NCAA Tournament: Georgia Tech vs. Ohio State Prediction: March 21st 2010

Georgia Tech vs. Ohio State
Free Prediction: Georgia Tech +6.5
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Georgia Tech is extremely talented and they should not be this big of an underdog to anybody on a neutral floor. Their defense has been outstanding in holding opponents to just 66 points per game on an impressive 38.5% shooting from the field. Tech held their four ACC tournament opponents to just 54, 64, 58, and 65 points. The Yellow Jackets also held Oklahoma St to just 59 points in their opening round win on Friday night. Those numbers show they are in very good current form right now which makes them an extremely dangerous underdog.

Ohio St struggled mightily in their first two conference tournament games as the Buckeyes needed a miraculous three at the buzzer to beat Michigan by a point (69-68) and then needed double overtime to beat Illinois. They waxed a terrible Minnesota team in the final, and then coasted to a non-covering win over UCSB in their opening round game on Friday night. The Buckeyes haven’t faced a good team since the middle of February, but that all changes in a big way this afternoon.

Despite not playing top-notch talent, the Buckeyes have also struggled to cover pointspreads. They are just 2-4 ATS over their last six games, and failing to cover short numbers against bad teams raises a big red flag. If they are not dominating their weak opponents, there’s no reason to expect them to all of a sudden turn it on against one of the most talented teams in the country in Georgia Tech. Ohio St does not have depth (they play a 7-man rotation) so the fact that they rarely use their bench much is not good in a tournament where the level of competition increases in each round. Ohio St’s first real test in almost a month comes today, and since they are laying a steep price, it looks like a prime spot to play against them.

Georgia Tech is not your typical ACC team. Tech is more of a half-court team that pounds the ball in the paint and plays solid defense on the other end of the court. That combination is also how Ohio St likes to play so it’s hard to imagine this game not coming down to the final few possessions. Georgia Tech has two future NBA players on their roster, Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, and they both play in the paint. Ohio St has a future NBA player in Evan Turner, but he plays on the perimeter where Tech’s defense has been outstanding all season long. Tech is definitely one of the most talented teams in this field so there’s some tremendous value in taking this many points with a team that has the talent to beat anybody in the country.