2022 NCAA Tournament First Round: No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 10 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers
How to Watch:
- Date: Friday, March 18
- Time: 12:15 p.m. ET
- Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 7 OSU | STAT | No. 10 LCU |
| Big Ten | Conference | Missouri Valley |
| 19-11 | Record | 25-7 |
| 73.8 (115th) | Points Per Game | 73.8 (114th) |
| 68.5 | Points Allowed Per Game | 61.7 |
| 0.5731 (54th) | RPI | 0.5821 (41st) |
| 22nd | Strength of Schedule | 104th |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | Automatic Bid |
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Ohio State leaders:
- E.J. Liddell, F, JR: 19.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.6 BPG, 37.6% 3PT
- Malaki Branham, G, FR: 13.3 points, 3.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 42.5% 3PT
Loyola-Chicago leaders:
- Lucas Williamson, G, SR: 14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 39.6% 3PT
- Braden Norris, G, JR: 10.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.9 APG, 43.5% 3PT
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- OSU Moneyline: -115
- LCU Moneyline: 105
- Spread: OSU -1
- Over/Under: 132.5
- ATS Record: OSU 15-15, LCU 12-15-1
- Over/Under Record: OSU 18-12, LCU 17-14
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- The Ramblers will be a trendy pick because of Sister Jean and their run to the Final Four not long ago. They’ve appeared in three of the last four tournaments and have the power of Sister Jean on their side, but be careful not to buy too much into narrative.
- This Ramblers team is good, no doubt, but they will be tested by likely lottery pick Liddell and a Buckeyes team that ranks 13th in offensive efficiency according to KenPom. Of course, the Ramblers have the 23rd-ranked defense by those same metrics, so they could certainly be up to the task.
- Both of these teams are also among the nation’s best from behind the arc. The Ramblers rank 8th best in the country with a 38.3% hit rate from deep, but the Buckeyes are not far behind, ranking 27th after shooting 37.3% on their own. The Ramblers do shoot about two threes per game more, which also gives them a slight edge, and they’ve also been better against the three, ranking 68th in three-point defense while the Buckeyes finished 209th.
- This should be slow-paced too, with Loyola-Chicago playing at the 309th ranked adjusted tempo and Ohio State playing at the 287th. Both teams will look to run a controlled offense and hit from deep, so it could very well be the team whose shooters are on who’s most likely to advance, but the Loyola-Chicago defense may give them an edge.
