hoyas finished with just 41 points against St. John’s in their last outing, shooting a putrid 24.6% from the floor.

Even though Butler’s defense has been a disaster at times, I have little faith in the Hoyas’ offense. Therefore, I’ll take the points on Friday.