Ohio State Purdue Betting – Boilermakers Seek Revenge For January Blowout
The last time Purdue met Ohio State on the hardwood, the game was basically over at halftime. This weekend, the Boilermakers will try to create a more competitive contest.
NCAA basketball betting: Ohio State Buckeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers
Why To Bet On Ohio State
The sports betting calculus is really rather simple: The last time Ohio State faced Purdue, on Jan. 25, the outcome was decided in the first few minutes of the second half. The Buckeyes hit 55 percent of their shots, placed six scorers in double figures, rolled to a 46-26 halftime lead, built a 31-point advantage, and coasted to an 87-64 win that wasn’t even that close. Purdue posted a no-show in Columbus, Ohio, bowing meekly to the Buckeyes in Ohio State’s very best game of the season. The Buckeyes haven’t always been a multi-dimensional team this season. In some games, big man Jared Sullinger carries them on his back. OSU generally lacks depth, but against Purdue, the bench wasn’t a concern at all for coach Thad Matta’s team. It needed only 25 minutes to legitimately put away the Boilermakers, who are legitimately the second-best team in the Big Ten with competition only from Wisconsin. If the NHL trade deadline or NHL trade rumors were brought into this basketball-themed discussion, one could say that Purdue needs to make deals in order to match up with Ohio State. Alas, Purdue can’t, so the big, bad Buckeyes deserve to be seen as the solid favorite for this weekend’s game at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Why To Bet On Purdue
Online betting students are aware that individual games in a 30-game college basketball season can be aberrations. It’s worth noting that Ohio State’s blowout of Purdue came just three days after OSU survived one of its worst performances of the season, a 73-68 escape job at Illinois in which no players other than the aforementioned Sullinger hit a field goal until the 9:33 mark of the second half. That’s not a typo. Ohio State really did lean on one player for a majority of that game against Illinois, which meant that every other Buckeye starter was under the gun to perform against Purdue. It could very well be that Ohio State’s roster (other than Sullinger) was especially motivated to perform versus the Boilermakers, who caught the Buckeyes at their best. Matta, the OSU coach, surely lit into his players behind closed doors before that Purdue game as well.
This time, then, a motivated Purdue team out for revenge should put up a good fight against Ohio State at home. The Boilermakers might be without star wing Robbie Hummel, but their remaining players, center JaJuan Johnson in particular, are too good to get decked by OSU again. Maybe the Buckeyes beat Purdue, but not by more than five points. At the very least, this game should go down to the wire.
How The Game Will Play Out
Now that Ohio State has finally lost a game, it will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes respond in yet another tough road environment. Ohio State actually played quite well for most of its loss at Wisconsin, but the Bucks allowed the Badgers to get hot from the field in a short but crucial span of time. Purdue’s guards are very streaky, so if Ohio State can play rugged defense on a consistent basis, it should like its chances. Take the Buckeyes on the road.
Ohio State Purdue Betting Pick: Ohio State
