Ohio State Buckeyes vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 3/20/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Sunday, March 20, 2022

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Ohio State (+6)

PPG Paints Arena is where the Villanova Wildcats (27-7) will try to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes (20-11) on Sunday. Villanova opens as 6-point favorites. The total is set at 131.5.

The Ohio State Buckeyes faced off with Loyola and earned the victory with a final of 54-41 in their last contest. Ohio State walked away from the game with a 41.9% field goal percentage (18 of 43) and made 1 of 15 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Buckeyes knocked down 17 of 21 tries for a rate of 81.0%. When discussing rebounding, they collected 38 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 6 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 7 steals. When it comes to defense, Ohio State allowed the other team to shoot 26.8% from the field on 15 out of 56 shooting. Loyola earned 12 dimes and had 9 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Loyola pulled down 26 boards (8 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Loyola went 30.0% from the free throw line by making 3 of 10 attempts. They also knocked down 8 of their 28 attempts from long range. With respect to personal fouls, the Buckeyes ended up finishing with 16 and Loyola accumulated 19 personal fouls.

Malaki Branham is one player who was important in this game. He finished the game at 71.4% from the field and also earned 2 assists. He was on the court for 27 mins played and pulled down 5 rebounds. He ended up with 14 points on 5 out of 7 shooting.

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Ohio State heads into this one with a record of 20-11 for the season. They are averaging 73.2 pts per contest (119th in Division 1) while connecting on 47.2% from the floor. The Buckeyes are shooting 36.6% on three-point shots (244 of 666) and 76.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Ohio State is pulling down 34.6 boards per game and is sitting with 389 assists for the year, which ranks 224th in the nation in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 11.2 times per game and as a team they commit 16.4 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Buckeyes have forced 10.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.3 fouls. They are surrendering 33.7% on shots from downtown and they rank 133rd in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (67.6). The Buckeyes defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 41.4% (749 of 1,808) and they surrender 32.0 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 84th in D-1 in giving up assists with 360 conceded so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Villanova Wildcats went home victorious with a score of 80-60 when they played Delaware. When it comes to how they rebounded, Villanova permitted Delaware to grab 21 in all (5 offensive). They finished 15.0% from three-point range by shooting 3 of 20 and ended up shooting 13 of 16 at the charity stripe (81.3%). The Wildcats allowed Delaware to make 22 of 50 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.0% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats ended up going 28 for 55 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.9%. In terms of shooting from 3-point land, Villanova made 13 out of 28 tries (46.4%). They were able to convert 11 of the free throws for a clip of 91.7%. Delaware was called for 15 personal fouls in the game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 12 attempts. They also coughed it up 10 times, while earning 5 steals in this matchup. The Wildcats were able to pull down 22 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 31 in this contest.

Justin Moore was important for the Wildcats for this contest. He made 7 out of 13 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and accounted for 3 rebounds. He accumulated 21 points in his 33 minutes on the court and earned 6 assists for this game.

Villanova has a win-loss record of 27-7 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Wildcats are shooting 43.9% from the floor, which is ranked 191st in college basketball. Villanova has scored 2,477 pts this season (72.9 per game) and they grab 34.9 boards per game. They are earning an assist 12.2 times per contest (241st in D-1) and they cough up possession 10.0 times per contest. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 15.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 82.5% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats are ranked 25th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 63.0. They are able to force 12.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the field (45th in college basketball). The Villanova defense concedes 30.6% on 3-point attempts (247 of 807) and their opponents are converting on 74.7% of their free throw attempts. They allow 11.3 dimes and 32.1 rebounds per game, which is ranked 69th and 60th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Villanova (-6)

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