Oral Roberts vs Ohio State South Region Picks: Defense? Never Heard of It.

One of our favorites things, when it comes to making March Madness picks, is being able to wager on mid-major teams that sell out for offense.

By throwing defense to the wind and simply trying to outscore their opponent at every opportunity, the potential for madness ratchets up a few notches, and that's exactly what we're expecting when the South Region's 15th seed, Oral Roberts, looks to topple No. 2 seed Ohio State on Friday.

The Buckeyes went through the meat grinder that is the Big Ten, falling just short in the conference tournament final, but they look to be in top shape heading into this college basketball betting matchup.

Here are our best free picks and predictions for No. 15 Oral Roberts vs. No. 2 Ohio State. 

Oral Roberts vs Ohio State odds

Sharp money and line movement report

By Patrick Everson

Ohio State is down 2.5 points from its -17.5 Sunday night opener at FanDuel, sitting at -15 about three hours before this 3 p.m. ET Friday tipoff. Ohio State is taking 60 percent of point-spread bets, but spread money is running almost dead even. The total opened at 154, peaked at 157.5 a couple of times and is now 157, but it's two-way action, with 58 percent of bets on the Under and 57 percent of money on the Over.

Check out the full line movement for this game

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs Ohio State Buckeyes betting preview

Injuries

Oral Roberts: None.
Ohio State: Kyle Young F (Questionable), Jimmy Sotos G (Out).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last seven neutral site games as a favorite. Find more NCAA betting trends for Oral Roberts vs. Ohio State.

Against the spread (ATS) pick

The Buckeyes went 18-8 SU (12-8 conference) during the regular season, losing their final four games to finish fifth in the Big Ten. While normally fifth in your conference is just so-so, the fact that the Big Ten is an absolute monster this season means more respect should be given to the Buckeyes.

Ohio State rallied in the conference tournament, rattling off three straight wins, including knocking off Purdue (No. 4 seed in the South) and Michigan (No. 1 in the East), en route to the Big Ten Tournament finale, where it fell by three points to Illinois—also a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Buckeyes made that run despite forward Kyle Young missing the last two games with a concussion, but it didn't seem to slow down an offense that ranked fourth in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and managed to score 77 points per game while playing in a conference with five of the Top-25 programs in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Thankfully for Ohio State, it gets to play some run-and-gun basketball in the first round against Oral Roberts, which has one simple mantra: score.

The Golden Eagles were 10th in the nation with 81.8 points per game and sat 74th in adjusted offensive efficiency, but they also give up nearly 76 points per game at the same time. That led to them going 13-10 in the regular season – finishing fourth in the Summit Conference – but they upset top-seeded South Dakota State in the semifinals and squeaked by North Dakota State in the Summit Championship to get back into the March Madness odds fray for the first time since 2007-08.

While any member of the Summit Conference would be an underdog against a Big Ten power, the fact that this really wasn't the top team from the Summit – and Oral Roberts is facing a team that's even more lethal offensively than it is – makes it really difficult to see the Golden Eagles hanging in with the Buckeyes.

Ohio State seems to be turning it on at the right time, and that has us leaning with the Buckeyes to cover in what should be a fun opening-round matchup to watch.

PREDICTION: Ohio State -16.5 (-110)

Over/Under Pick

Did we mention that these teams are very heavily skewed toward offense? Oral Roberts is 285th in adjusted defensive efficiency, 47th in adjusted tempo, and went 16-7 O/U this season, including seeing the Over cash in seven of its last nine games.

Ohio State also saw the Over hit in 17 of its 29 games so far, including three of its four Big Ten Tournament games, and is not exactly a defensive powerhouse. This is a lofty total but Max Abmas and the Golden Eagles are going to come out trying to score, score and score some more—and the Buckeyes, behind E.J. Liddell, Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing, will be more than happy to oblige this request for a track meet.

PREDICTION: Over 153.5 (-110)

Team total pick

As mentioned above, Ohio State was just 52nd in the nation in points per game but third in adjusted offensive efficiency—a result of playing in the talented and mettle-testing Big Ten.

The Buckeyes will find generating offense a lot easier Friday against Oral Roberts, which doesn't have a single player taller than 6-foot-8, making the Buckeyes' lack of height not much of an issue.

Ohio State is not overly reliant on the three-ball, sitting just 134th in the nation in 3-pointers attempted per game, so look for the Buckeyes to attack the rim – where Oral Roberts should provide little resistance – and put up a big, crooked number to start off their NCAA Tournament run. 

PREDICTION: Ohio State team total Over 85.5 (-100)

Oral Roberts vs Ohio State betting card

• Ohio State -16.5 (-110)
• Over 154.5 (-110)
• Ohio State team total Over 85.5 (-100)

Where can I bet on March Madness odds?

March Madness is one of the most popular times of the year for sports bettors, which of course makes it one of the busiest times of the year for online sportsbooks. Every betting site will offer March Madness odds but the top sites are safe and secure, offer a wide range of banking options, and give you a ton of markets for each game. Check out the best March Madness betting sites in your region.

MORE MARCH MADNESS FREE PICKS

Pages related to this topic