Buckeyes host Wildcats in Big Ten action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/17/2007 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten Conference standings meet in Columbus tonight, as the Northwestern Wildcats come calling on the seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

Northwestern started the season a solid 10-3, but losses in all four of its league bouts thus far has the squad just three games over .500 at the moment. The Wildcats bring up the rear in the Big Ten at 0-4, and they have dropped three of the four games by double figures. The lone exception during that span was last Saturday's 56-50 setback to No. 3 Wisconsin.

As for Ohio State, it is 2-1 in Big Ten play and 14-3 overall. Thad Matta's Buckeyes stepped out of conference last weekend to entertain SEC foe Tennessee in a game that lived up to the hype as OSU prevailed in a nailbiter, 68-66. It was the Buckeyes' first win over a ranked opponent this season after dropping bouts to North Carolina, Florida and Wisconsin, and the win improved the club to 27-0 in non-league home games under Matta. Ohio State is a perfect 11-0 at home this season while Northwestern is 0-3 in true road tilts.

Ohio State owns a commanding 107-44 lead in the all-time series with Northwestern, and the Wildcats haven't topped the Buckeyes since 1998. OSU is the only Big Ten team NU head coach Bill Carmody has yet to beat.

Defense is traditionally the name of the game in Evanston, and the Wildcats have proven themselves more than worthy this season. Northwestern's foes are scoring just 56.5 ppg on 42.6 percent shooting from the field, and the 'Cats own a winning record despite being outrebounded by 7.7 rpg. Offensively, NU is hitting 44.8 percent of its total shots and putting up just 58.8 ppg. The team boasts three double-digit scorers, but Kevin Coble's club-best 12.1 ppg demonstrates a lack of big-time offensive production. Craig Moore and Tim Doyle check in with 10.2 and 10.1 ppg, respectively, with Doyle also serving as the team's primary playmaker with 95 assists in 17 games.

The 'Cats gave visiting Wisconsin all it could handle over the weekend, as the Badgers made good on just 2-of-12 three-point tries, suffered 15 turnovers and allowed the home team to actually hit more field goals in the contest (20-17). Jeff Ryan led the NU attack with 18 points and Doyle added 11 points and eight assists.

Freshman sensation Greg Oden had arguably his best game of the season in Ohio State's recent win over Tennessee, as the 7-0 Indianapolis native scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Oden, who hit 9-of-13 shots from the field, also played a huge role defensively, coming up with three blocks and a steal in addition to making the Volunteers think twice about coming into the lane throughout the game. Fellow rookie Mike Conley Jr. poured in a career-high 16 points. Ohio State turned the ball over 20 times, but claimed an 18-5 edge in points from the foul line as well as a dominating 46-30 rebounding advantage in earning the narrow victory.

Despite missing the first seven games due to a wrist injury, Oden has been nothing short of spectacular during his freshman campaign, hitting 61.1 percent of his field goal attempts in averaging 14.9 ppg. He also pulls down 9.8 rpg and has 39 blocks for an average of nearly four per game. Oden doesn't have to go it alone however, as the Buckeyes have three other double-digit scorers, with Daequan Cook (14.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Ron Lewis (12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Ivan Harris (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg) all producing this season. Conley Jr. is averaging 9.4 ppg and leads the team with 6.4 apg.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.