Auburn vs. Purdue Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Dec. 20

Iain MacMillan | 2 Hours Ago

Purdue is favored against Auburn on Saturday. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Strap in for a ranked vs. ranked matchup on Saturday when No. 21 Auburn takes on No. 6 Purdue in the Indy Classic.

Purdue has dropped just one game so far this season and is making a strong case for making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, we're still trying to figure out just how good the 8-3 Tigers are, but they have some impressive wins against St. John's and Oregon.

Let's take a look at the odds and my best bet for this game.

Auburn vs. Purdue Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

• Auburn +8.5 (-115)
• Purdue -8.5 (-105)

Moneyline

• Auburn +330
• Purdue -430

Total

• OVER 154.5 (-110)
• UNDER 154.5 (-110)

Auburn vs. Purdue How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, December 20
• Game Time: 6:30 pm ET
• Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
• How to Watch (TV): Peacock
• Auburn Record: 8-3
• Purdue Record: 10-1

Auburn vs. Purdue Betting Trends

• Auburn is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
• The OVER is 9-2 in Auburn's last 11 games
• Auburn is 9-1 in its last 10 games vs. Big Ten opponents
• Purdue is 5-1 ATS in its last six games
• The UNDER is 6-1 in Purdue's last seven games

Auburn vs. Purdue Key Player to Watch

• Braden Smith, G - Purdue Boilermakers

Braden Smith is leading the team with 9.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game, but the preseason favorite to win the Wooden Award has not shot as well as people had hoped this season, shooting just 41.7% from the field. He'll have to improve as the season goes on to truly make the Boilermakers a top contender.

Auburn vs. Purdue Prediction and Pick

Now is the time to hop on the Purdue hype train. The Boilermakers failed to cover in some games early in the season, but they've been hot of late and are in a great matchup against Auburn on Saturday. Both teams rely on the two-point shot to smother their opponents, but the Tigers rank 164th in opponent two-point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 51.2% from two-point range.

That's good news for Purdue, which ranks 19th in the country in effective field goal percentage, well above the Tigers, who come in at 76th.

I'll lay the points with the Boilermakers in this one.

Pick: Purdue -8.5 (-105) via FanDuel

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