NCAA BASKETBALL – TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2010
Ohio State Buckeyes (11-5) vs. #4 Purdue Boilermakers (14-1)
Ohio State vs. Purdue Predictions
The Ohio State Buckeyes will clash with the No. 4 undefeated Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday at the Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN.
The Boilermakers knocked off Ohio State 67-61 the last time the two teams met back on Mar 15, 2009.
The road weary Buckeyes fell to Minnesota 73-62 on Saturday, despite the efforts of junior guard Evan Turner, who put up 19 points while dragging down eight rebounds and seven assists in his second game back after missing more than a month with broken bones in his lower back. David Lighty had 15 points, while Dallas Lauderdale managed only two points and missed 3 of 5 free throws in the loss. The Buckeyes have been victims of a difficult schedule, having played three of their last four conference games away from Value City Arena, including some of the toughest venues in the league such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and now Purdue.
After celebrating their fourteenth straight win – matching the best start in school history, the Boilermakers joyous ride came to an abrupt end falling to No.14 Wisconsin 73-66 on Saturday. The 1993-94 Purdue squad also opened the season with 14 wins, and had its streak snapped in Madison. The loss also dropped the Boilermakers a game back of conference foes Michigan State and Illinois in the Big Ten title race. E’Twaun Moore had 24 points and Robbie Hummel added 13, but it would not be enough to overcome the Boilermakers problems from 3-point range (3 of 10) and at the free-throw line (13 of 24).
The odds makers have the Buckeyes +6-point underdogs in this one.
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Ohio will need to get the ball to Turner, who even after being out over four weeks still leads the team with 17.5 and 5.6 assist per game. If they can get the ball in to his hands, magical things may happen. For the Boilermakers, now that the pressure of being undefeated no longer exist, they need to regroup and polish up their perimeter shooting and capitalize on shots from the charity stripe.
Expect the Boilermakers to win this one by eight as they out hustle a tired Ohio State team.
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