Ohio State Buckeyes vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 1/1/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Sunday, January 1, 2023

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: Youtube TV

Welsh-Ryan Arena is where the Northwestern Wildcats (10-2) will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (9-3) on Sunday.

The Ohio State Buckeyes took the court against Alabama A&M and earned the victory with a final of 90-59 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Buckeyes ended up walking away with 11 while Alabama A&M finished the game with 24 fouls. They also made 6 of 18 attempts from 3-point range. Alabama A&M finished the contest at 71.4% when shooting free throws by knocking down 5 of their 7 tries. On top of that, Alabama A&M snagged 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Alabama A&M doled out 12 dimes and had 4 steals in this matchup. Pertaining to the defense, Ohio State allowed 38.7% from the floor on 24 out of 62 shooting. They also distributed 19 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 15 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 39 with 12 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Buckeyes knocked down 17 of 29 shots for a percentage of 58.6%. Ohio State ended the contest with a 52.5% FG percentage (32 of 61) and made 9 out of their 25 3-point shots.

Brice Sensabaugh is one guy who was a major contributor for the contest. He ended up with 21 points on 9 out of 14 shooting. He played 27 minutes and also grabbed 6 boards. He finished the game shooting 64.3% from the field and earned 1 assist.

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Ohio State comes into this game with a mark of 9-3 for the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per game and as a group they are committing 14.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Ohio State is pulling down 40.5 boards per game and is sitting with 173 assists this year, which is 227th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Buckeyes are hitting 37.3% from downtown (93 of 249) and 72.9% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 81.7 points per game (26th in D-1) while shooting 49.4% from the field.

On defense, the Buckeyes are forcing their opponents into 12.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.3 personal fouls. They are surrendering 27.2% on three-point shots while they are 92nd in the country in points per game allowed (65.1). The Buckeyes defense is allowing a FG percentage of 40.6% (295 of 726) and they concede 31.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 55th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 137 relinquished so far this year.

For their last game, the Northwestern Wildcats got the victory with a final of 63-58 against Brown. In reference to rebounding, Northwestern permitted Brown to snag 28 in all (4 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.9% from three-point range by going 9 of 22 and ended up going 11 out of 22 from the charity stripe (50.0%). The Wildcats permitted Brown to make 19 of their 45 attempts from the field which had them shooting 42.2% in this game. When all was said and done, the Wildcats shot 20 out of 58 from the field which had them sitting at 34.5%. In regard to shots from distance, Northwestern converted 4 out of their 21 tries (19.0%). They were able to bury 19 of those for a rate of 90.5%. Brown earned 19 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 9 steals in this contest. The Wildcats recorded 23 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 31 for the contest.

Chase Audige ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats in the game. He recorded 24 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the game. He buried 6 of 15 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

Northwestern has a mark of 10-2 so far this season. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 15.7 personal fouls per game and they hit 76.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.0 times per game (159th in college hoops) and they are giving up possession 11.8 times per contest. Northwestern has scored 818 pts on the year (68.2 per contest) and they grab 39.4 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Wildcats are connecting on 39.3% from the floor, which ranks 350th in college hoops.

The Northwestern defense allows 31.9% on shots from 3-point land (94 of 295) and their opposition knocks down 68.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 11.9 assists and 34.8 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 138th and 217th in college hoops. The Wildcats on defense are ranked 7th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 55.7. They are forcing 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 35.1% from the floor (3rd in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northwestern

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