The college basketball regular season is in the home stretch, and it is now time for the teams on the bubble to separate themselves from one another. Ohio State is one of those teams that is firmly on the bubble. They currently sit at 15-12 (7-9) in the Big Ten and the need for wins is now. The Buckeyes must finish strong, or they may be left out of the NCAA tournament all together.
UCLA currently stands at 19-8 (10-6), and the team had their swoon in the middle of the season as they lost four games in a row to ring in the new year. Since then, they have been good and have picked up some more quality wins along the way. The Bruins are a lock to make the NCAA tournament, but their seeding is still questioned. UCLA and Ohio State are coming off huge losses that will affect the NCAA tournament. UCLA lost at home to Minnesota and blew a 17-point lead. Ohio State got dominated from tip to finish by a shorthanded Northwestern team in Columbus. That loss is one that the Buckeyes need to recover from quickly if they want to make the NCAA tournament.
How to watch Ohio State vs UCLA
- Date: Sunday, February 23
- Time: 2:45 PM CST
- Venue: Pauley Pavilion
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Streaming: fuboTV
- Ohio State record: 15-12
- UCLA record: 19-8
Ohio State vs UCLA odds, spread, and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Ohio State +202
- UCLA -250
Spread
- Ohio State +6.5
- UCLA -6.5
Total
- Over 139.5
Ohio State injury report
- Meechie Johnson, G: Out (personal)
- Taison Chatman, G: Out for season (Knee)
- Aaron Bradshaw, F: Questionable (illness)
- Colby Baumann, G: Questionable (undisclosed)
UCLA injury report
- None
UCLA and Ohio State series history
- UCLA all time record vs Ohio State: 1-3
Ohio State vs UCLA prediction
In what is a desperation game for Ohio State they must travel across the country to go play at the historic Pauley Pavilion. The Buckeyes do lead the all-time series against the Bruins, but all of those games have been played at a neutral site this is the first game that will be played at a home arena. It was mentioned earlier, and it is going to continue to be mentioned for the rest of the year, but loss avoidance is a big thing for the Buckeyes right now, they have good wins, but they need to avoid piling up losses. 17-14 will not get them into the tournament.
The Buckeyes are led by two guards who can win this game for Ohio State by their ability to shoot the ball from deep and get into the paint, where they will pass off to the big men or get to the line and make free throws. Bruce Thornton (17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists) is one of the best point guards in the Big 10, and when he is right, the Buckeyes are hard to beat. Thornton has had two poor games in a row and is looking for a big bounce-back to give his team a boost. Thornton is shooting 42% from deep on the season and gets fouled a lot. The other guard John Mobley (13.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists) is only a freshman who had made a three in every game of his career until the debacle at Northwestern. These two need to get going for the Buckeyes offense to succeed.
UCLA is coached by Mick Cronin, and it is a vintage Mick Cronin team; they defend and turn teams over, and they use those turnovers to get out in transition and create easy baskets. The Bruins have won their games on the defensive end of the floor; if they are not defending, they will likely not win; their offense isn’t good enough to play in a shootout. Kobe Johnson (8.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists) and Skyy Clark (7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) are the two guards who are the lockdown defenders. They will be responsible for mucking this game up. Johnson and Clark are both guys who are in the running for conference Defensive Player of the Year. Clark and Johnson both 40% from deep in the conference. These two guards are not the leading scorers for the Bruins, but when they play well and are scoring, the Bruins are hard to beat.
This game is going to be contrasting styles. Ohio State is the best three point shooting team in the Big Ten conference at just under 38% from deep on the season. The Buckeyes are coming off a season-low 49 points, which also happens to be the lowest point total of the season for a Big Ten team. They must bounce back in a big way and could use a huge road win to get them safely back into the field. UCLA blew a huge lead to Minnesota, and they did it by missing 10 free throws in the second half. The defense broke down for the Bruins in the second half, and coach Cronin was not happy. Expect this game to be physical both teams are going to want this one.