Purdue Boilermakers (21-11) Play Ohio State Buckeyes (25-6)
The Buckeyes of Ohio State will face off with the Boilermakers of Purdue in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament with the game being played in Indianapolis.
The Buckeyes appeared to be heading toward trouble in the post season after losses to both Michigan and Wisconsin; however, the team of Thad Matta has rallied to close the gap with a win over Michigan State to give them momentum for the post season. In the Big 10, OSU was 13-5 and 1-0 in neutral site games, finishing with a three-way tie for 1st place in their conference standings.
Sullinger averages 1639 points per game with 9.3 rebounds, while Buford averages 15.1 points along with 4.9 rebounds and Thomas averages 16.9 points with 4.9 rebounds. The team is averaging 74.6 points along with 15.3 assists and shooting at 48.1% offensively and defensively are only allowing 58.5 points while their opponents shoot at 40.7%. One of the concerns that has been in place for some time is depth, and Columbus will reveal how concerned they should be about the problem.
Purdue has proven to be one of the stronger teams in the last two weeks of the season while Painter's team continues to play strongly against Nebraska in the first round win. Purdue shot 56% rom the floor, 52% beyond the three point arc, and 55.6% of free throws. A. Johnson provided 17 points with 6 rebounds, T. Johnson produced 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. R. Smith scored 15 points and R. Hummel scored 10 with 7 rebounds. The Boilermakers played tough in the last meet with the Buckeyes losing by only three points in Columbus. They are not likely to back down in this game.
The strongest play is on the team that will cover the spread, to be posted in the Premium Area.