Ohio State vs Purdue Picks and Odds
- The Ohio State Buckeyes face off against the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten quarterfinals
- The Boilermakers swept the Buckeyes in their two regular season games
- Read below for odds, analysis, and our best bet for this matchup
The No. 4 seed Purdue Boilermakers (18-8, 13-6 Big Ten), who enter the Big Ten Conference Tournament on a five-game win streak, take on the No. 5 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (19-8, 12-8 Big Ten) in the tourney quarterfinals Friday, March 12 in Indianapolis.
Tip is set for 2pm ET at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Ohio State beat Minnesota 79-75 Thursday in the conference quarterfinals and is now a slight favorite over Purdue Friday.
Ohio State vs Purdue Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | -1 (-110) | -118 | Ov 142.5 (-110) |
| Purdue | +1 (-110) | +100 | Un 142.5 (-110) |
Odds taken March 11 at FanDuel
Matt Painter’s team has the distinction of being the only squad to knock off Chris Holtmann’s crew twice during the 2020-21 campaign. Purdue beat OSU 67-60 Dec. 16 in West Lafayette in both team’s conference opener. Then, the Boilers sneaked by the Bucks 67-65 Jan. 19 in Columbus.
Slump Buster
Prior to Thursday’s four-point win over the Golden Gophers to advance in Indy, Ohio State had lost four straight. But led by 16-point efforts from both Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing, OSU was able to capture its first victory since knocking off Penn State 92-82 three weeks ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVjgF_Nf25I
The team’s leading scorer, EJ Liddell, had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win as the Buckeyes outscored Minnesota 44-34 in the paint. The win, which set up a double-revenge game for OSU, had Holtmann downright giddy afterward.
"Well, first of all, I don't like @CoachPainter at all. No, I'm kidding."@ChrisHoltmann joins @TheAndyKatz to talk Friday's matchup with @BoilerBall. pic.twitter.com/WyTthmen9s
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 11, 2021
At times, the Buckeyes have been one of the best in college basketball this season. Their overall roster depth has been a big reason whey they’ve been ranked as high as No. 4 in the AP poll this season.
But that 92-87 loss to Michigan in a heavyweight showdown sent the program reeling a bit. Illinois, Iowa and Purdue have flourished in the last few weeks of the season, while Ohio State floundered. But perhaps Thursday’s win was the start of a new streak.
Gold and Black Attack
Ohio State’s hoped-for-bump off a game against Minnesota has happened to Purdue. Since losing to the Gophers Feb. 11, Painter’s team hasn’t lost. The Boilermakers have hit at least 47% from the field in every game and have been terrific on the glass. They closed out the regular season with a 67-58 home victory over Indiana Saturday.
Ironically, Trevion Williams — the team’s leading scorer and rebounder (averaging 15.2 points and 8.8 boards per game) — has been in arguably his worst stretch of the season during that winning streak. Williams scored fewer than 10 points in three of the five victories and topped 12 just once.
Purdue stagger lobs for Zach Edey pic.twitter.com/sfPMmblmXT
— Jordan Sperber (@hoopvision68) March 8, 2021
Stepping up in his place have been a pair of freshman in guard Jaden Ivey, — who is averaging 15 points, four rebounds and two assists per game in his last five contests– and 7-foot-4 absolute load Zach Edey. Edey just had consecutive 20-plus point outbursts to close out the regular season.
Coaches often quip that freshmen become sophomores in March, and this young Boilermaker team is finding its stride at the right time.
Third Time’s a Charm?
Ohio State struggled to score in the first game against the Boilermakers, hitting just 22-of-58 shots from the floor and 6-of-24 attempts from three-point range. Meanwhile, Purdue hit 47.2% of its shots and 30% from three-point distance.
Holtmann’s group was better in the second meeting between the two teams, but not enough to come out on top. The Buckeyes still struggled to score, shooting only 37.7% from the floor for the game, but had as much as an 11-point lead (twice) in the first half and led by six points at halftime.
JADEN IVEY. ICE IN HIS VEINS. ❄️@BoilerBall | @IveyJaden pic.twitter.com/WEi7MeSzC2
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 20, 2021
The Scarlet and Gray held the lead for much of the second half, but allowed the Boilermakers back into the contest in the last eight minutes, scoring just five points in the final three minutes.
It’s tough to beat any team three times in the same season. That task gets even harder when that team is Ohio State in what essentially amounts to a Pick ‘Em. The Bucks’ offensive woes seem to be behind after a 79-point effort Thursday and averaging 70 points per contest over the season-ending skid. I love Purdue, but I think OSU does just enough to survive and advance.
The pick: Ohio State -1 (-110)
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
