Free Pick | NCAA | Thursday | Feb. 20

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#753 Northwestern +10 over Ohio State 5:30 PM CT

This could be a dangerous game for the Buckeyes as on Sunday Ohio State hosted Michigan in a huge game and fell just short in a tense 86-83 result. That was the third loss in the past five games for Ohio State with the Buckeyes now below .500 in Big Ten play and sliding closer to the NCAA Tournament bubble. Northwestern has a 4-11 Big Ten record but that includes wins over Illinois and Maryland and 10 of 11 Big Ten losses have come by 10 or fewer points as this is an appealing underdog. The roster for Northwestern has been hit with injuries with Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach out, but the Wildcats have still competed well in close games in their absence, with losses by five, six, and four on the current three-game slide. Northwestern plays at a slow pace and takes good care of the ball and while this isn’t a great shooting team, Ohio State struggles to score inside as well as these are two of the worst 2-point field goal rate teams in the conference. Northwestern’s interior defense and offensive rebounding numbers have been superior to Ohio State’s and the Wildcats have a clear size edge in this pairing. Northwestern won last season’s only meeting in a blowout and is 4-3 S/U in the past seven meetings including a win in Columbus two seasons ago. Ohio State is 3-5 ATS in the past eight Big Ten games as a favorite and the Wildcats are 2-0 ATS as an underdog of nine or more points in Big Ten play.