Tuesday NCAA: Penn State (19-8) at Ohio State (17-8)
Tuesday night’s Big Ten game between Penn State and Ohio State doesn’t probably look like much to much of the country as neither of these teams are going to win the conference. But both are very much on the NCAA Tournament bubble, so the loser of tonight’s game could be left out of the Big Dance.
The Buckeyes have lost three consecutive games by just a total of 10 points but are 5.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com. They are at .500 and in seventh place in the Big Ten.
PSU has won two games in a row and probably cements its first NCAA Tournament bid with a win tonight. That would probably guarantee a minimum 10-8 conference record for PSU with a seeming lock win against Indiana coming later this week.
Penn State scores just 60.1 ppg in conference, which includes an ugly 38 points in a win over Illinois the last time out. Yet the Nittany Lions have three of the top 17 scorers in the league in Talor Battle, Jamelle Cornely and Stanley Pringle.
OSU, which has lost three straight, sorely misses captain David Lighty, who has missed about nine weeks after foot surgery. He did practice last weekend but isn’t yet ready to play. Sophomore Evan Turner has become a star and is one of nine players in the country who leads his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Ohio State is hitting a league-best 50 percent of its field goals in conference play.
On defense, the Buckeyes sit back in a 2-3 zone and make you hit jumpers, which Northwestern and Illinois have done in the past two games. Perimeter shooting hasn’t been a strength for the Nittany Lions — they are shooting 35 percent from the field and 28 percent on 3-pointers over the last five games. PSU will look to spread the taller Buckeyes out as much as possible early on in the hope that it will lead to opportunities to penetrate later in the game.
Ohio State has beaten Penn State 10 straight times.
WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Nittany Lions are 2-9-1 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog of 0.5-6.5.
* Nittany Lions are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog of 0.5-6.5.
* Buckeyes are 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 Tuesday games.
* Buckeyes are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite.
* Buckeyes are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5.
* Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
* Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 0.5-6.5.
* Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 vs. Big Ten.
* Buckeyes are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite.
* Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
* Nittany Lions are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Ohio St.
* Road team is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
NCAA Basketball Betting at WagerWeb.com
