Ohio State vs. Illinois Prediction
The 19th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes overcame their first loss of the season by winning their Big Ten Conference opener. Can Ohio State notch another win tonight as it travels to a sub-.500 team in the Illinois Fighting Illini?
Game Snapshot
529 Ohio State Buckeyes at 530 Illinois Fighting Illini
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
United Center at 7PM ET
TV: BTN
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Buckeyes are a 5.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 145.5 points. As of Wednesday morning, 84 percent of public bets are being placed on visiting Ohio State. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest information.
Buckeyes trounce Golden Golphers
After its first loss of the season against Syracuse, Ohio State (7-1, 1-0) bounced back with a 79-59 victory Sunday night over visiting Minnesota to open Big Ten Conference play. The Buckeyes led 39-28 at halftime en route to the win. Andre Wesson scored a team-best 16 points to go with four rebounds and two assists to lead the way. Kaleb Wesson tallied 15 points and six boards. C.J. Jackson had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Musa Jallow registered 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. Kyle Young contributed 10 points, eight caroms, three assists and two steals. Duane Washington Jr. added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists as a reserve.
Illini unable to hang at Nebraska
Illinois (2-6, 0-1) struggled at the Cornhuskers Sunday as it lost by a count of 75-60. The Fighting Illini trailed 39-23 at the half en route to the defeat. Giorgi Bezhanishvili paced Illinois with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting with six rebounds. Kipper Nichols accounted for 12 points and two rebounds off the bench. Ayo Dosunmu added 10 points, four boards and two dimes.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Ohio State
The Buckeyes are 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 Wednesday games. The under is 7-2 in the last nine meetings.
Illinois
The Fighting Illini are 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. Illinois is 0-5 ATS in its last five Wednesday games.
Prediction:
The Illini have only had two home games and while those are their only two wins of the season, it’s hard to take much from it against teams outside the top 200. While I don’t think Ohio State will blow Illinois out of the water here, I see the Buckeyes as the much stronger team and I see them pulling away in the second half to win by enough to cover this spread.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES -5.5