The No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (13-1, 2-1 Big Ten) visit the No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-3, 2-0) for a Big Ten tussle Thursday. The opening tip at Value City Arena will be at 7 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Purdue vs. Ohio State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Purdue was undefeated before losing to Rutgers 65-64 Monday. The Boilermakers failed to cover as 8.5-point favorites, and that’s part of a long trend as they’re is 0-7-1 against the spread (ATS) since Nov. 30. A team with the 3rd-best defense in the Big Ten (60.9 points per game) has often been undone ATS by pedestrian shooting efforts on offense.
The Buckeyes have won 3 straight games and 5 of their last 6. Four of those recent 5 wins were at home, where Ohio State is 7-0 this season. The OSU defense has been sharp of late. The Buckeyes have yielded 59.0 PPG and are 3-0 ATS across their win streak.