There is a small slate of college basketball games on Thursday, but one important matchup in the Big Ten pits Rutgers traveling to Columbus to face Ohio State.
Both teams are sitting at 6-2, with Rutgers coming off a big win over Indiana. But that victory came at home, where the Scarlet Knights are a perfect 6-0 on the season. Rutgers has dropped both of its games away from Jersey Mike’s Arena to Miami and Temple.
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Ohio State vs. Rutgers prediction (7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN): Ohio State -6 (BetMGM)
Ohio State is loaded with young talent thanks to a Top-10 recruiting class. The Buckeyes are a team with a high ceiling and actually have a little value at 150/1 to win the NCAA Tournament. Like Rutgers, Ohio State’s two losses are away from home to quality teams San Diego State and Duke.
Ohio State’s defense is average right now, ranking 71st in efficiency on KenPom, but their strengths match up well with Rutgers’ strengths on offense. The Scarlet Knights get a majority of their scoring from two-point range. However, Ohio State’s defense ranks 49th in two-point percentage defense.
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These are also two of the top offensive-rebounding teams in college basketball. The difference is Rutgers isn’t a great defensive rebounding team. The Buckeyes’ offense ranks fourth in second-chance conversion percentage, while Rutgers ranks 224th in defensive second-chance conversion percentage, according to Haslametrics. This means the OSU bigs should do plenty of work on the offensive glass cleaning up missed shots.
This looks like a competitive game on paper, but too many factors point to a Buckeyes win and cover at home.
Ohio State vs. Rutgers (7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN) pick: Ohio State -6 (BetMGM)
