Penn State vs. Ohio State prediction and odds for Thursday, February 23
By Josh Yourish
When you think about the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes, your mind likely goes to the football field, but it is basketball season and tonight this rivalry will be renewed on the hardwood in Columbus.
Ohio State is probably ready for this season to be over. The Buckeyes are 11-16 overall and 3-13 in the Big 10. They’re especially bad in a bad year for the conference.
They haven’t won a game in over a month, but they’re still slight home favorites over the 16-11 (7-9) Nittany Lions. Penn State is on the tournament bubble, and a loss to the lowly Buckeyes will almost certainly end its chances.
Let’s take a look at the odds.
Penn State vs. Ohio State odds, spread and total
Penn State vs. Ohio State prediction and pick
If you like modern basketball and a team that’s willing to let it fly from behind the arc, then you’ll enjoy watching Penn State, (or you’ve been enjoying it all year).
The Nittany Lions are first in the Big Ten in 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage. Their 38.8% from deep is 12th best in the country. Jalen Pickett runs the show on offense leading them in points, rebounds, assists and steals for good measure.
He’s flanked by Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk who both score in double digits and shoot over 40% from deep. Penn State is 25th in offensive efficiency.
Despite Penn State’s borderline elite offense, the Nittany Lions are 2-7 on the road this year. They are 223rd in defensive efficiency.
Ohio State is 163rd in defensive efficiency and it’ll need to slow down the Nittany Lions shooters. The Buckeyes are 59th in opponent 3-point percentage, but they allow 7.0 3-pointers per game, eighth in the Big Ten.
I think this will be high-scoring and I trust the Nittany Lions to win a game like that.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
—
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change