Ohio State vs Indiana | NCAAB Game Analysis & Prediction

The best game of the night in college basketball Thursday is from the Big Ten as No. 13 Ohio State visits Indiana with the Hoosiers as short favorites on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Ohio State at Indiana NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
Where: Assembly Hall
TV: Fox Sports
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Indiana -2 (total 137)

Last Meeting

Last season, the teams played once and Ohio State won 78-59. E.J. Liddell scored 19 points and Justice Sueing had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Buckeyes pulled away. They shot 48% and scored 21 points off Indiana’s 15 turnovers. Sueing and Zed Key combined for 18 rebounds. Trace Jackson-Davis scored 23 points and Jerome Hunter added 10 to pace Indiana. The Hoosiers are 1-6 against Ohio State over the last three seasons.

This is the 196th all-time meeting between Ohio State and Indiana. IU leads the series 108-87 but the Buckeyes have won six of the last seven meetings. That includes wins in each of the last three meetings in Assembly Hall.

Why Bet on Ohio State?

Ohio State (9-2, 3-0 Big Ten) is off an 87-79 overtime win at Nebraska on Sunday. Freshman Malaki Branham, who had scored in double figures just once in his first 10 games, had a season-high 35 points. Branham set the Ohio State record for points by a freshman in a Big Ten game, and he tied for second-best freshman scoring performance in the nation this season. Branham entered the night with just five three-pointers on the season. He made three of his first four finished 6-of-10. This was the first game this season with multiple three-pointers for Branham.

“I kind of built my confidence after I hit those first couple,” said Branham, who finished 13 for 19. “They told me to keep shooting, so that’s what I did.”

Jamari Wheeler made three of his four three-pointers in the final 30 seconds of regulation and overtime. He finished 4-of-5 from deep and had a season-high 16 points. Star E.J. Liddell battled a tough shooting night but made two clutch free throws to tie the game with nine seconds left in regulation. He ended the night with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Liddell is the only player in the country with season averages of 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 3.0 assists.

The Buckeyes made a season-high 16 three-pointers, marking their sixth game this season with 10 or more threes. The 16 threes are fourth-most in a game in program history. Ohio State is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor which is second in the conference and in the Top 15 nationally.

Ohio State’s Justice Sueing (abdominal) and Seth Towns (back) will not play on Thursday per Coach Chris Holtmann. Sueing has only appeared in two games this season after averaging 10.7 PPG and 5.5 RPG a year ago. Towns has yet to play this year.

Why Bet on Indiana?

Indiana (10-3, 1-2 Big Ten) lost 61-58 at Penn State on Jan. 2. The Lions’ Sam Sessoms scored eight points as he and Myles Dread each hit two 3-pointers in an 18-5 spurt that gave Penn State its biggest lead of the game at 51-41 midway through the second half. The Hoosiers answered with nine straight points to cut the deficit to a point after Rob Phinisee made back-to-back baskets. Jalen Pickett ended the drought when he hit a 3-pointer with 5:32 remaining and Penn State held on.

The Hoosiers lost the rebound battle by 10 (39-29) and the three-point-shooting battle by seven (11 baskets to 4). Indiana has lost three road games by two (in overtime), by five and by three. IU, which entered the game shooting 37 percent from three-point range, was just 4-for-17 (23.5 percent).

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half for Indiana. Jackson-Davis is averaging 19.3 points (5th in B1G), 8.2 rebounds (5th), shooting 59.9% from the floor (5th) and contributing 3.1 blocked shots per game (1st). Jackson-Davis now has scored 1,200 points as a Hoosier, rating 39th all-time in IU lore.

IU is first in the Big Ten and third nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.4%). IU also leads the league in scoring defense (61.6) and is second in Big Ten in blocked shots (5.7), third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (48.3%) and rebound margin (+8.46), and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.6%). IU is 9-0 at home and 10-0 in games played in the state of Indiana.

Game Trends

Buckeyes are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Hoosiers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games.
Hoosiers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Home team is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings.