Minnesota vs. Purdue College Basketball Prediction, Odds, Best Bets for Wednesday, December 10

The Minnesota Golden Gophers face the Purdue Boilermakers tonight in Big Ten action at Mackey Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with live coverage on the Big Ten Network.

Minnesota (5-4 SU, 3-6 ATS) is coming off an upset win over Indiana as an 8-point underdog. Purdue (8-1 SU, 4-5 ATS) is coming off its first loss of the season, an 81-58 thumping by Iowa State.

The Boilermakers will try to bounce back as a 20.5-point home favorite. DraftKings has the total set at 141.5. Bettors are all over the chalk, with 98% of the spread handle and 93% of the tickets on Purdue. We laid the points with heavily favored Michigan yesterday, and the Wolverines easily covered in an 89-61 win over Villanova.

Best Bet Minnesota vs. Purdue: Against the Spread

Purdue was embarrassed at home by Iowa State, but we expect the Boilermakers to rebound in a big way. Purdue dropped to No. 6 in the AP Top-25 rankings, and that’s exactly where KenPom has it. Notably, Purdue is ranked No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Purdue guard Braden Smith has endured a slow start to the season, despite being the betting favorite to win the Wooden Award at the start of the 2025-26 campaign. He’s averaging 13.1 points per game, but leads the team with 8.8 assists per contest. The Boilermakers need his scoring to remain among the elite teams in America.

Guard Fletcher Loyer complements Smith in the backcourt. Nobody in the conference shoots the three-ball better, as Loyer makes 47% of his shots from behind the arc.

In the frontcourt, Trey Kaufman-Renn brings back memories of former Purdue center Zack Edey. He’s averaging 13.9 points and leads all Big Ten players with 10.7 rebounds per game.

Minnesota allows opponents to make more than 37% of their 3-point attempts, which will likely hurt against Purdue. Offensively, the Gophers average only 73.4 points per game. Only two other Big Ten teams score less: Oregon and Rutgers.

Cade Tyson needs to have a big night for Minnesota to hang with Purdue. The senior guard leads the Gophers with 21.8 ppg. Forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson will be key for Minnesota down low. He averages 12.2 ppg and 8.9 boards per game.

In the final analysis, bank on Purdue to ramp up its effort on defense and renew its tremendous three-point shooting after an off night against Iowa State.

Pick: Purdue -20.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Best Player Prop for Minnesota vs. Purdue

Oscar Cluff OVER 1.5 Assists

Purdue’s senior center is a solid distributor from the post. Oscar Cluff has had multiple assists in two of the last three games and six of nine on the season. Expect him to kick out at least a couple of passes for 3-point attempts tonight.