Preview: Purdue vs. Montevallo - October 30th - 7:00 pm - BTDN

Basketball season is upon us and it's about time!  With many fans having given up on football season, it's time to turn our attention to Mackey Arena for tonight's first Men's Basketball game of the year.

We're still unsure of our basketball preview and recap structure on GoBoilers.net, but here's a brief preview of tonight's game.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's a magic lamp.

Why Purdue Will Win -  It's an exhibition game, so clearly Purdue's expected to win big.  They haven't lost one of these since 2002, and that was against the Harlem Globetrotters.  I actually remember that game, and while the team wore the signature Globetrotter uniforms, they never once threw any buckets of confetti at Jon Barry, so clearly the nobody was taking the game seriously.  Anyway, we get to see our first live action of Raphael Davis, A.J. Hammons, Ronnie Johnson, and Jay Simpson tonight, which should be worth the price of admission.  Plus, Donnie Hale is finally going to play a full season this year (knock on wood), so it'll be exciting to watch how this old freshman has progressed as well.

Why Montevallo Will Win -  Montevallo is actually pretty good.  They finished SECOND in the Division II championship last year and are ranked 16th in the country this year.  The return 3 starters, so they should have some big game experience.  Remember, Syracuse lost to Division II Le Moyne in 2009, but still ended up as a Number 1 seed at the end of the year.  I don't expect Purdue to lose OR end up as a number 1 seed, but these things do happen.

One thing you absolutely need to know before the game -  The game is on Big Ten Digital Network, which means you have to pay to watch it.  Normally, I would advise against that sort of thing and suggest reading a recap afterwards.  However, along with this Saturday's exhibition game, Purdue's first two REGULAR SEASON games will also be on the Big Ten Digital Network.  The cost for a monthly subscription to watch only Purdue games is $9.99, and all 4 games are within a month.  Purdue doesn't have any more games on the network through the season, so you can pay your $9.99 and then cancel after Purdue's game against Hofstra.  Note that you WILL want to watch Purdue's home opener against Bucknell, as that is already being touted as a matchup between two NCAA bubble teams.  So, why not sign up now and get the exhibition games at no extra cost!

Alright, I sound like a salesman for BTDN and I apologize.  Paying for these games totally blows.  But it is what it is.  And if you're going to watch the Bucknell game (which is currently ONLY being shown on this Big Ten Digital Network), you might as well just buy it now  - the production will be horrible and you may not ever see the score or the clock, but your $9.99 will surely go towards some college kid announcer's Mad Mushroom cheese sticks budget. 

To sign up, go here (the Purdue-only page) and click "subscribe now" towards the bottom right hand side of the page.  Make sure to sign up for the "Boilermaker All-Access Monthly Subscription" for $9.99 and you'll have access to all 4 men's basketball games along with some women's basketball and volleyball games.  You'll also get some wrestling and Danny Hope press conferences - you can't beat it!  Then MAKE SURE to cancel it before November 30th unless you want to watch some minor women's basketball games and wrestling matches.  We'll post a reminder to cancel here after the Hofstra game.

Our Picks - We like to think we're better than Vegas.  So throughout the season, we'll be "betting" a whole dollar amount versus the spread between $1 and $32, but we can't repeat the same value twice.  At the end of the year, we'll see if we would have made enough money to make a move to Vegas worth it.  The spread for this game is Purdue -25 (I just made that up since it's an exhibition game, but it seemed reasonable).

Erik's Bet: $12
Erik's Pick: Purdue 68 - Montevallo 54

Kirk's Bet: $31
Kirk's Pick: Purdue 85 - Montevallo 45

Boiler Up!

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