Big Ten Tournament: Penn State vs. Ohio State odds, picks and prediction

Analyzing Thursday’s Penn State vs Ohio State odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Penn State Nittany Lions (13-16) face the Ohio State Buckeyes (19-10) Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Tip-off from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is at 9 p.m. ET (BTN). Below, we look at the Penn State vs. Ohio State odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

The Nittany Lions rolled past Minnesota by a 60-51 score, easily covering a 3.5-point spread in the opening round Wednesday. The Under cashed and is now 7-1 across the past eight games for Penn State.

The No. 25 Buckeyes, per the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports, swept the regular-season series, winning 76-64 on the road Dec. 5 and 61-56 in Columbus Jan. 16. Ohio State closed out the regular season on a 1-3 SU/ATS skid, although that one win was a solid 11-point victory against Michigan State March 3.

Penn State vs. Ohio State odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:37 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: Penn State +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Ohio State -230 (bet $230 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Penn State +5.5 (-120) | Ohio State -5.5 (-105)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 132.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)

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Penn State vs. Ohio State odds, lines, picks and predictions

Prediction

Ohio State 69, Penn State 65

Money line

Ohio State (-230) ‘should’ be able to win this game rather handily, but the way it closed the season you cannot risk nearly two and a half times your potential return on a maybe.

PASS, and concentrate on the spread instead.

Against the spread

PENN STATE +5.5 (-120) has the experience of playing in this venue after its tournament-opening win over Minnesota. Ohio State will be playing its first game trying to get a feel for the neutral hardwood early on. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Nittany Lions jump out to an early lead, and perhaps even lead at half before the Buckeyes wake up.

Ohio State will win this game, but it has been sleepwalking lately and this will not be a pretty victory.

Over/Under

The OVER 132.5 (-107) is the slight lean here.

While the Under has dominated for Penn State lately, the Over has cashed in six of its past seven against teams with a winning overall record. The Over is also 6-2 for Ohio State in its last eight games on a neutral floor.

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