Ohio St Buckeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers Pick & Prediction JANUARY 21st 2025

Preview and Prediction

Number 17 Purdue seems to be unbeatable at home, while Ohio State can't seem to secure a victory no matter where they play.

This makes the Buckeyes' upcoming visit to Mackey Arena on Tuesday night a high-stakes game. Ohio State (10-8, 2-5 Big Ten) is in desperate need of a win to improve their chances of making it to the NCAA Tournament.

The Boilermakers (15-4, 7-1) are on a seven-game winning streak and have won an impressive 26 consecutive games at home in West Lafayette, Indiana. They are currently just half a game behind Michigan State in their pursuit of a third consecutive Big Ten title.

On the other hand, the Buckeyes have suffered three consecutive losses by a combined margin of only five points.

Their most recent game on Friday was particularly devastating, as they lost in overtime to a struggling Indiana team that had just suffered two 25-point losses. This loss dropped Ohio State to 36th in the NET rankings and they now have a record of 2-6 in Quad 1 games, which are important factors in determining potential NCAA teams.

According to Ohio State coach Jake Diebler, it's the little things that are costing them games. He believes that they need to play smarter and pay more attention to detail in order to turn things around. Diebler stated, "It's the little things throughout the game that are putting us in that position, that we've got to get better at. In general, I think we just need to play smarter: Our shot selection at times, our turnovers. We're playing hard. We're playing tough. We need to play smarter now, and that's where the attention to detail comes into play. I don't mean to oversimplify it, but it is literally just a couple more possessions."

The Buckeyes' last two possessions in their close loss to Indiana exemplify Diebler's concerns. On the second-to-last possession, with the team down by one point, freshman point guard John Mobley Jr. attempted a long 25-foot shot with 13 seconds left on the shot clock, which ultimately missed. On the final possession, Mobley drove into the paint and had his shot blocked by Indiana's Anthony Leal. The rebound was then picked up by Ohio State's Bruce Thornton, who missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

Despite leading the team with 22 points, Mobley's decision-making was called into question by Diebler. He believes that the young player needs to make better choices on the court. Diebler said, "I think (Mobley) also has to grow in his attention to detail and kind of making a couple better decisions. But I kept telling him throughout the (Indiana) game: 'Stay aggressive, stay aggressive. It's going to fall. Don't flinch.'"

Ohio State's chances of pulling off an upset against Purdue would be greatly improved if their sophomore power forward, Devin Royal, is able to play. He missed their last game due to a wrist injury.

Meanwhile, Purdue has been performing well on both ends of the court during their seven-game winning streak, especially on defense. They have only allowed an average of 60.1 points per game during this stretch. While opponents are shooting 41.4% from the floor, they are only making 26.7% of their three-point attempts.

With junior point guard Braden Smith leading the offense with 15.1 points and 8.9 assists per game, and the team averaging only nine turnovers in their last seven games, opponents have little room for error when facing Purdue.

According to Purdue coach Matt Painter, their focus on preventing opponents from getting into the paint has been a key factor in their success. He said, "We've tried our best to not let people get into the paint when they're setting ball screens, posting up or transition. There's some risk involved there because you can give up some perimeter shots at times, but we'd rather do that with this team than anything (else)."

PREDICTION

Ohio St Buckeyes

65

76

Purdue Boilermakers

Ohio St Buckeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers Recap FEB 19TH 2023