On Tuesday night the #3 Purdue Boilermakers will travel to Champaign to play the #12 Illinois Fighting Illini. The Boilermakers enter the matchup with a 26-3 record, while Illinois enters the matchup with a 22-7 record.

Purdue and Illinois have easily been the two best teams in the Big Ten this season. Purdue is 15-3 in Big Ten play, while Illinois is 13-5. The Boilermakers just captured their 26th Big Ten Title on Saturday night against Michigan State, but Illinois still has a chance for a shared title. If Illinois wins out and Purdue loses out, the Illini will share the title with Purdue. Illinois has reshaped their team from last season, adding transfers Marcus Domask, Quincy Guerrier, and Justin Harmon. Let’s take a deeper dive into their leading scorers.

Illinois Leading Scorer: G Terrence Shannon Jr- 22.0 PPG, 4.4 REB, 2.2 APG

Illinois “Role Players”: G Marcus Domask- 16.0 PPG, 3.4 APG, 4.9 REB / PF Coleman Hawkins- 13.3 PPG, 1.7 STL, 1.1 BLK

F Quincy Guerrier- 10.2 PPG, 6.7 REB, 0.4 BLK / G Justin Harmon- 7.0 PPG, 3.1 REB, 1.2 APG / F Ty Rodgers- 6.4 PPG, 5.1 REB

G Luke Goode- 6.2 PPG, 3.8 REB, 0.5 APG / C Dain Dainja- 5.4 PPG, 3.3 REB, 0.4 BLK

Now let’s move on to the important team, the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue is quietly having one of their best years in school history. People are just assuming they should win every game because they have a 7’4 NPOY, but that’s not how it works, except it’s kinda feeling like it has. The Boilermakers offense was decent last year, but the addition of transfer Lance Jones, and the improvement of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer has sparked the offense. Let’s look at Purdue’s top scorers

Purdue’s Leading Scorer: C Zach Edey- 24.0 PPG, 11.8 REB, 2.2 BLK

Purdue’s “Role Players”: G Braden Smith- 13.1 PPG, 7.1 APG, 1.7 STL / G Lance Jones- 12.6 PPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 STL

G Fletcher Loyer- 10.3 PPG, 1.7 APG, 0.8 STL / F Mason Gillis- 6.9 PPG, 3.8 REB, 1.6 APG / F TKR- 6.3 PPG, 4.3 REB

F Camden Heide- 3.4 PPG, 1.9 REB, 0.4 APG / F Caleb Furst- 2.5 PPG, 2.9 REB, 0.6 APG

Illinois lost the last matchup between the two by a final score of 83-78, but now the Illini hold the home-court advantage and they are hot. Illinois has scored 85 points or more in 11 of their last 13 games, and they are 7-2 during that period. On the other hand, Purdue has scored 75 or more points in 11 of their last 13 games, and they are 12-1 in that period. Illinois has the upper hand when it comes to scoring, averaging 84.8 PPG (10th) this season, and Purdue averages 84.7 PPG (11th). Purdue is much better at distributing the ball, averaging over 18 assists per game, while Illinois is only averaging 13. The Boilers also have a big advantage on defense, only giving up 70.2 PPG, while Illinois gives up 73.2 PPG. Illinois has been almost perfect at home this season, with a record of 15-2, while Purdue has had some struggles on the road with a 6-3 record (Best in the B10). This should be a phenomenal game, and Illinois fans will make this a really tough game.

Score Prediction: Purdue wins 91-85

Game Start: 7:00 PM EST @ State Farm Center

Where To Watch: Peacock (Sadly)

Radio Coverage: Varsity Network