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The Illinois-Purdue line had the Boilermakers as -9.5 favorites and a total of 136 at Sportsbook.com.
No. 6 Purdue looks to win its seventh straight game when it hosts Illinois in its home finale on Tuesday night.
The Boilermakers are averaging 73.2 PPG in their past five games, and have been just as effective on the defensive end, limiting their past three opponents to sub-40% shooting from the floor. Purdue is coming off a 67-47 victory at Michigan State on Sunday and were led once again by the combination of seniors JaJuan Johnson (20.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 50.2 FG%) and E'Twaun Moore (18.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 41.3% three-pointers). Johnson finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting against the Spartans, his fourth 20-point effort in the past five contests, and also added 17 rebounds. Moore chipped in with 17 points. Purdue defeated Illinois, 81-70, at Assembly Hall on Feb. 13 and will look for a sweep of the Fighting Illini for the second straight season. Johnson had 24 points and nine rebounds in that game, while Moore finished with 20 points. In five of their six games during the winning streak, which includes victories over current Top 10 teams in the AP Poll, No. 10 Wisconsin (70-62) and No. 1 Ohio State (76-63), the Boilers won by double figures
Illinois is coming off an 81-68 win over Iowa on Saturday, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Mike Tisdale (10.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG) scored 25 points, Mike Davis (12.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 53.5 FG%) had 20 points and nine rebounds and Demetri McCamey (14.7 PPG, 6.2 APG) added 18 points and seven assists. The three players combined to shoot 67.6% from the field (25-of-37), while the Illini shot 55.4% as a team (31-of-56). McCamey has tallied 16.5 PPG over the past four games. In the previous six games, including a 1-for-10 effort in the earlier loss to Purdue, he averaged 8.7 PPG while shooting 29.3%. After hitting 51.9% of its field goals in an 89-70 loss at Ohio State on Feb. 22, Illinois has shot above 50% in consecutive games for the first time since the first three games of Big Ten play. In the meeting with the Boilermakers two weeks ago, the Illini held Purdue to 27 points and 28.6% shooting in the first half. But the Boilers scored 54 points on 53.1% shooting in the second half to erase a five-point halftime deficit.
Illinois has dropped four straight games to Purdue and is 1-3 in its four previous visits to Mackey Arena. The Illini's last road victory against a Top 10 team came in West Lafayette in 2008, a 71-67 overtime win over the Boilermakers.
Purdue continues to be one of the best bets in the nation this season with a 17-7 ATS mark (71%), which includes a stellar 9-1 ATS home record and 11-4 ATS (73%) mark in Big Ten play. The Boilers are also 14-4 ATS (78%) as a favorite and 8-1 ATS as a home favorite.
