Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) at Northwestern Wildcats (5-1)
College Basketball: Saturday, December 26, 2020 at 2:00 pm (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
NCAA Basketball Betting News The Northwestern Wildcats (6-4) are expected to extend a three-game losing streak when they visit the No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-3) as 8-point underdogs at 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at Value City Arena. The matchup airs on BTN. The over/under is set at 143 for the matchup. #23 Ohio State is an X-point road favorite versus Northwestern on Boxing Day (Dec. 26, 2 pm EST) The Wildcats are fresh off wins over #4 Michigan State and Indiana; See below for analysis, odds and a betting prediction.
The Line: Northwestern Wildcats +3 -- Over/Under: 141.5Click to Get Latest Betting Odds
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The Ohio State Buckeyes and Northwestern Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Ohio State Buckeyes look for another win to build on their 7-1 record. The Ohio State Buckeyes are averaging 77.4 points on 44.3 percent shooting and allowing 65.8 points on 40.6 percent shooting. Duane Washington Jr. is averaging 15.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while EJ Liddell is averaging 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds. Justice Sueing is the third double-digit scorer and CJ Walker is grabbing three rebounds. The Ohio State Buckeyes are shooting 32.2 percent from beyond the arc and 76.8 percent from the free throw line. The Ohio State Buckeyes are allowing 38.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 34 rebounds per game.
The Northwestern Wildcats look for a statement win to build on their three-game winning streak. The Northwestern Wildcats are averaging 87.7 points on 48.6 percent shooting and allowing 61 points on 36.7 percent shooting. Boo Buie is averaging 14.5 points and three rebounds while Miller Kopp is averaging 13.8 points and 2.7 rebounds. Chase Audige is the third double-digit scorer and Pete Nance is grabbing 7.3 rebounds. The Northwestern Wildcats are shooting 42.7 percent from beyond the arc and 74.6 percent from the free throw line. The Northwestern Wildcats are allowing 28.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 39.5 rebounds per game.
The Buckeyes are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 road games and 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20 games overall. The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 12-5 in Buckeyes last 17 Saturday games. The over is 5-2 in Wildcats last 7 home games. The favorite is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are probably the better, deeper team up to this point, but Northwestern has more than proven itself this season, which includes recent wins over Michigan State and Indiana. Northwestern has also been elite defensively through six games and can really muck a game up. Ohio State should be favored, but Northwestern has done enough up to this point to back as a home dog.
Randy’s PickNorthwestern Wildcats +3
Northwestern Wildcats (6-1) at Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
College Football: Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 12:00 pm (Lucas Oil Stadium)
The Line: Ohio State Buckeyes -21 -- Over/Under: 59.5Click to Get Latest Betting Odds
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The Ohio State Buckeyes face off with the Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten college football championship game on Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Northwestern Wildcats punched their spot in the conference title game for the 2nd time in three years after finishing with an overall record of 9-1 on the year. Peyton Ramsey threw for 1,218 yards, 9 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on 59% passing while Drake Anderson led the Wildcats in rushing with 256 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Isaiah Bowser and Evan Hull each had 200+ rushing yards while Cam Porter had 174 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman had 30 catches for 344 yards and 4 touchdowns while Kyric McGowan’s 30 grabs went for 333 receiving yards. Riley Lees and John Raine each had 100+ receiving yards for the Wildcats as well this season. Defensively ,Paddy Fisher and Blake Gallagher led the Wildcats with 65 total tackles with Fisher logging a team-high 37 solo tackles while Brandon Joseph had a team-high 5 interceptions while Eku Leota had a team-high 4 sacks.
The Ohio State Buckeyes punched their spot to the title game in controversial fashion, getting there with a 5-0 record after multiple postponements due to COVID. Justin Fields threw for 1,407 yards, 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 78.1% passing while Master Teague III led the Buckeyes in rushing with 426 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. Trey Sermon had 344 rushing yards while the aforementioned Fields ran for 239 yards and 5 touchdowns as well this season. Garrett Wilson led Ohio State with 34 grabs for 572 yards with 5 touchdowns and Chris Olave had 36 grabs for 528 yards and 5 scores as well. On defense, Peter Warrior has logged a team-high 32 total tackles while Baron Browning has a team-high 15 solo tackles and Tommy Togiai has 3 sacks for the Buckeyes. Shaun Wade also has a pair of INTs for Ohio State this season.
Northwestern is 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a win while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 games overall. Ohio State is 12-5 ATS in their last 17 conference games and 15-7 ATS in their last 22 games overall while the over is 3-0-1 in their last 4 games following a win. Northwestern is 1-7 ATS in the last 8 meetings between these two teams.
This is a hard one to call, as Northwestern was really good all season long, especially on defense, but the problem I’m having was that the offense wasn’t overly convincing for much of the year and that’s not the issues that we have with the Ohio State Buckeyes as the offense has been electric for the Buckeyes once again. This is a lot of points, but I just don’t see Northwestern doing enough to keep it within the number. Ill lay the points with Ohio State in shwat’s a lean at best.