College Basketball Odds: Purdue vs. Ohio State prediction, pick

Purdue faces Ohio State. Our college basketball odds series has our Purdue Ohio State prediction, odds and pick.

The Purdue Boilermakers take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Purdue Ohio State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Purdue Ohio State.

The Purdue Boilermakers finally lost their first game of the college basketball season this past Monday. They fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at home in a very close game, 65-64. It will be interesting to see if Purdue can immediately get back on track, or if the Boilermakers are simply not as good as their initial start might have suggested. Keep in mind that Purdue thrashed Gonzaga and Duke earlier this season, but Gonzaga and Duke aren't nearly as good as they were last season, when the Zags got a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and Duke went to the Final Four. Those programs have lost ground relative to last season, so Purdue's wins over the two schools might be overvalued.

Whether those wins are overvalued or not, the bigger and more urgent point to make about Purdue is simply that road conference games are tough. New Mexico and UConn have found that out in recent days. Purdue now goes on the road in the Big Ten to face Ohio State, having narrowly escaped Nebraska a with a Big Ten road win a few weeks ago. Is Purdue ready to improve, or will the Boilermakers get beaten up by the Big Ten schedule?

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Purdue-Ohio State College Basketball odds.

College Basketball Odds: Purdue-Ohio State Odds

Purdue Boilermakers: +1.5 (-106)

Ohio State Buckeyes: -1.5 (-114)

Over: 139.5 (-110)

Under: 139.5 (-110)

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Why Purdue Could Cover the Spread

This team is going to be motivated after the loss to Rutgers. Purdue finally played a game too close to the edge and paid for it. The Boilermakers were able to get away with an average performance against Nebraska in Big Ten play, but Rutgers exacted a much higher cost. That's a wakeup call for this team, whose players have generally worked well together and have shown more compatibility than they did last season, when they might have had more NBA talent but couldn't put specific players on the floor at the same time. Ohio State is a decent team, but the Buckeyes lost to North Carolina in mid-December and have stumbled on a few other occasions this season. Purdue has more talent and a generally higher ceiling than Ohio State. That talent should win out in a close game.

Why Ohio State Could Cover the Spread

The Buckeyes defeated the same Rutgers team which just beat Purdue on the road. Ohio State looked really sharp this past Sunday in a 16-point win over a Northwestern team which subsequently defeated Illinois. The Buckeyes are playing good basketball right now.

We also have to note that Purdue looks mortal. It's not just that the Boilermakers finally did lose to Rutgers, but they cut it close against Nebraska and have not shown by any stretch that they are clearly better than the other top teams in the Big Ten. We have to see that happen before we simply assume it or trust that it will happen. Nothing is clear at the top of the Big Ten right now. Let's also note that Purdue attained the No. 1 ranking in the country last season and then ended up as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to 15th-seeded Saint Peter's. This team could endure a similar journey, in which it falls from the very top tier of national title and Final Four contenders.