National championship contender Ohio State tries to avoid an upset when it meets Gonzaga Saturday in an East Regional third-round game Saturday in Pittsburgh.
The Buckeyes, the two seed in the East, started the tournament with a 78-59 win over Loyola (Md.) Thursday, while the Zags advanced with a 77-54 win over West Virginia.
Ohio State opened as 7-point as chalk at Sportsbook and other sportsbooks, but watch the line moves Saturday. As the No. 2 seed, Ohio State looks to avoid the fate that befell Duke and Mizzou and Friday, both taken out by 15 seeds.
This matchup is a neutral-site affair being played at Consol Energy Center.
The Bulldogs will try to spoil to the party on Saturday; they are 14-17 ATS against the number this season, while the Buckeyes are 18-13 ATS. Gonzaga is 8-22-1 on the totals; Ohio State is 18-12-1.
View Gonzaga vs Ohio State Odds and Stats.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 4 (Buckeyes) and the No. 16 (Bulldogs) teams in the league, according to our current NCAA Basketball power rank. A 84-79 result in favor of the Buckeyes has been projected by the scores prediction engine.
How They Match Up:
In the paint, the rebound battle will feature Ohio State's No. 42-rated squad against Gonzaga's No. 50-rated roster. And in long-range shooting, Ohio State rates No. 299 in the country with 4.9 per game, while their foes tonight rank No. 135 nationally with 6.5 per match.
Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Gonzaga owns the country's No. 149-rated mark, allowing 68.7 points per game on the highway. Ohio State, on the other hand, rates No. 47 in scoring at home.
In their last action, Gonzaga was a 77-54 Sportsbook at home against West Virginia. They covered the 2-point spread as underdogs. Gonzaga cruised to victory on Thursday, running West Virginia out of the gym and running up a 77-54 score at Consol Energy Center.
Ohio State was a 78-59 Sportsbook in its last match at home against Loyola. They covered the 17.5-point spread as favorites. The Buckeyes used a 31-point performance from Deshaun Thomas to help Ohio State smack Loyola 78-59 on Thursday at Consol Energy Center.
