Ohio State vs Penn State Prediction 1/30/25 College Basketball Picks

The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions meet Thursday in college basketball action from Rec Hall. Here’s an Ohio State vs Penn State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Ohio State vs Penn State pick. We will examine:

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ recent form and player performance

The Penn State Nittany Lions’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Ohio State Buckeyes

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Penn State Nittany Lions

Recent betting trends in games played between Ohio State and Penn State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Ohio State vs Penn State game

Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Preview

Ohio State has been a pretty choppy team in the record column so far this year. That said, they’ve been able to keep their collective head above the .500 mark amid a tough schedule. Following a nice 5-1 opening run that featured only a loss to Texas A&M, Ohio State hit the skids with a 1-3 stretch. Those losses were versus Pitt, Maryland, and Auburn alongside a win over Rutgers. A 4-1 run came next as Ohio State powered past Valparaiso, Kentucky, Indiana State, and Minnesota with a lone loss to Michigan State. Following three straight losses to Oregon, Wisconsin, and Indiana, the Buckeyes took out Purdue and Iowa. The result so far has been a 12-8 overall record through the first 20 games of the season for Ohio State.

In the Iowa game on Monday, the Buckeyes were ahead by a rather modest four-point margin by halftime. Ohio State got better from there however, rolling through a 52-39 second half for an 82-65 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Micah Parrish with 18 points and six rebounds. Bruce Thornton added 15 points with eight boards and three assists, while both John Mobley (eight assists) and Devin Royal (eight rebounds) had 12 points each.

Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Preview

Over on the Penn State side, they opened the year on a pretty great run. The Lions understandably have run into some troubles during this tough Big Ten schedule, though. Penn State went 12-2 in their first 14 outings with losses to only Clemson and Rutgers in that time. The wins otherwise came versus Binghamton, UMBC, St. Francis PA, Virginia Tech, Fort Wayne, Fordham, Buffalo, Purdue, Coppin State, Drexel, Penn, and Northwestern. The seven games since have been a 1-6 stretch, however. Penn State has a lone win over Rutgers in that time alongside losses to Indiana, Illinois, Oregon, Michigan State, Iowa, and Michigan, giving the Linos a 13-8 overall record through the first 21 outings.

Matched up against Michigan in their Monday game, the Nittany Lions posted a 35-35 tie in the first half. Penn State was outscored 41-37 the rest of the way, however, resulting in a 76-72 road loss. Nick Kern led the team on a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Ace Baldwin had 15 points, six assists, three steals and three boards. D’Marco Dunn added 13 bench points with a pair of rebounds.

Why the Penn State Nittany Lions will win

• Penn State has won four of its last five games against Ohio State following a road loss.
• Ohio State has lost 15 of its last 20 night games against Conference opponents.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes will win

• Penn State has lost six of its last seven games against the Big Ten Conference.
• Ohio State has won 11 of its last 14 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Ohio State vs Penn State Prediction

I’ll take a stab at Penn State here. You could make a case either way, though. The Lions took a tough loss to a good Michigan team in their last outing but didn’t play too badly overall. Penn State shot a nice 49 percent from the field and had a 34-26 rebounding edge. The problem? The Lions coughed up 18 turnovers for 19 Wolverines points. Penn State has been losing lately, but each of their last four defeats has come by five points or fewer—and all against some pretty tough competition. Ohio State will be another tricky matchup, but I like the Nittany Lions to prevail in their comfortable home environment. Regardless, it’ll be a great game to watch.