Purdue vs. Marquette prediction: College basketball odds, picks, best bets Tuesday

Just days after a heroic nine-point victory over the then second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, the Purdue Boilermakers will be tasked with heading north to Milwaukee for a duel with the 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles.Can Purdue find a way to add another significant, early-season win to its resume or will the Shaka Smart-led Golden Eagles stay undefeated and improve to 5-0?(9:00 p.m.ET, Fox Sports 1)Purdue, which 2-2 against the spread (ATS), is a 4.5-point road dog against Marquette (3-1 ATS) at Fiserv Forum.The Boilermakers’ last game against Alabama proved their success is not solely reliant on having a generationally dominant big man like Zach Edey, who won back-to-back Wooden Awards.Meanwhile, Marquette also had its first real test of the season, securing a narrow four-point road win against the Maryland Terrapins.Offensively, Maryland is far from a juggernaut.

However, the Terrapins have the 12th-ranked defense (adjD per KenPom) nationally. Marquette still posted 78 points on 45% shooting against Maryland, while committing just eight turnovers.The Golden Eagles’ five returners — Kam Jones, David Joplin, Stevie Mitchell, Ben Gold and Chase Ross — have been vital over the past two seasons and will continue to be so during their 2024-25 campaign.So, was Purdue’s home win firm proof that it will again be a championship contender? And can the Boilers sneak out yet another top-25 win?I don’t think the Boilermakers’ win over Alabama tells the whole story of what to expect from them this season.Purdue looked unconvincing in its first three non-conference games, narrowly squeaking by Yale and only pulling away from Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in the final six minutes.The Boilers are still without 7-foot-4 center Daniel Jacobsen, who sustained a season-ending injury against Northern Kentucky. This means they will either have to play small-ball lineups with Kaufman-Renn at center or roll out backup center Will Berg.The problem is that Berg struggles ...