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One of the best traditions in college basketball, the Crosstown Classic, takes place Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Notre Dame takes on Indiana in the afternoon portion, tipping off at 2 p.m. ET.
We're focusing on Butler vs. Purdue, though. That game is the main event, of sorts, as both teams come in to the game ranked in the AP Top 25. Butler is at #17 while Purdue is #9.
How to watch, listen, or stream
Game time: 5 p.m. ET
TV: BTN (Cory Provus and Jon Crispin on the call)
Radio: 1070 The Fan (Butler)
Live Stream: BTN2Go (Where Available)
Gamblin' Info
Line: Purdue is favored by 5.5, per OddsShark.
Records ATS: Butler is 4-5 against the spread while Purdue is 6-1.
O/U: 154.5
Three things to watch
1. Defense wins championships?
Where else could we have possibly started? The Purdue Boilermakers, led by a great frontcourt of Caleb Swanigan and AJ Hammons, and Isaac Haas, currently have the best defense in the nation, per Ken Pomeroy.
Opposing teams shoot just 35.9% on two-pointers against Purdue. That's the best in the nation as well. National average is 48.3%
Swanigan is six-foot-nine while Hammons and Haas are both over seven feet tall, so it makes sense. The Boilermakers do not allow easy buckets inside the paint.
2. The best defense is a good offense
Purdue may have the best defense in the nation, but luckily, Butler has a successful counterattack. The Bulldogs come into this game with the nation's fourth-best offense.
Ever since their 144-71 smackdown of The Citadel, Butler's offense, for the most part, has looked like a well-oiled machine all season.
They, obviously, have yet to face a defense as stingy as Purdue's, but something's gotta give in this game.
3. History
Butler and Purdue are very familiar foes. Dating back to 1901, Purdue leads the all time series against the Bulldogs by a 38-17 margin.
However, Butler has won the past four matchups against the Boilermakers.
Butler is 3-1 all time in the Crossroads Classic while Purdue is 0-4.
None of these stats really mean anything going into Saturday's game, though. This is going to be a fight between two of the best teams in the country.