Ohio State basketball vs. Purdue: Will the slide stop?

Ohio State basketball fans get another exercise in masochism today as they get ready to watch the Buckeyes take on Purdue in Mackey Arena. While the Boilermakers have lost three of their last four, Ohio State has lost seven straight and 12 of their last 13.

Because of that, Buckeye fans have very little faith in their team pulling an upset. I also am dubious of that happening. Vegas is perhaps the biggest skeptic as the Boilermakers are an 11.5-point favorite for this game according to FanDuel.

As far as betting goes, I think I am actually leaning toward taking the points. Purdue kind of started off this huge slide for the Buckeyes when they barely beat them in the Schott. For some reason, I think the Buckeyes keep it within single digits, despite not having any evidence over the last month that that’s something they can do.

If there is going to be any chance of that happening, Ohio State has to move the ball better and play some defense. Assists have been a huge problem for the Bucks. They have tried to score by doing a lot of one-on-one dribbling and it hasn’t been effective.

Defense was a massive issue for them in their last game against Iowa. They allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot over 57% from the field. It seems that whenever they get one part of their game fixed, another part of it falls apart. That was certainly true in Iowa City.

Prediction: Ohio State basketball 64 Purdue 70

While I think the Buckeyes cover, I certainly don’t think they’re going to beat the Boilermakers. Purdue is one of the most talented teams in the country even if they have hit a bit of a slide recently. The talent is too good for a team that lacks confidence to beat.

I hope that the Buckeyes can play well and get one decent win this season. Beating Purdue today would certainly qualify as that. The game will be on CBS today at 1 pm ET.