Ohio State Buckeyes vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 12/26/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Ohio State (-2)

The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) travel to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday where they'll take on the Northwestern Wildcats (5-1). Ohio State opens this contest as 2-point favorites. The O/U is set at 141.5.

Ohio State will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 7-1 this year. The Buckeyes are hitting 32.2% on shots from downtown (55 of 171) and 76.8% from the free throw line. They average 77.4 pts per game (104th in D-1) while hitting 44.3% from the field. They are losing possession via turnover 9.4 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.9 fouls per contest. As a unit, Ohio State is grabbing 37.4 rebounds per game and has tallied 102 dimes this year, which ranks 136th in D-1 in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Buckeyes are forcing 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.3 personal fouls. The Buckeyes defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 40.6% (183 of 451) and they concede 33.0 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are ranked 243rd in college basketball in giving up assists with 102 surrendered so far this season. They surrender 38.1% from 3-point land and they rank 98th in D-1 in points per game allowed (65.8).

The Ohio State Buckeyes took the court against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and notched a win by a score of 80-68 in their last contest. Ohio State ended having earned a 46.6% field goal percentage (27 out of 58) and converted 4 of 19 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Buckeyes converted 22 of 29 attempts for a rate of 75.9%. In relation to hauling in boards, they compiled 42 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 13 assists for the game as well as earning 2 steals and 5 blocks. With regard to defense, Ohio State allowed their opponent to shoot 46.6% from the field on 27 of 58 shooting. Rutgers dished out 12 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. On top of that, the Scarlet Knights pulled down 23 boards (3 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 5 blocked shots. Rutgers finished the game shooting 58.8% from the free throw line by making 10 of their 17 attempts. They also buried 10 of their 25 attempts from distance.

E.J. Liddell is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He had 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 31 mins played and also snagged 6 boards. Liddell finished shooting 57.1% from the field and earned 3 assists. Another guy that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Buckeyes was Duane Washington. He snagged 6 rebounds and also had 3 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 42.9% from the floor in this game by connecting on 6-of-14 (22 points). Overall, Washington was on the hardwood for 34 minutes.

Northwestern has a win-loss mark of 5-1 on the season. The Wildcats commit 17.2 personal fouls every game and they shoot 74.6% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 19.5 times per contest (18th in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.3 times per contest. Northwestern has totaled 526 pts so far this year (87.7 per game) and they pull down 41.7 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Wildcats are connecting on 48.6% from the floor, which is ranked 75th in college basketball. The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 34th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 61.0. The Northwestern defense allows 28.6% on shots from 3-point land (42 of 147) and their opponents are knocking down 62.9% of their free throw shots. They allow 13.3 dimes and 31.7 boards per game, which is 207th and 68th in the country. They are forcing 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 36.7% from the field (22nd in the nation).

When they last stepped on the court, the Northwestern Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 74-67 against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Wildcats were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 24 for the contest. They rejected 2 shots while recording 10 steals for the game. The Hoosiers committed 14 fouls for the game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 13 shots. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a rate of 84.6%. In the matter of shooting from beyond the arc, Northwestern knocked down 7 out of their 19 tries (36.8%). Overall, the Wildcats finished 28 out of 50 from the field which gave them a rate of 56.0%. The Wildcats permitted the Hoosiers to make 25 of 52 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 48.1% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 38.9% from downtown by going 7 of 18 and ended up shooting 10 out of 16 from the free throw line (62.5%). In relation to team rebounding, Northwestern allowed Indiana to collect 26 in all (8 offensive).

Miller Kopp ended up having an impact for the Wildcats for this contest. He knocked down 5 out of 6 in this game giving him a rate of 83.3%, which got him 13 points. Kopp totaled 3 boards in his 33 mins played and added 3 assists for the matchup. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for Northwestern was Boo Buie. He left the arena with 11 points in his 33 minutes played via 4 of 8 from the floor in this matchup. Buie ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and also totaling 4 dimes and 2 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Northwestern (+2) and over 141.5 points

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