Ohio State Buckeyes vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 1/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2021

Location: Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Ohio State (+2.5)

The Ohio State Buckeyes (8-3) are headed to Rutgers Athletic Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-3). The spread on this contest has Rutgers as 2.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 141.

Ohio State will enter this matchup with a record of 8-3 so far this season. They are giving up possession 9.6 times per contest and as a group they are committing 17.0 fouls every game. As a team, Ohio State is pulling down 38.5 boards per game and has earned 145 dimes for the season, which ranks 96th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Buckeyes are shooting 31.2% on 3-point shots (78 of 250) and 76.8% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 76.3 points per game (109th in D-1) while connecting on 43.6% from the field. When they are on the defensive end, the Buckeyes are forcing 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.4 personal fouls. The Buckeyes defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.4% (252 of 624) and they surrender 33.3 boards per game as a basketball team. They rank 279th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 144 relinquished for the season. They give up 35.1% on 3-point shots and they rank 93rd in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (66.2).

The Ohio State Buckeyes stepped onto the hardwood against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and took a loss by a final of 77-60 in their last contest. Ohio State walked away from the game having earned a 31.1% FG percentage (19 of 61) and made 7 of their 27 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Buckeyes knocked down 15 of 21 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. In terms of hauling in boards, they earned 32 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists in this contest while having 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Pertaining to the defense, Ohio State allowed their opponent to shoot 31.1% from the field on 19 of 61 shooting. Minnesota earned 15 assists and had 5 steals for this game. In addition, the Golden Gophers snagged 38 rebounds (9 offensive, 29 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Minnesota finished the game shooting 69.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of 29 shots. They also knocked down 9 of their 22 tries from beyond the arc.

Duane Washington is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He accumulated 21 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He played for 26 mins and also snagged 2 rebounds. Washington finished shooting 58.3% from the floor and earned 2 assists. An additional guy that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Buckeyes was E.J. Liddell. He totaled 7 rebounds and also collected 2 dimes. He shot 27.3% from the field for the game by going 3-of-11 (10 points). Overall, Liddell played 34 min.

Rutgers has a mark of 7-3 for the season. Rutgers has accounted for 765 points on the season (76.5 per game) and they average 37.2 rebounds per contest. The Scarlet Knights are committing 16.9 personal fouls every game while shooting 58.4% from the charity stripe. As an offensive unit, the Scarlet Knights are hitting on 47.2% from the floor, which ranks 83rd in the country. They are earning an assist 16.0 times per game (61st in the nation) and they are turning it over 10.7 times per game. The Scarlet Knights defensively are ranked 197th in college basketball in PPG given up with 71.2. They have conceded 13.8 dimes and 36.4 boards every game, ranking them 232nd and 222nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Rutgers defense gives up 31.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (67 of 212) and opponents are making 73.6% of their foul shots. They are forcing 13.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.7% from the field (177th in the country).

When they last stepped on the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 68-45 when they faced the Michigan State Spartans. The Scarlet Knights pulled down 15 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 21 for the contest. They rejected 4 attempts while earning 13 steals for the game. The Spartans committed 15 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Scarlet Knights to the charity stripe for 17 shots. They were able to convert 6 of the free throw tries for a clip of 35.3%. In terms of three-point shots, Rutgers converted 3 of their 12 tries (25.0%). In all, the Scarlet Knights ended up shooting 18 for 59 from the floor which had them shooting 30.5%. The Scarlet Knights permitted the Spartans to convert 23 of 49 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.9% for this contest. They finished 42.9% from distance via 6 out of 14 and ended up shooting 16 of 19 from the free throw line (84.2%). In reference to rebounding, Rutgers allowed Michigan State to snag 43 overall (8 offensive).

Ron Harper ended up being a factor for the Scarlet Knights in this game. He buried 5 out of 12 for this game giving him a rate of 41.7%, which got him 13 points. Harper had 2 boards in his 33 minutes and had 2 assists in this contest. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for Rutgers was Jacob Young. He was able to score 11 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood via 5 out of 18 shooting for the contest. Young wrapped this one up going 27.8% from the field while contributing 2 assists and 3 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ohio State (+2.5)

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