Northwestern vs. Ohio State: How to watch, odds, picks, final score predictions from ESPN, KenPom

Ohio State will be searching for their first Big Ten win in a while as Northwestern will pay them a visit on Thursday night. Before the Buckeyes and Wildcats face off, all of the predictions and betting odds – including KenPom analytics – are rolling in.

How to watch Northwestern vs. Ohio State

Tip-off: 8 p.m. ET

Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Channel: FS1

Vegas odds

Ohio State is a 4.5-point favorite over Northwestern on Thursday, according to VegasInsider. The over-under is set at 137.5 points.

ESPN BPI prediction

Predicted winner: Ohio State

Win probability (for Ohio State): 77.7%

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI predicts that Ohio State will defeat Northwestern at home on Thursday.

KenPom prediction

Predicted final score: Ohio State 72, Northwestern 67

Win probability (for Ohio State): 69%

KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. Like ESPN, KenPom projects that Ohio State comes away with a victory over Northwestern.

More on Northwestern vs. Ohio State

The Big Ten’s third-ranked scoring offense in Ohio State and the third-ranked scoring defense in Northwestern will square off Thursday night. The Buckeyes are desperately looking for a win after dropping their last four straight conference games, putting them at 3-9 in the conference this season only in front of Minnesota in the standings. Ohio State is led by one of the conference’s best scorers Brice Sensabaugh, but the Buckeyes’ last game was the first time in 13 games that he hasn’t led them in scoring. Freshman point guard Bruce Thornton had a career-high 22 points versus Michigan, and will hopefully ride some of that momentum into Thursday’s game.

The Buckeyes may only have three conference wins, but one of them was over Northwestern on January 1. The Wildcats only scored 57 points in that loss, and are fresh off of a narrow, low-scoring win versus Wisconsin defeating the Badgers 54-52. Northwestern ranks 10th in the Big Ten in scoring, and may need more of it to defeat the Buckeyes. Wildcats’ guard Boo Buie could be the answer, leading the team in points and assists per game. Buie has led Northwestern in scoring and assists in their last three games, averaging 18.6 points and five assists per game in their last three contests, and more of the same versus Ohio State may lead to a redemptive Wildcats win.