March Madness Predictions: Cal-Santa Barbara vs Ohio State Odds

The Ohio State Buckeyes easily could have been a top seed in March madness predictions for the NCAA Tournament but they had to settle for a #2 seed in the Midwest Region. They open up play on Friday night at 9:35pm EST as they face #15 Cal-Santa Barbara in a game that can be seen on CBS. The Buckeyes are a 17.5 point favorite in college basketball odds with a total of 131 at online sportsbooks. The Buckeyes are led by NCAA Player of the Year, Evan Turner who is averaging 20.3 points per game. The Buckeyes are not expected to have much trouble with the Gauchos in this game. Last year the Buckeyes were upset in the first round by Siena so they will not be taking this game lightly.

"People were a little loose and lax, I guess you could say," Ohio State’s David Lighty said. "But that's kind of naturally how we were last year. And I think this year we were a little more focused on the task at hand and coming in and making a statement." Cal-Santa Barbara has a couple of good scorers in guard Orlando Johnson and forward James Nunnally but they don’t matchup with Turner and the Buckeyes. "There's really not a weakness in his game," Cal-Santa Barbara head coach Bob Williams said.

Ohio State has more than just Turner though. Lighty is capable of having a big game and Jon Diebler can really shoot from the outside. "I've seen guys that have become selfish or something along those lines," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "But Evan knows he needs everybody on this team to help us win." The Gauchos are 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 games as an underdog. The Gauchos are 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 neutral site games. The Gauchos are 2-5 against the spread in March madness predictions for their last 7 non-conference games.

The Buckeyes are 3-10 vs. the March Madness betting line in their last 13 NCAA Tournament games. The Buckeyes are 0-5 in their last 5 non-conference games. The UNDER is 14-3 in the Gauchos last 17 neutral site games. The UNDER is 12-4 in the Gauchos last 16 games as an underdog. The OVER is 5-0 in March madness predictions for the Buckeyes last 5 games as a favorite. The OVER is 5-2 in college basketball odds for the Buckeyes last 7 overall. Vegas odds at the MGM Mirage sportsbook have the Ohio State Buckeyes -17 favorites against the Cal-Santa Barbara Gauchos with a betting total of 132.5 UNDER -120.