The Ohio State Buckeyes navigated a tough Big Ten conference and finished tied for second alongside Purdue and just a game back of Michigan State. Ohio State stumbled in the conference tournament but did enough to secure a No. 5 seed. The Buckeyes will be favored to win their first round matchup in a game against the No. 12 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
South Dakota State was clearly the best team in the Summitt League this season but this is a big jump up in competition. The Jackrabbits will be the underdogs, but not such big ones that they don’t have a chance of pulling the upset.
Ohio State needs to play well in order to avoid losing this first round matchup. It’s not out of the question as they don’t call it March Madness for nothing.
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Odds Analysis
South Dakota State is listed as an eight-point underdog in this matchup and it is getting a whopping 83 percent of the action to cover. The scoring total is listed at 146, and the money is coming in evenly on both the “over” and the “under.”
Ohio State is 24-8 straight up and 15-15 against the spread. The Buckeyes have played in six neutral court games on the year and covered in two of them. They are 12-11 against the spread this season as the favorite.
South Dakota State is 28-6 straight up and 19-9 against the spread. The Jackrabbits are 4-3 against the spread on a neutral floor. They have covered in five of nine attempts as the underdog.
Key Stat
11. That’s how many wins a row South Dakota State has coming into this tournament. What’s more, in their last 20 games, the Jackrabbits have gone 19-1 with the only loss during that time coming against South Dakota on January 24th.
Of course strength of schedule must be taken into consideration as well so it’s important to note that the team’s recent streak doesn’t not include any matchups against ranked opponents. Still, stringing together that many wins in a row is impressive.
The Jackrabbits will be looking to build upon that streak as they make their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance this year. They are 0-2 against ranked opponents on the season, but both of those losses came early and they will look to ride this late surge in hopes of an upset against Ohio State.
Player To Watch
Keita Bates-Diop — The Big Ten Player of the Year is the Buckeyes’ biggest threat. He is averaging 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Bates-Diop combined for 49 points, 19 rebounds, six blocks in his last two games coming into this tournament. He picked up his twelfth double-double of the season in Ohio State’s double-overtime win against Indiana
The 6-foot-7 forward is facing off another talented big man in South Dakota State’s Mike Daum in this one. Daum is averaging 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Jackrabbits this year.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
Ohio State looked good in conference play but it may not be quite as good as the seeding would suggest. South Dakota State is hard to peg because of its lack of experience against elite foes, but this is a solid group.
Take the Buckeyes to squeak out a closer-than-hoped win, but the Jackrabbits are the choice to cover the spread. Ohio State fans will be biting their nails to the end as their team barely ends up pulling out this victory without covering the spread in NCAA basketball betting lines.
NCAA Odds: Ohio State 75, South Dakota State 70
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