The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1, 1-1 Big Ten) visit the Northwestern Wildcats (5-1, 2-0) Saturday for a 2 p.m. ET tip at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Below, we analyze the Ohio State-Northwestern college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Ohio State at Northwestern: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 1:55 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Ohio State -140 (bet $140 to win $100) | Northwestern +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Against the spread/ATS: Ohio State -2.5 (-105) | Northwestern +2.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 141.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Ohio State at Northwestern: Three things to know
- The Buckeyes bounced back from a loss at Purdue with a neutral-site victory over UCLA and a convincing 80-68 win over Rutgers last time out at Value City Arena as three-point favorites. It’s the first time this season the Buckeyes have covered consecutive games.
- Ohio State and Northwestern played just once last season, with the Buckeyes coming away with a 71-59 win in Evanston as 6.5-point favorites as the Under (132) connected. They’re 3-1 SU/ATS across the past four meetings with the Wildcats, too.
- Northwestern ranks 22nd in the nation with 87.7 PPG, and they’re eighth in the country hitting 3-pointers at a 42.7 percent clip. Defensively they’re very good, too, allowing just 61.0 PPG, and holding the opponent to a 36.7 field-goal percentage, 21st in the nation.
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Ohio State at Northwestern: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Northwestern 72, Ohio State 69
Money line (ML)
NORTHWESTERN (+115) is a sharp play as short ‘dogs at home. They have split the past two at Welsh-Ryan Arena against Ohio State (-140), and if they’re hitting their triples on a consistent basis they’re a danger to beat anyone in the land.
Against the spread (ATS)
NORTHWESTERN +2.5 (-115) rolls in with a lot of confidence after dropping Indiana and Michigan State in the past two outings. The win in Bloomington against the Hoosiers came as nine-point underdogs, and the win over Sparty came on this floor as 7.5-point ‘dogs. Dating back to last season Northwestern is 4-1 SU/ATS as an underdog in regular-season play.
Over/Under (O/U)
The O/U 141.5 will be too close to call here. My lean would be to play the Under ever so slightly, but the best bet is to just stay away completely. PASS.
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