Dave's College Basketball Picks, Jan. 31: Ohio State at Indiana

Ohio State (14-5, 4-4) at Indiana (5-14, 0-7)

Line: Ohio State -9

Indiana is getting much closer. The young team has come up just short twice in the last week in a quest for their first conference win. We saw the improvement during the Minnesota game and predicted a close one on the road against Northwestern, and that is exactly what we got. However, the turnovers (22 against the Wildcats) are going to have to improve if Indiana is to stay competitive against the Buckeyes.

Ohio State was in control of their game against Minnesota on Wednesday from the opening tip off. They forced the Wolverines into 21 turnovers and held them to 30.6% shooting on the way to a 72-54 point victory. Having lost both meetings with league leading Michigan Stateand sitting at 4-4 in the conference, the Buckeye’s are playing more for a tournament seed than the Big Ten title. Should be interesting to see how the committee treats this team if Lighty is back and healthy in March.

ATS-

Ohio State is 8-7 ATS including 4-2 on the road

Indiana is 7-9 ATS including 5-2 at home

I really like how this Indiana team is progressing, but they are not quite up to speed with the top teams in the conference, which I consider Ohio State to be. The Hoosiers will have some difficulty scoring against Ohio State’s inside presence and the turnovers are a concern.

Dave’s Pick: Ohio State -9

See all of Dave's College Basketball Picks Against the Spread at cbbplace.com