NCAAB Wednesday November 30th #25 Ohio State at #16 Duke Betting Preview
ACC / Big Ten Challenge Continues
A pair of ranked opponents meet up in the Ohio State at Duke betting matchup, with the #25 Buckeyes (5-1) traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium to meet up with the 6-2 Blue Devils. Duke didn’t fare well in their last meeting with a Big Ten team, getting pounced 75-56 by Purdue in the Phil Knight Legacy Championship Game.
OSU also comes into Wednesday’s contest off the Holiday Tournament circuit, getting fifth place in the Maui Invitational but posting a nice win over #21 Texas Tech last Wednesday. The Blue Devils are still -5.5 favorites in this ACC / Big Ten Challenge matchup.
Ohio State Finding Their Identity
The Buckeyes rolled through the their non-conference home schedule, beating Robert Morris, Charleston Southern, and Eastern Illinois all by 20+ points. The trip to Hawaii wasn’t as kind for OSU, as they fell 88-77 to #17 San Diego State in the Maui Invitational opener.
The Maui Invitational was still a nice experience for Ohio State, as they did bounce back and thump 81-53 and got the 80-73 victory over Texas Tech as +2 point underdogs. In the process though the Buckeyes have started to find their identity.
Justice Sueing blew up for 33 points against a good Texas Tech defense while freshman Bruce Thornton and Brice Sensabaugh are gaining valuable experience and both had 17 points in the big win over Cincinnati. Sensabaugh actually leads the Buckeyes with 15.8 ppg – in just 18.2 mpg.
Duke’s Offense With Some Concerns
Statistically the Ohio State defense numbers look fairly solid, they’re giving up just 61 ppg and opponents are shooting a measly 26% from three point range. In adjusted efficiency though the Buckeyes rank just 65th, and coach Chris Holtmann has stated there have been way too many breakdowns at that end of the court.
With the Buckeyes’ defense being perhaps a bit overrated, then the question in the Ohio State at Duke betting matchup becomes if Duke’s offense an show some improvement? Duke is a decent 22nd in offensive efficiency, but they were also held to 56 points or less in two of the three games at the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, using defense to get a 54-51 win over Oregon State.
One of the things that concerns you with Duke early in this season and in big games like a quality opponent in Ohio State is youth. Two of the Blue Devils top three scorers so far are freshman, and Jon Scheyer is only a month into his first year on the bench. That being said 7-foot freshman Kyle Filipowski looks like the real deal averaging 15.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game so far.
Free Ohio State at Duke Betting Pick
It will be interesting to see Ohio State in their first true road game of the season, especially since they rely on a couple freshman for big production and Cameron Indoor Stadium can be a madhouse. That being said, +5.5 points just looks like too many. 62% of the betting public agrees and is on the Buckeyes.
Free Pick: Ohio State +5.5
