Who’s playing
Pittsburgh Panthers @ Ohio State Buckeyes
Current record: Pittsburgh 6-1, Ohio State 5-1
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What you need to know
The Pittsburgh Panthers’ road trip continues as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Panthers lost a game they were expected to win, but now they face a more difficult task of proving themselves against unfavorable conditions.
Pittsburgh will likely enter this contest with a bruised shoulder, considering Wisconsin just ended the team’s winning streak at six on Sunday. They suffered a blow to the losing column at the hands of the Badgers, 81-75. The Panthers took an early lead (14 points with 7:28 left in the first quarter), but unfortunately could not maintain that momentum.
Pittsburgh’s loss shouldn’t overshadow the performances of Ishmael Leggett, who had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Cameron Cohen, who had 16 points on 7-for-8 at-bats.
Meanwhile, Ohio State entered Monday’s game on a two-game winning streak, but was eliminated with three losses. They defeated Phoenix 102-69. The Buckeyes have a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, winning four meetings this season by 33 points or more.
Much of Ohio State’s success can be attributed to Bruce Thornton. Bruce Thornton nearly had a double-double with 25 points and nine assists on 5-of-7 shooting from deep. This dominant performance gave Thornton a career-high 3-for-5. Another player who made a difference was John Mobley Jr., who went 5-for-8 with 14 points and four steals.
Ohio State played well as a team and finished the game with 20 assists. Green Bay easily outscored their opponents in that department, as they only scored 11 points.
Pittsburgh, which lost for the first time this season, fell to 1-6. It was Ohio State’s fourth straight home win, improving its record to 5-1.
Both teams are the top scoring teams in the league, so a high-performance offensive line is likely to be on the agenda. Pittsburgh has had no trouble scoring this season, averaging 84.3 points per game. However, it’s not like Ohio State is struggling in this department as they are averaging 85.2 points per game. Both teams could easily accumulate points, so the only question that remains is who will be able to put up more points.
In the last game, only Pittsburgh paid attention to its fans, but both teams failed to cover. As for the next game, Ohio State is the favorite to win this game, as experts predict it to win by 3.5 points. This will be the first time Pittsburgh will play as an underdog on the road this season.
odds
According to the latest college basketball odds, Ohio State is a 3.5-point favorite against Pittsburgh.
Oddsmakers were completely in line with the betting community on this matchup and stayed that way, as the game started with a 3.5 point spread.
The over-under is 147 points.
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