Illinois basketball hosts #18 Purdue for a senior night affair that’s crucial for NCAA Tournament seeding. There are no Big Ten title implications for this contest, but both sides need to a win to hold the line- the March Madness seeding line. This Illinois basketball team is back on the #7 line, but could still work their way up to the #6.
Purdue is currently one of those protected top 16 seeds, squarely on the #4 line.
Illinois Basketball vs #18 Purdue Boilermakers FYIs
Kickoff: 7pm central, Friday March 7, Assembly Hall, TV: FOX
ESPN Matchup Predictor: Illini 59.6% Purdue 40.4%
Fun Fact: These two teams combine to average 161.8 ppg.
Illinois Basketball Purdue
Net 17 16
KenPom 19 13
Quad 1 ‘ 7-9 7-8
Quad 2 6-2 8-1
Records 19-11 (11-8) 21-9 (13-6)
A deep run in the Big Ten Tournament, which is just down the road from them in Indianapolis, could see the Boilermakers move up to the #3 line.
If they lose here on Friday night, then they have work to do in the BTT, in order to avoid being in a March Madness #5-#12 game.
Meanwhile this Illinois basketball team needs at least one more win, somewhere, to stay out of the #8-#9 game.
Purdue Boilermakers Preview
The Boilermakers are coming off an impressive 100-71 throttling of Rutgers, on their Senior Night, as they were able to effectively limit Scarlet Knights freshman Ace Bailey in that game.
A bona fide top three overall pick in this June’s NBA Draft, most teams have struggled in defending him.
With the Zach Edey era now having passed, Purdue is more balanced this year.
Traditionally, they have often had teams with a strong focus on one alpha dog.
Not so this year, as they are more balanced. Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Caleb Furst- this Boiler team has a lot of nice pieces.
And lately, Matt Painter’s program has carried the flag for the Big Ten; not Michigan State.
Painter has reached 15 NCAA Tournaments, seven Sweet 16s and last year’s national title game.
He also has five Big Ten regular-season championships and two Big Ten Tournament titles.
Illinois Basketball Preview
If the Illini win here, you could honestly say that they are back, having come out of their 4-6 week injury and illness fueled slump. Illinois is still far too reliant on the three ball, but sometime they can overcome that and achieved impressive results anyway.
They did that on Sunday, as they routed second place Michigan, in their building, for their 11th conference win.
That secured a winning record in Big Ten play for the sixth consecutive season.
The Illinois basketball program is the only one in the Big Ten to finish above .500 in conference play in each of the last six seasons. They are also tied for the Big Ten lead with 80 conference wins over the past six seasons.
Just something to consider, when you think about the losses this season at Nebraska, Northwestern and at home to USC.
Prediction: Illinois Basketball 81 Purdue 77
Yes, Purdue has won the last five in the series, but they haven’t looked themselves all that much, lately. They appear vulnerable right now.
Also, Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood is 17-5 in Big Ten regular season and Big Ten Tournament games in the past six years.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.