Purdue at West Virginia


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The eighth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers visit the West Virginia Mountaineers Sunday in a Big Ten vs. Big East showdown. This contest will be nationally televised on CBS at 1:30 EST in easily the biggest game of the day on the college hardwood. The Boilermakers (15-2, 4-1) are off to a very solid start this season, while the Mountaineers (11-4, 3-2) have not played up to their level of expectations. Still, the odds show us a line of West Virginia -2 over Purdue with a total set of 137 points. This shows that the odds makers think very highly of the Mountaineers despite their slow start.

These teams met up last season in one of the most anticipated games of the year. Then-No. 4 Purdue and then-No. 6 West Virginia both came into their meeting on January 1, 2010 unbeaten. The Boilermakers would remain undefeated after thumping the Mountaineers 77-62. That beat down took place in Mackey Arena on Purdue’s home floor, and the WVU would love to return the favor at home this time around. JuJuan Johnson led the Boilermakers with 25 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

West Virginia has been dominant in non-conference play at home. Their last loss to a non-conference foe in Morgantown came back in 2005 when LSU beat them 71-68 in overtime. Purdue had their 10-game winning streak snapped last time out with a 70-67 loss at Minnesota on Thursday. The Boilermakers were atrocious down the stretch, not making a field goal over the final 9:21 of that game. Johnson had another big game, though, finishing with 29 points and 11 rebounds. He leads the team in scoring (19.9 PPG), rebounding (8.4 RPG) and blocks (2.5 BPG).

For the Boilermakers to pull off the upset on the road Sunday, they must get better production from E’Twuan Moore. He went just 2-of-14 against Minnesota with five points, and has shot 9-of-39 over his past three games while averaging 6.7 PPG. The Mountaineers earned their third straight victory with a 93-63 blowout over Providence on Thursday. They got a career-high 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks from senior forward John Flowers. Kevin Jones chipped in 19 points and 13 rebounds in the win. Casey Mitchell leads the team in scoring this season at 17.4 PPG despite only playing 27.4 minutes per contest. Purdue has never lost to West Virginia, owning a 5-0 record in the all-time series.

BetUS Projected Score: West Virginia 70 – Purdue 68

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