The Northwestern Wildcats battle the Ohio State Buckeyes in a key Big Ten Conference matchup on Thursday night. Northwestern is coming off a 68-64 loss to Nebraska on Sunday, while Ohio State dropped an 86-83 decision to Michigan that same day. The Wildcats (13-13, 4-11 Big Ten), who have lost six of seven, including three in a row, are 0-8 on the road this season. The Buckeyes (15-11, 7-8 Big Ten), who have won five of eight, are 10-5 on their home court.

Tip-off from Value Center Arena in Columbus, Ohio, is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. Ohio State is a 9.5-point favorite in the latest Northwestern vs. Ohio State odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 142.5. 

Before making any Northwestern vs. Ohio State picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 16 of the 2024-25 season on a 213-158 roll (+1675) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following could have seen HUGE returns!

The model has simulated Northwestern vs. Ohio State 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations!

So who wins Northwestern vs. Ohio State, and which side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that is 213-158 on top-rated college basketball picks!