NCAA Basketball Free Pick – Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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#13 Purdue (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten) at #1 Ohio State (20-0, 7-0 Big Ten)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 9:00 PM EST on ESPN
Money Line: Ohio State -330 / Purdue +270
Spread: Ohio State -7.5
Over/Under: 135.5
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Ohio State , the runaway No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll, is one of just two unbeaten teams, San Diego State (20-0) being the other, will look to keep it that way when they face off against No. 13 Purdue on Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes are coming off a thrilling come-from-behind win over No. 23 Illinois, 73-68 on Saturday.
State’s Jared Sullinger earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the fourth time and Freshman of the Week honors for the ninth time this season. The 6-9 center averaged a double-double last week in wins against Iowa and Illinois. He scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in Ohio State’s win over the Illini, finishing with averages of 20.0 points and 12.5 rebounds.
The Columbus, Ohio, native also had three blocks against Illinois and played all 40 minutes in the game. Sullinger made 13 free throws against the Illini, marking the second-highest single-game total by an Ohio State freshman. His double-double in the game marked his ninth this season, which is the second-highest total in the Big Ten this year.
Meanwhile, the Boilermakers downed No. 17 Michigan State 86-76 on Saturday night.
E’Twaun Moore scored 26 points and leading scorer JaJuan Johnson added 20 for the Boilermakers, but it was Lewis Jackson who did the most damage with a career-high 19 points while getting the best of Spartans point guard Kalin Lucas. Lucas, the 2009 Big Ten player of the year, finished with just nine points on 3-for-16 shooting, while Johnson, the Big Ten’s leading scorer who is averaging 25 points in his past four games, led a Purdue squad that shot 58 percent from the field to win its 12th straight home game.
Purdue remains a game behind No. 1 Ohio State in the conference standings heading into their showdown in Columbus on Tuesday night. The Boilermakers beat the Buckeyes 60-57 the last time the two met on Feb 17, 2010. The Boilermakers’ Johnson scored 24 points and consistently hit big shots in that win.
The games key matchup will be Johnson and big man Sullinger, who square off the first time. Sullinger is shooting 57 percent from the field, and 74 percent from the foul line. If either dominates the other, the outcome likely will be determined right there. Otherwise, it will be the complementary pieces, such as Purdue’s Moore and Ohio State’s David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler.
Other teams have had to resort to double-teams on Sullinger, with less than moderate success, but Johnson is likely skilled and experienced enough to defend him man-to-man.
While Purdue is playing well, I just can’t go against the depth of the Buckeyes.
The odds makers have the Ohio State Buckeyes as a -7.5 point favorite with an over/under of 135.5.
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Matt’s Free Pick: Ohio State 85, Purdue 79
Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Trends:
- Ohio State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
- Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ohio State’s last 7 games
- Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Purdue Boilermakers Betting Trends:
- Purdue is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Purdue’s last 5 games on the road
- Purdue is 2-8-1 ATS in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Ohio State
- Purdue is 1-10 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Ohio State
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