Happy Tuesday to all! We are still reeling from the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, which provided some new events and formats that received mixed reactions. Some fans were all in, while others weren’t sure what to think about the new iteration of the weekend. Regardless of your thoughts, the break is over, and we’re getting back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow night.
If you’re looking for some sports to watch tonight and are bummed about the NBA not taking place, have no fear! There are a lot of fantastic college basketball games on this evening’s slate, including a game between No. 13 Purdue and No. 14 Michigan State, which we are going to focus on here.
We’re going to dive right into our favorite player props from this game via Underdog, hoping to head into the back half of the week with some extra cash in our pockets. Let’s dive in!
Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue) OVER 19.5 Points
Achieving over 20 points can be a tall ask for some college basketball players, but not Trey Kaufman-Renn. The junior forward is having an impressive season, averaging 19.4 points per game, which puts him as a top 30 scorer in the country.
He’s performed well against ranked opponents thus far on the season, putting up 30 points against No. 16 Wisconsin on Saturday and 26 against No. 2 (at the time) Alabama earlier in the season, giving us confidence that he’s in for another big game.
Look for Kaufman-Renn to deliver a 20-burger in a great matchup with Michigan State tonight, going over his projected point total.
Braden Smith (Purdue) UNDER 7.5 Assists
Braden Smith is one of the best distributors of the basketball at the collegiate level. He currently has the second-most assists per game in the country, a sign that he not only puts up big numbers in this category but that he does it consistently.
With that being said, however, we’re fading Smith’s assist total tonight, mainly because Purdue needs him and Kaufman-Renn to lead them in scoring. Smith also averages 16 PPG on the year, and if they’re going to be competitive with the Spartans tonight, they’ll need big numbers from their two best players.
Smith could have six or seven assists tonight, but the 8-assist threshold should be difficult to reach given his need to score.
Jaxon Kohler (Michigan St) OVER 6.5 Rebounds
This line feels far too low for Jaxon Kohler, who is averaging 7.8 rebounds per game on the season. He has been a consistent threat on the boards for the Spartans this year, helping give them extra possessions and taking the ball away from opponents.
With our projection that Purdue is going to shoot a lot tonight, we expect Kohler to clean up many of their misses and easily hit the seven-rebound mark. He’s had double-digit rebounds in two of his past three games and hopes to make that happen again in this one.
