Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert

6 minute read

Dec. 18, 2021

Dan Dobish
VI Betting Expert
VegasInsider.com

The Butler Bulldogs (7-3) of the Big East take on the Purdue Boilermakers (9-1) from the Big Ten in a neutral-site battle at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on FOX.

Score Prediction

Purdue 80, Butler 65

Best Bets

Over 132.5 (-110) at DraftKings

Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers Predictions

Butler endured a three-game slide against Michigan State, Houston and Texas A&M, with the latter two games played on a neutral floor. The Bulldogs bounced back against Chaminade on Nov. 24 with a resounding 33-point win, and they have rattled off four straight victories since that losing streak. That includes a solid 66-62 overtime victory at Oklahoma, too.

Purdue had that hiccup in Piscataway against Rutgers, losing 70-68 on a buzzer beater in one of the most thrilling games of the early season. It had a March Madness feel in December. The Boilermakers then turned around and headed for Brooklyn to face NC State on a neutral court, and were taken to overtime by the Wolfpack. The Boilermakers turned on the jets in the extra session and posted an 82-72 win, but they failed to cover for the third consecutive outing, and nearly were sunk in a second straight game.

Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Odds

• Butler +15.5 (-110)
• Purdue -15.5 (-110)
• Over 132.5 (-110)
• Under 132.5 (-110)

More Odds | Futures Odds

Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Resources

• Matchup: Big East vs. Big 10
• Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021
• Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
• Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
• TV-Time: FOX - 12:00 p.m. ET

• Injury Report
• Wooden Award Odds
• Conference Futures Market
• Power Rankings

Butler Bulldogs Betting Analysis

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 7-3
• ATS: 2-6
• O/U: 1-7

Butler will be a little closer to home this time, but technically this is a neutral-site game even though it's in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs are 1-2 SU/ATS on a neutral floor, including 0-2 SU/ATS with the UNDER cashing in each against Division I teams. The win, cover and OVER result came against Chaminade, a Division II team based in the Hawaiian islands.

The Bulldogs enter on a four-game win streak, but they're still just 2-1 ATS in the three games with a line, as one of the wins was against Saginaw Valley, another Division II school. So if you take out Butler's two wins over D-2 schools, they're a very ordinary 5-3 SU/2-6 ATS through eight games against D-1 teams. The win at Oklahoma was impressive, however, but it was a low-scoring game. This team just doesn't go up tempo, and they play a lot of defense. Purdue will be looking to get Butler out of its comfort zone early and often.

Butler picked up a 70-61 win as two-point favorites in the most recent meeting on Dec. 21, 2019 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in another neutral-site battle. Prior to that, Purdue outlasted Butler 112-110 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue Boilermakers Betting Analysis

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 9-1
• ATS: 6-4
• O/U: 6-4

Purdue bounced back from its loss at Rutgers with a close shave overtime win against NC State. The Boilermakers turned it on in the extra session and showed its championship potential against a good ACC team on a neutral floor. The Boilermakers are on an 0-3 ATS skid following a five-game cover streak against Florida State, Villanova, North Carolina, etc. Yeah, the Boilermakers have had a rather competitive schedule early on.

The Boilermakers are going to look to run early on. They are an up-tempo team with a tremendous perimeter game. Purdue has hit 40.3% from behind the arc, ranking ninth in the nation. Sasha Stefanovic has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game this season, with two or more triples in three of the past four outings. He is also the player at the end of the game that Purdue wants the ball in his hands, as he has hit 24-of-27 (88.9%) through 10 games.

Purdue is 3-0 SU/2-1 ATS with the OVER hitting in all three neutral-site games so far this season, and now they get a fourth against Butler.

The Boilermakers are 0-3 ATS in the past three after a 5-0 ATS run from Nov. 16-30. (AP)

Inside the Stats - Butler Bulldogs

• Record: 7-3
• VI Ranking: 49
• PS/G: 64.9 (307th)
• PA/G: 58.3 (18th)
• ORtg: 100.2 (226th)
• DRtg: 90.0 (70th)

Inside the Stats - Purdue Boilermakers

• Record: 9-1
• VI Ranking: 10
• PS/G: 87.4 (3rd)
• PA/G: 66.1 (132nd)
• ORtg: 124.3 (1st)
• DRtg: 94.0 (123rd)

Key Players to Watch

• BUT: Jair Bolden - G (11.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 41.9 3P%)
• BUT: Chuck Harris - G (11.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 34.0 3P%)
• PUR: Zach Edey - C (14.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 70.0 FG%)
• PUR: Jaden Ivey - G (16.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG)

Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Conclusion

Butler is one of those teams who did something in the past, and their reputation precedes them. The books tend to give them a little extra credit for being better than they are, and so do fans. The truth of the matter is that this is a very ordinary team with a decent backcourt, but not much scoring or talent in the frontcourt. Teams like that tend to work hard and show a lot of heart, which is an admirable quality, while slowing things down to a snail's pace on offense while playing suffocating defense at the other end. Butler will not match up well with Purdue.

The Boilermakers want to run. The Boilermakers want to shoot plenty of threes, too. And the Boilermakers are going to do just that all day long in Indianapolis against the smallish Bulldogs. Purdue has four players averaging 11.9 PPG or more, and at least a couple of NBA prospects. The Bulldogs have no NBA prospects, and just a lot of hard workers. It will keep them in the game for perhaps the first half, but the Boilermakers will blow their doors off in the second half for an emphatic revenge win.

Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting Trends

• Butler is 2-5 ATS in the past seven games overall.
• Butler is 2-4 ATS in the past six neutral-site games.
• Purdue is 0-3 ATS in the past three games overall.
• The UNDER is 7-2 in the past nine games overall for Butler.
• The OVER is 9-0 in the past nine neutral-site games for Purdue.

Daniel Dobish

Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish