Northwestern Wildcats vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 2/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025

Location: Schottenstein Center in Chicago, IL

TV: FS1

The Ohio State Buckeyes (15-10) will try to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (13-12) at Schottenstein Center on Thursday.

The Northwestern Wildcats played Oregon and took a loss by a final of 81-75 in their last contest. In relation to fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 16 and Oregon totaled 14 fouls. They converted 8 of their 21 shots from 3-point land. Oregon finished 89.3% from the charity stripe by making 25 of 28 attempts. Additionally, Oregon had 29 boards (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Oregon recorded 16 dimes and had 11 steals for the game. In terms of defending, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 47.1% from the floor on 24 out of 51 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists for the matchup while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they compiled 25 with 7 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 5 of their 10 tries for a percentage of 50.0%. Northwestern ended the game with a 51.7% field goal percentage (31 of 60) and converted 8 out of their 19 3-point attempts.

Ty Berry is one guy who was a major factor for this contest. He went 80.0% from the field but had no assists when the game ended. He was on the court for 38 minutes and also totaled 2 rebounds. He racked up 23 points on 8 of 10 shooting.

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Northwestern heads into this one with a record of 13-12 on the season. They currently have an average of 73.9 points per game (193rd in D-1) while hitting 44.5% from the field. The Wildcats are connecting on 33.7% on 3-point shots (173 of 513) and 73.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Northwestern is grabbing 33.7 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 365 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 120th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 9.6 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Wildcats have forced 13.5 turnovers per game and they draw 16.8 fouls. They are relinquishing 34.8% on 3-pointers and they rank 149th in college hoops in opponents PPG (70.6). The Wildcats defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.2% (603 of 1,365) and they relinquish 34.1 boards per contest as a team. They rank 307th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 367 conceded for the season.

In their last game, the Ohio State Buckeyes walked away with a victory by a final of 93-69 against Washington. The Buckeyes earned 25 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards for a total of 31 in this matchup. They turned the ball over 14 times, while getting 7 steals for this game. Washington was called for 21 personal fouls for this contest which took the Buckeyes to the charity stripe for a total of 22 shots. They were able to convert 18 of those for a rate of 81.8%. In the matter of shots from 3-point land, Ohio State knocked down 11 of 18 tries (61.1%). When the game finished, the Buckeyes went 32 out of 55 from the field which gave them a percentage of 58.2%. The Buckeyes permitted Washington to make 24 out of their 52 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 46.2% for this contest. They finished shooting 41.2% from three-point range by shooting 7 of 17 and finished the contest at 14 out of 19 at the charity stripe (73.7%). Concerning cleaning the glass, Ohio State allowed Washington to snag 19 overall (5 offensive).

John Mobley Jr. was important for the Buckeyes for this contest. He converted 7 of 9 for this contest giving him a rate of 77.8%, and had 2 rebounds. He recorded 21 points in his 32 mins of playing time and earned 2 dimes for the matchup.

Ohio State has a win-loss record of 15-10 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Buckeyes are connecting on 47.7% from the field, which is 49th in college hoops. Ohio State has tallied 1,996 pts on the season (79.8 per contest) and they pull in 34.8 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.3 times per contest (218th in the country) and they are turning it over 11.0 times per contest. The Buckeyes are responsible for committing 19.8 personal fouls every game while shooting 74.3% from the charity stripe.

The Ohio State defense gives up 29.2% on shots from 3-point land (161 of 551) and their opposition makes 74.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 11.1 assists and 33.4 rebounds every game, ranking them 40th and 127th in D-1. The Buckeyes on the defensive side of the court are 182nd in college in points given up per game with 71.6. They are forcing their opponents into 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.3% from the field (65th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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