CBB Picks: Ohio State vs Oral Roberts 3/19/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Ohio State Buckeyes face the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Friday in college basketball’s NCAA Tournament action from Mackey Arena as March Madness hits full swing. 

Coming into this NCAA Tournament First Round matchup, Oral Roberts sits at 16-10 so far. The Eagles have won five straight games and are coming off a victory over North Dakota State. As for the Buckeyes, they’re 21-9 this year. Ohio State lost in the Big Ten Championship to Illinois on Sunday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Oral Roberts kicked off their year at 9-6 before hitting a sketchy 2-4 stretch in late January/early February. The Eagles have since won five straight games. Those victories have come versus Western Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota State and North Dakota State. 

In the Summit League Tournament win over North Dakota State 75-72, Oral Roberts’ leading scorer was Max Abmas with 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Kevin Obanor had 21 points with nine boards and one assist in that one as well. 

Over on the Ohio State side, they stayed pretty consistent over their first 22 games at 18-4, but then hit a four-game losing streak in February. Since then the Buckeyes are 3-1, beating Minnesota, Purdue and Michigan before falling to Illinois in the Big Ten Championship. 

In the 91-88 overtime loss to Illinois, Ohio State’s Duane Washington led the team on 32 points with eight boards, and Justice Sueing had 22 points with four rebounds. CJ Walker added 16 points with six assists and four boards, and EJ Liddell had 12 points with seven rebounds. 

The Eagles are 4-0 ATS in their last four overall and 5-1 ATS in their last six as an underdog. Oral Roberts is 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral-site games and 0-4 ATS in their last four Friday games. 

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are 6-1 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win and 5-1 ATS in their last six Friday games. Ohio State is 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral-site games and 1-4 ATS in their last five as a favorite. 

PICK: I’m sticking with Ohio State here. The Buckeyes came into the conference tournament on an ugly 0-4 skid, but have since picked it up. Ohio State beat three very good teams in Minnesota, Purdue and Michigan in the tourney, and took a very good Illinois team to the absolute brink in overtime. I think Oral Roberts can keep up for a while here, but this should be the Buckeyes’ cover if they want it.