Loyola Chicago vs Ohio State NCAA Tournament First Round odds, tips and betting trends

An opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup will see the No. 7 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (19-11) play as 1.5-point underdogs against the No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago Ramblers (25-7) on Friday at PPG Paints Arena. The contest tips off at 12:15 PM. Here’s …

An opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup will see the No. 7 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (19-11) play as 1.5-point underdogs against the No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago Ramblers (25-7) on Friday at PPG Paints Arena. The contest tips off at 12:15 PM. Here’s what you need to know when filling out your brackets for this 7-10 matchup.

Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Loyola Chicago has a 14-17-0 record against the spread this season compared to Ohio State, who is 16-14-0 ATS. The Ramblers have a 17-14-0 record hitting the over, while games involving the Buckeyes have a record of 19-11-0 when it comes to hitting the over. The teams score 147.6 points per game, 15.1 more points than this matchup’s total. Loyola Chicago is 5-5-0 against the spread and 7-3 overall over its past 10 contests, while Ohio State has gone 5-5-0 against the spread and 5-5 overall.

Here is what you need to prepare for Friday’s college basketball game.

Loyola Chicago at 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.

  • Spread: Loyola Chicago -1.5
  • Total: 132.5
  • Moneyline: Loyola Chicago -112, Ohio State -108

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Loyola Chicago at Ohio State odds, spread, & more

Prediction

Loyola Chicago 70, Ohio State 68

Moneyline

  • The Ramblers are 24-5 in games they were listed as the moneyline favorite (winning 82.8% of those games).
  • Loyola Chicago has gone 24-5 in games it has played as a moneyline favorite with odds of -112 or shorter (82.8%).
  • Based on this matchup’s moneyline, the Ramblers have an implied win probability of 52.8%.
  • This season, the Buckeyes have been the underdog eight times and won four of those games.
  • Ohio State has entered nine games this season as the underdog by -108 or more and is 5-4 in those contests.
  • Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Buckeyes have a 51.9% chance to win.

Against the spread

  • The 73.8 points per game the Ramblers put up are 5.3 more points than the Buckeyes give up (68.5).
  • When Loyola Chicago puts up more than 68.5 points, it is 9-10 against the spread and 17-3 overall.
  • Ohio State is 12-5 against the spread and 13-4 overall when allowing fewer than 73.8 points.
  • The Buckeyes’ 73.8 points per game are 12.1 more points than the 61.7 the Ramblers give up.
  • Ohio State has put together a 16-10 ATS record and an 18-8 overall record in games it scores more than 61.7 points.
  • Loyola Chicago’s record is 10-10 against the spread and 18-3 overall when it gives up fewer than 73.8 points.
  • The Ramblers have scored a total of 387 more points than their opponents this year (an average of 12.1 per game), and the Buckeyes have out-scored opponents by 160 points on the season (5.3 more per game).

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Over/Under

  • The average implied total for the Ramblers this season is 72.9 points, 5.9 more points than their implied total of 67 points in Friday’s game.
  • This season, Loyola Chicago has put up more than 67 points 21 times.
  • The 73.9-point average implied total on the season for the Buckeyes is equal to the team’s implied total in this matchup.
  • This season, Ohio State has outscored its implied point total for this matchup (66) 25 times.

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