Ohio State vs Minnesota 1/12/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Ohio State Buckeyes meet Thursday in college basketball action from Value City Arena. Minnesota enters this matchup at 6-8 overall this year. The Gophers lost to Nebraska back on Saturday. As for Ohio State, they’re 10-5 on the season and coming off a loss to Maryland. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Minnesota posted a 4-6 run to open up the season, beating only St. Francis BK, Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Cal Baptist. The Gophers are 2-2 since then with wins over AR-Pine Bluff and Chicago State. 

On Saturday versus Nebraska, Minnesota scored 39 points in the first half, 28 in the second and 12 in overtime during a tough 81-79 defeat. Jamison Battle put up 20 points, and Dawson Garcia added 19 points with 15 rebounds. 

Over on the Ohio State side, they were 7-3 after 10 games this year. The losses came to San Diego State, Duke and North Carolina. The Buckeyes are 3-2 in their last five games, beating Maine, Alabama A&M and Northwestern. 

In their Sunday matchup versus Maryland, Ohio State posted a 39-34 advantage by halftime. The Buckeyes were outscored 46-34 from there and lost 80-73. Brice Sensabaugh led the team on his 22 points and seven boards. 

PICK: I’ll probably stick with Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a bad second half against a talented Maryland team in their last game. Ohio State shot 43.6 percent from the floor but got out-rebounded 40-26. The Buckeyes have consecutive losses in the books; the other one was a nice effort in a 71-69 result versus Purdue. As for Minnesota, they’ve been competitive during their consecutive losses as well. The Gophers should be right in the mix most of the way in this one, but I like Ohio State to power out the late cover.