College Hoops Odds – Buckeyes Look To Overcome Pressure Against Illinois

College hoops odds makers know that a 76-63 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday made the Ohio State Buckeyes part of a top-four in the national rankings that all suffered a loss in the same week, the first time that has happened since 2003. That allowed the defending national champion Duke Blue Devils to make the jump all the way up from five to one, and leave the Buckeyes right in the middle at three.

Illinois Fighting Illini @ Ohio State Buckeyes

Tuesday February 22nd – 7:00 PM ET

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Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Television: ESPN

College Hoops Odds: Ohio State -10.5

The Buckeyes still have hope of recapturing that No. 1 spot in the nation as well as a Big Ten title, but given the history of past No. 1 seeds in the March Madness national title tournament, they might prefer to simply settle for the latter. Just four games remain on the schedule for Ohio State, beginning with an inconsistent Illinois Fighting Illini team that have split the past six games.

College Hoops Odds: What Illinois Will Have To Do To Win

The Fighting Illini will win this game if they can get after the Buckeyes early. Ohio State was absolutely dominated on the road at Purdue, and if Illinois can get after them early on in this one, it could damage their confidence. The Fighting Illini have been very inconsistent in the month of February, but that’s better than when they were consistently losing at the end of January. Senior guard Demetri McCamey has been a star this season with a team-high 14.5 points and 6.2 assists per game, but has not gotten enough from his supporting cast to string together consecutive wins.

College Hoops Odds: What Ohio State Will Have To Do To Win

The Buckeyes will win this game if head coach Thad Matta can help his team get over the pressure of being one of the top teams in the country. Ohio State cruised through the first couple of months of the season, but after losing their first game of the season at Wisconsin they have split a pair of decisions since. The Buckeyes struggled to get anything going against the Boilermakers, as Purdue star E’Twaun Moore looked absolutely unstoppable with 38 points. Jared Sullinger managed to score 25 points and grab six boards despite facing constant double and triple teams, and will need his teammates to do more at both ends of the floor to prevent another loss.

College Hoops Odds: Outlook & Pick

The Buckeyes are beginning to realize that a potential undefeated season may now turn in to an absolute mess in which they not only conceded the top seed, but also miss out on a Big Ten title to Purdue, and that has brought a lot of pressure. Ohio State will face just one more ranked opponent, and should be able to bounce back with consecutive home games against unranked opponents over their next two.

College Hoops Odds Pick: Ohio State -10.5

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