While it’s not the marquee matchup in the Big Ten this season – that happened on Tuesday when Michigan beat Purdue 75-73 in Ann Arbor – Saturday’s contest between the No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers and No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers is must-see TV. The Badgers have won three straight and at 9-4 in conference play are making a push to the top of the Big Ten, while Purdue despite its loss to the Wolverines, has been the best team in the league since the calendar flipped to 2025.
Greg Gard always finds a way to keep Wisconsin in the mix, and if he can knock off Matt Painter’s Boilermakers at Mackey Arena, then he’ll make a statement that the Badgers are going to be a real threat in March. However, this will be an important test because Wisconsin has not played a top-25 opponent since an 88-74 loss to then-No. 5 Marquette back on December 7.
If the Badgers have coasted by on an easy schedule, then star point guard Braden Smith and the Boilermakers will expose it in West Lafayette. To find out, here’s how you can watch this one on CBS.
How to watch No. 16 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 Purdue
- Date: Saturday, February 15
- Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Mackey Arena
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Wisconsin record: 19-5 (9-4)
- Purdue record: 19-6 (11-3)
Wisconsin vs. Purdue odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Wisconsin +190
- Purdue -235
Spread
- Wisconsin +5.5 (-110)
- Purdue -5.5 (-110)
Total
- 147.5 (over -110/under -110)
Wisconsin injury report
- N/A
Purdue injury report
- Daniel Jacobsen, F: Questionable (knee)
Purdue and Wisconsin series history
- Purdue all-time record vs. Wisconsin: 115-74
Wisconsin vs. Purdue prediction
It’s been a very long time since Wisconsin faced top-tier competition, and still, the Badgers have slipped up against Maryland and UCLA. Wisconsin’s nine Big Ten victories have come against Iowa (twice), Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, USC, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Rutgers, which have a combined Big Ten record of 43-56, and the Buckeyes are the only team at .500 (7-7). Every over .500 Big Ten team Wisconsin has faced has handled its business against the Badgers.
However, it’s not just that Wisconsin is beating bad teams, Greg Gard’s group is beating bad teams, badly. The Badgers are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games and for the season are 21st in average scoring margin at +11. Wisconsin is a hyper-efficient offensive team that doesn’t turn the ball over and gets good shots. I expect the Badgers to score on Purdue, despite the Boilermakers ranking 29th in Kenpom-adjusted defensive efficiency.
Still, for as well as Missouri transfer John Tonje has played in Madison this year, the sixth-year guard won’t be able to match Braden Smith. Smith is clearly third in the National Player of the Year race behind Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome, but that’s incredibly impressive company to keep. The junior point guard is averaging 16.4 points and 8.6 assists a game while shooting 45.3% from the field and nearly 40% from three. His synergy with Fletcher Loyer is tantalizing to watch and he constantly finds good looks for leading scorer Trey Kaufman-Renn.
The Badgers haven’t faced a player like Smith since Marquette’s Kam Jones scored 32 points back in December, and though a lot has changed since then, I’m expecting a big game for Smith and Wisconsin to falter as it steps up weight classes.