Big Ten Tournament: No. 18 Purdue vs No. 3 Michigan Preview, Odds, Predictions (March 15)

• The Boilermakers seek their third Big Ten tournament title in program history.
• The Wolverines look to win both the regular season and tournament title this year.
• This marks the 51st all-time matchup between the two Big Ten squads.

The final matchup of the March 15 slate will happen in the Big Ten Tournament when the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines take on the No. 18 Purdue Boilermakers in the championship game on Sunday afternoon. The former comes out as the slight favorite, paving the way for a strong matchup to conclude the conference tournament and allow Selection Sunday to take over.

How to Watch

• When: Sunday, March 15, 3:30 pm ET
• Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
• How to Watch: CBS

NCAA Matchup Odds & Lines

Game Preview

The No. 18 Boilermakers (26-8, 13-7 Big Ten) have been resilient throughout the course of the conference tournament. They have been playing since the third round, taking down Northwestern, Nebraska and UCLA in the process to reach the title game. In the latest win over the Bruins, Oscar Cluff recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 17 points, 14 rebounds and two assists. When Cluff secures a double-double, Purdue is 10-0 this season. Trey Kaufman-Renn also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, his 11th of the season.

Dusty May and the No. 3 Wolverines (30-2, 19-1 Big Ten) remains the team to beat in the Big Ten as they remain dominant in the conference tournament. With big plays in the clutch, they got past Ohio State and Wisconsin to secure their place in the title game. Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg hit the game-winning three-pointer to get Michigan past Wisconsin. Lendeborg finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while Aday Mara led the team with 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

Wisconsin vs Michigan Head-to-Head

The two programs have had 50 meetings in their history, and the result is 25-25 for both teams. The last matchup was in February this year when Michigan won 91-80 on the road.

Wisconsin vs Michigan Predictions

This game will be an entertaining one to conclude the regular season of college basketball. Michigan has a firm case to make as a national contender, while Purdue represents itself as a team that finished as the national runners-up in 2024. Both teams will look to take this game down to the wire, but the team that has persevered in the clutch the most will look to pull away in this duel. That would be Michigan as long as Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau and Aday Mara deliver key performances for their squad. Our betting pick here is for the Wolverines to defend a 5.5-point spread.

• Free NCAAB pick: Michigan Wolverines -5.5