#1 OSU looks to stay unbeaten facing #12 Purdue
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (17-3, 6-1 in Big Ten)
at OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (20-0, 7-0 in Big Ten)
Tip-off: Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Ohio State -8, Total: 134.5
No. 1 Ohio State looks to stay unbeaten and continue its dominance at home when it hosts No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes are 13-0 at home in Value City Arena (and 1-0 at St. John Arena) this season. In its 13 games at Value City Arena, Ohio State is shooting 49% from the field, outscoring opponents by 27.0 PPG and outrebounding them by 8.7 RPG. In addition, no opposing team has scored more than 66 points at Value City Arena this season. The Buckeyes are led by a balanced attack, as four players average double-figures offensively. Freshman phenom Jared Sullinger leads the team with 17.9 PPG and 10.2 RPG. William Buford scores 13.4 PPG, followed by David Lighty with 12.8 PPG and Jon Diebler's 11.7 PPG. Ohio State defeated Illinois on Saturday, 73-68, for its 20th victory of the season. Sullinger was unstoppable, playing all 40 minutes and finishing with 27 points and 16 rebounds. It marked his second game this season with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds and his ninth double-double of 2010-11. Diebler was the only other Buckeye in double-figures, as he chipped in with 15 points. Ohio State is fifth in the nation in FG Pct. (49.5%), 11th in assists (17.5 APG) and 20th in scoring (79.0 PPG), but it shot only 39.6% against the Illini.
Purdue is coming off an 86-76 victory at home versus Michigan State on Saturday, as it hit 58% of its field goals in winning its 12th straight home game. As usual, the Boilers were led by E'Twaun Moore (18.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 40% three-pointers), who scored 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, and JaJuan Johnson (20.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 50.5% FG), who finished with 20 while hitting 7-of-13 from the floor. Johnson is the Big Ten's leading scorer, and is averaging 25.0 PPG in his past four contests. Lewis Jackson, who normally scores 6.9 PPG, chipped in with a career-high 19 points against Michigan State. The 10-point victory over the Spartans was the Boilermakers' first over a ranked opponent this season. In the only other game it played versus a Top 25 team, Purdue fell at then-No. 25 Minnesota, 70-67, on Jan. 13.
Purdue leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 82-75, but the Buckeyes own a 50-28 edge in Columbus. The Boilers have won three of the past four overall meetings with OSU, and they gave the Buckeyes their only home loss last season, 60-57. The two teams split two games in 2009-10, as Ohio State won at Purdue, 70-66, with Buford scoring 19 points and pulling down seven rebounds. He has scored 14.6 PPG against Purdue, while shooting 55% (29-of-53) from the floor. He is the Buckeyes' top rebounder versus the Boilermakers with 4.6 RPG in five career meetings. Although Purdue has one of the better ATS records in the nation at 11-5, it is just 5-4 ATS on the road. Ohio State is only 5-6 ATS at home this season, but the Buckeyes have dominated Purdue in terms of the point spread. OSU is 18-5 ATS (78%) versus Purdue since 1997 and 7-3 ATS in home meetings with the Boilers. The FoxSheets give two more reasons to pick Ohio State to win and cover.
OHIO ST is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) in home games after 2 consecutive covers as a favorite since 1997. The average score was OHIO ST 80.1, OPPONENT 59.6 - (Rating = 3*).
OHIO ST is 15-3 ATS (+11.7 Units) after a game where they made 78% of their free throws or better over the last 3 seasons. The average score was OHIO ST 69.1, OPPONENT 62.2 - (Rating = 3*).
The FoxSheets also show a highly- rated trend siding with the Under on Tuesday night.
Thad Matta is 12-2 UNDER (+9.8 Units) in home games after having won 15 or more of their last 20 games as the coach of OHIO STATE. The average score was OHIO STATE 66.7, OPPONENT 57.8 - (Rating = 3*).
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (17-3, 6-1 in Big Ten)
at OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (20-0, 7-0 in Big Ten)
Tip-off: Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Ohio State -8, Total: 134.5
No. 1 Ohio State looks to stay unbeaten and continue its dominance at home when it hosts No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday night.
The Buckeyes are 13-0 at home in Value City Arena (and 1-0 at St. John Arena) this season. In its 13 games at Value City Arena, Ohio State is shooting 49% from the field, outscoring opponents by 27.0 PPG and outrebounding them by 8.7 RPG. In addition, no opposing team has scored more than 66 points at Value City Arena this season. The Buckeyes are led by a balanced attack, as four players average double-figures offensively. Freshman phenom Jared Sullinger leads the team with 17.9 PPG and 10.2 RPG. William Buford scores 13.4 PPG, followed by David Lighty with 12.8 PPG and Jon Diebler's 11.7 PPG. Ohio State defeated Illinois on Saturday, 73-68, for its 20th victory of the season. Sullinger was unstoppable, playing all 40 minutes and finishing with 27 points and 16 rebounds. It marked his second game this season with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds and his ninth double-double of 2010-11. Diebler was the only other Buckeye in double-figures, as he chipped in with 15 points. Ohio State is fifth in the nation in FG Pct. (49.5%), 11th in assists (17.5 APG) and 20th in scoring (79.0 PPG), but it shot only 39.6% against the Illini.
Purdue is coming off an 86-76 victory at home versus Michigan State on Saturday, as it hit 58% of its field goals in winning its 12th straight home game. As usual, the Boilers were led by E'Twaun Moore (18.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 40% three-pointers), who scored 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, and JaJuan Johnson (20.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 50.5% FG), who finished with 20 while hitting 7-of-13 from the floor. Johnson is the Big Ten's leading scorer, and is averaging 25.0 PPG in his past four contests. Lewis Jackson, who normally scores 6.9 PPG, chipped in with a career-high 19 points against Michigan State. The 10-point victory over the Spartans was the Boilermakers' first over a ranked opponent this season. In the only other game it played versus a Top 25 team, Purdue fell at then-No. 25 Minnesota, 70-67, on Jan. 13.
Purdue leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 82-75, but the Buckeyes own a 50-28 edge in Columbus. The Boilers have won three of the past four overall meetings with OSU, and they gave the Buckeyes their only home loss last season, 60-57. The two teams split two games in 2009-10, as Ohio State won at Purdue, 70-66, with Buford scoring 19 points and pulling down seven rebounds. He has scored 14.6 PPG against Purdue, while shooting 55% (29-of-53) from the floor. He is the Buckeyes' top rebounder versus the Boilermakers with 4.6 RPG in five career meetings. Although Purdue has one of the better ATS records in the nation at 11-5, it is just 5-4 ATS on the road. Ohio State is only 5-6 ATS at home this season, but the Buckeyes have dominated Purdue in terms of the point spread. OSU is 18-5 ATS (78%) versus Purdue since 1997 and 7-3 ATS in home meetings with the Boilers. The FoxSheets give two more reasons to pick Ohio State to win and cover.
OHIO ST is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) in home games after 2 consecutive covers as a favorite since 1997. The average score was OHIO ST 80.1, OPPONENT 59.6 - (Rating = 3*).
OHIO ST is 15-3 ATS (+11.7 Units) after a game where they made 78% of their free throws or better over the last 3 seasons. The average score was OHIO ST 69.1, OPPONENT 62.2 - (Rating = 3*).
The FoxSheets also show a highly- rated trend siding with the Under on Tuesday night.
Thad Matta is 12-2 UNDER (+9.8 Units) in home games after having won 15 or more of their last 20 games as the coach of OHIO STATE. The average score was OHIO STATE 66.7, OPPONENT 57.8 - (Rating = 3*).
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