No. 3 Boilermakers Open as Surprisingly Large Favorite vs. Illinois on Tuesday Night

First place in the Big Ten is on the line on Tuesday night when No. 3 Purdue hosts No. 13 Illinois at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers might be the higher-ranked team, but it's Illinois that has a one-game lead in the conference race.

Illinois is 17-5 on the season and 10-2 in the Big Ten. The two teams met on Jan. 17 in Champaign, and Purdue won 96-88 in double overtime.

In the rematch, Purdue is favored, somewhat surprisingly, but quite a bit. According to the SISportsbook.com gambling website, the Boilermakers are a 6-point favorite in the rematch. The over/under is 148. The game starts at 9 p.m. ET, and will be televised on ESPN.

Purdue is 20-3 overall and 9-3 in the Big Ten. They were favored in 22 of their first 23 games, and won as a small underdog in the first meeting against Illinois in Champaign. games before winning as a small underdog on Monday at Illinois.

They are 13-10 against the spread, and are 7-6 in games in West Lafayette. Here's what the Boilermakers have done so far this season:

Nov. 9 — Beat Bellarmine 96-67 as a 24.5-point favorite (won)
Nov. 12 — Beat Indiana State 92-67 as a 22.5-point favorite (won)
Nov. 16 — Beat Wright State 96-52 as a 16-point favorite (won)
Nov. 20 — Beat No. 18 North Carolina 93-84 in Uncasville, Conn. as a 7.5-point favorite (won)
Nov. 21 — Beat No. 5 Villanova 80-74 in Uncasville, Conn. as a 3-point favorite (won)
Nov. 26 — Beat Omaha 97-40 as a 36.5-point favorite (won)
Nov. 30— Beat Florida State 93-65 as a 11.5-point favorite (won)
Dec. 3 — Beat Iowa 77-70 as a 15.5-point favorite (lost)
Dec. 9 — Lost at Rutgers 70-68 as a 13.5-point favorite (lost)
Dec. 12 — Beat N.C. State 82-72 in OT in Brooklyn as a 14.5-point favorite (lost)
Dec. 18 — Beat Butler 77-48 in Indianapolis as a 15.5-point favorite (won)
Dec. 20 — Beat Incarnate Word 79-59 as a 39-point favorite (lost)
Dec. 29 — Beat Nicholls 104-90 as a 28.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 3— Lost to No. 22 Wisconsin 74-69 as a 12.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 8— Won at Penn State 74-67 as a 9.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 14— Beat Nebraska 92-65 as a 20.5-point favorite (won)
Jan. 17— Won at No. 17 Illinois 96-88 in 2-OT as a 1.5-point underdog (won)
Jan. 20 — Lost at Indiana 68-65 as a 3.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 23 — Beat Northwestern 80-60 as a 12-point favorite (won)
Jan. 27 — Won at Iowa 83-73 as a 2.5-point favorite (won)
Jan. 30 — Beat No. 16 Ohio State 81-78 as a 9-point favorite (lost)
Feb. 3 — Won at Minnesota 88-73 as an 11-point favorite (won)
Feb. 5 — Beat Michigan 83-76 as a 9.5-point favorite (lost)

Illinois is 17-5 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten, with first place on the line on Tuesday night against Purdue

The Illini are 10-12 against the spread all season. In Big Ten road games, they are 5-1 straight up, but just 3-3 against the spread. They had failed to cover four games in a row before blowing out Wisconsin on Wednesday night and then doing the same on Saturday at Indiana, winning 74-57 with a late rally against the Hoosiers.

Here's what Illinois has done so far this season:

Nov. 9 — Beat Jackson State 71-47 as a 24.5-point favorite (lost)
Nov. 12 — Beat Arkansas State 92-53 as a 17-point favorite (won)
Nov. 15 — Lost at Marquette 67-66 as an 8-point favorite (lost)
Nov. 22 — Lost to Cincinnati 71-51 in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo. as a 9.5-point favorite (lost)
Nov. 23 — Beat Kansas State 72-64 in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo. as a 9.5-point favorite (lost)as an 12-point favorite (lost)
Nov. 26 — Beat UT-Rio Grande Valley 94-85 as a 26.5-point favorite (lost)
Nov. 29 — Beat Notre Dame 82-72 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge as a 4.5-point favorite (won)
Dec. 3 — Beat Rutgers 86-51 as a 9.5-point favorite (won)
Dec. 7 — Won at Iowa 87-83 as a 3.5-point underdog (won)
Dec. 11 — Lost to Arizona 83-79 as a 2.5-point underdog (lost)
Dec. 18 —Beat St. Francis (Pa.) 106-48 as a 22.5-point favorite (won)
Dec. 22 — Beat Missouri 88-63 in St. Louis, Mo., as a 14.5-point favorite (won)
Jan. 4— Won at Minnesota 76-53 as a 6.5-point favorite (won)
Jan. 6 — Beat Maryland 76-64 as a 13.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 11 — Won at Nebraska 81-71 as a 12.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 14 — Beat Michigan 68-53 as a 115.5-point favorite (won)
Jan. 17 —Lost to Purdue 96-88 in 2-OT as as 1.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan, 21— Lost at Maryland 81-65 as as 4.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 25 — Beat Michigan State 56-55 as a 3.5-point favorite (lost)
Jan. 29 — Won at Northwestern 59-56 as a 5.5-point favorite (lost)
Feb. 2— Beat Wisconsin 80-67 as a 7.5-point underdog (won)
Feb. 5 — Beat Indiana 784-57 as a 1.5-point underdog (won)

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