Minnesota vs Ohio State Picks & Odds (Jan. 12)

• Ohio State is a 14.5-point home favorite over Minnesota on Thursday night in a Big Ten game.
• Minnesota is 0-4 in conference play
• A look at the Minnesota vs Ohio State odds and prediction can be found below 

Minnesota will again look for its first conference win of the season when it visits Ohio State in a Big Ten game at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday at Value City Arena in Columbus.

Minnesota (6-8, 0-3 road, 0-4 Big Ten) lost to Nebraska 81-79 in overtime on Saturday for its second straight defeat and seventh in the last nine games. Ohio State (10-5, 7-1 home, 2-2 Big Ten) lost its second game in a row Sunday, 80-73 at Maryland.

The game will be televised on FS1.

Minnesota vs Ohio State Odds

Odds as of January 11th at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Ohio State is favored by 14.5 points and a -1700 pick on the moneyline in the college basketball odds, giving it an implied win probability of 94.44%. The Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament championship odds are +5500.

Minnesota Betting Trends

Minnesota senior guard Taurus Samuels forced overtime against Nebraska by hitting a three-point field goal with 4.8 seconds left in regulation. Yet it wasn’t enough for the Golden Gophers to win a game that included 15 lead changes and eight ties.

Junior forward Jamison Battle led Minnesota with 20 points despite shooting just 8 of 21 from the field and 4 of 13 from three-point range. It was the second 20-point game of the season for Battle, who is averaging 13.6 points a game.

Sophomore forward Dawson Garcia continued his fine season after transferring back to his home state from North Carolina. He had 19 points, 15 rebounds and three assists before fouling out.

It was the first double-double of the season for Garcia. He is averaging 14.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Pharrel Payne ➡️ Dawson Garcia @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/jhmaR0xuJJ

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 7, 2023

Junior guard Talon Cooper finished with 12 points, four assists and three blocked shots. Freshman forward Joshua Ola-Joseph also had 12 points.

After transferring from Morehead State, Cooper has been a key member of the lineup with averages of 10.5 points, 6.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds. He is second in the Big Ten in assists for a team that is just 339^th in the nation in scoring (64.3) and 361^st in free throw shooting (59.4%).

Minnesota had seven turnovers Saturday but was outrebounded 38-28. Nebraska shot 50.8% (30 of 59) from the field.

Ohio State Betting Trends

Ohio State missed junior forward Zed Key in the loss at Maryland. He sat out with a sprained shoulder and is questionable for Thursday.

Key is averaging 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. Without him, Ohio State was outrebounded 40-26 and outscored in the paint 34-22. Maryland also had 14 offensive rebounds.

Freshman center Felix Okpara made his first career start but managed just two points in 12 minutes and did not have a rebound.

Ohio State did make 9 of 19 (47.4%) from long range but it wasn’t enough despite freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh scoring 22 points and senior forward Justice Sueing adding 21.

It was Sensabaugh’s fifth 20-point game of the season, three of which have come in the last four games. He is averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game.

Brice Sensabaugh is one of the best scorers in the 2023 Draft.

The 6’6, 235 pound Freshman is averaging 16.7 PTS on 52/43.3/80.4 splits. He’s a physical & explosive athlete that can score at all three levels. Gets to his spots easily. pic.twitter.com/QBG9GcqwTl

— Israel (@iohandles) January 11, 2023

Sueing has a 14.1 scoring average and three 20-point games.

Freshman guard Bruce Thornton is contributing 10.0 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds a game.

Ohio State has played well on the offensive end, ranking 18^th in Division I in field goal percentage (48.9), 24^th in three-point percentage (38.4) and 36^th in scoring (79.7). The Buckeyes are also 33^rd in three-point defense (29.2%).

Minnesota vs Ohio State Prediction

Ohio State has won three straight games over Minnesota, including rolling to a 70-45 victory last season in Columbus. The Golden Gophers had a game effort last week but just don’t have enough depth to compete with the Big Ten’s upper-echelon programs.

Pick: Ohio State -14.5 (-110)

Season record: 19-13 (+4.7 units) ATS, 0-4 (-4.0 units) ML