Point Spread: Purdue Hits Road For Big Ten Opener, Slight Underdog at Penn State

The Big Ten regular season gets started for No. 8 Purdue on Thursday night, with a tough road game at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are 7-1, and give the Boilers fits at home. Here is the latest on the point spread, with a great history of both teams against the number this season.

Tom Brew | Dec 5, 2024

Penn State guard Myles Dread (2) defends against Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) in the Big Ten Tournament. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Getting a jump-start on the Big Ten season in December is a wonderful thing, because it gives us a nice taste for what's to come in January and February. It gives us an early feel on who's really good and who is still finding their way.

For No. 8 Purdue, its first conference challenge comes on the road at Penn State. The Boilermakers have played the league's toughest schedule to date, and they get a big challenge in State College against a Nittany Lions team that's 7-1 and playing high-end offense.

How good are they? Good enough to be favored over Purdue, the defending Big Ten champions, in the opener. According to the oddsmakers at the FanDuel.com gambling website, they have the Boilermakers as a 1.5-point underdog, and the over/under is 149.5. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. ET. (How to watch info below.)

Trey Kaufman-Renn has led Purdue in scoring for five straight games, and he could have a big game Thursday as well. In the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. Kaufman-Renn averaged 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 16-of-26 (.615) from the field in the two games. He recorded his first career double-double in the win over Ole Miss with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Purdue is 14-8 all-time at the Bryce Jordan Center, but it hasn't been easy. Four of the last five wins in the building have come by single digits with three of them coming in overtime.

Penn State is No. 3 in the country in scoring, averaging 91.9 points per game. That's why it seems surprising that the over/under number is so low.

Here's everything you need to know on the numbers for this game.

Purdue by the numbers

Purdue overall record: 7-1
Purdue overall vs. spread: 4-4

Purdue home record: 5-0
Purdue home vs. spread: 3-2

Purdue road record: 0-1
Purdue road vs spread: 0-1

Purdue neutral court record: 2-0
Purdue neutral court vs spread: 1-1

Purdue record as favorite: 6-0
Purdue vs. spread as favorite: 3-3

Purdue record as underdog: 1-1
Purdue vs. spread as underdog: 1-1

Purdue over total: 3
Purdue under total: 5

Purdue results vs. spread this season

Here's what the Purdue Boilermakers have done so far this season:

Nov. 4 (Monday): No. 14 Purdue defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 90-73 at home as a 25.5-point favorite (did not cover). The point total (163) went over the 146.5-point over/under number. Record: 1-0.

Nov. 8 (Friday): No. 14 Purdue defeated Northern Kentucky 72-50 at home as a 20.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (122) went under the 147.5-point over/under total. Record: 2-0.

Nov. 11 (Monday): No. 13 Purdue defeated Yale 92-84 at home as a 14.5-point favorite (did not cover). The point total (178) went under the 146.5-point over/under total. Record: 3-0.

Nov. 15 (Friday): No. 13 Purdue defeated No. 2 Alabama 87-78 at home as a 3.5-point underdog (covered). The point total (165) went under the 166.5-point over/under total. Record: 4-0.

Nov. 19 (Tuesday): No. 6 Purdue lost to No. 15 Marquette 76-58 on the road as a 5.5-point underdog (did not cover). The point total (134) went under the 152.5-point over/under total. Record: 4-1.

Nov. 23 (Saturday): No. 6 Purdue defeated Marshall 80-45 at home as a 20.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (125) went under the 148.5-point over/under total. Record: 5-1.

Nov. 28 (Thursday): No. 13 Purdue defeated N.C. State 71-61 in San Diego as a 6.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (132) went under the 146.5-point over/under total. Record: 6-1.

Nov. 29 (Friday): No. 13 Purdue defeated No. 23 Ole Miss 80-78 in San Diego as a 2.5-point favorite (did not cover). The point total (158) went over the 145.5-point over/under total. Record: 7-1.

Penn State results vs. spread this season

Here's what the Penn State Nittany Lions have done so far this season. They are 7-1 overall and is 4-4 against the point spread. They have gone 4-4 on the over/under line, which certainly makes them a difficult team to find any trends on.

Nov. 4: Penn State defeated Binghamton 108-66 at home as a 21.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (174) went over the 146.5 total. Record: 1-0.

Nov. 8: Penn State defeated Maryland-Baltimore County 103-54 at home as a 22.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (157) went under the 165.5 total. Record: 2-0.

Nov. 12: Penn State defeated St. Francis (Pa.) 92-62 at home as a 31.5-point favorite (did not cover). The point total (154) went over the 151.5 total. Record: 3-0.

Nov. 15: Penn State defeated Virginia Tech 92-62 in Baltimore, Md., as a 7.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (154) went over the 150.5 total. Record: 4-0.

Nov. 20: Penn State defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 102-89 at home as a 17.5-point favorite (did not cover). The point total (191) went over the 159.5 total. Record: 5-0.

Nov. 25: Penn State defeated Fordham 85-66 in Daytona Beach, Fla., as a 15.5-point favorite (covered). The point total (151) went under the 152.5 total. Record: 6-0.

Nov. 26: Penn State lost to Clemson 75-67 in Daytona Beach, Fla., as a 1.5-point underdog (did not cover). The point total (142) went under the 149.5 total. Record: 6-1.

Dec. 1: Penn State defeated Buffalo 87-64 at home as a 28.5-point favorite (did not cover). The point total (151) went under the 159.5 total. Record: 7-1.

Purdue by the numbers

Purdue results vs. spread this season

Penn State results vs. spread this season

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