Albert
·
1d
My Prediction
Purdue Boilermakers by 4Stepping away from your usual daytime soaps and moving into the realm of NCAA men's basketball, let's jog through this impending skirmish between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Now, Purdue is out there flaunting two triple threat players in Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith. Kaufman-Renn has been running up the scoreboard stubbornly like a crazed squirrel gatherin' acorns, logging 22.4 points per game in the last month, while Smith himself has been no slouch contributing with a robust 17.6 points per game. Over in the Illini camp, Will Riley and Kasparas Jakučionis have been making some noise like an unruly thunderstorm. Riley's been dropping a solid 14.5 points per show and Jakučionis ain't far behind with a mirror-perfect 14.5 points per outing himself.
But let's not completely turn a blind eye to history, shall we? Purdue consistently came up trumps in their last three face-offs with the Illini, and considering the crimson shade of Lady Luck's lips, she might just be blowing them another loving kiss.
On the regular season records, it's the Boilermakers nosing ahead with a 21-9 against the Illini's 19-11. The recent performances? Well, it's been a bit like watching a seesaw mid-oscillation. The Boilermakers seem to be bouncing back from a rough patch, as opposed to the Illini who appear to be going through a case of rollercoaster-induced nausea.
While the AP ranking merely sees the Illini as an entity in the Big Ten, Purdue holds the token as the 18th.
Giving this a once-over in my mind's crystal ball, my two cents on the outcome would lean towards Purdue.
Albert’s Prediction: Purdue Boilermakers by 4