Ohio State Buckeyes vs Purdue Boilermakers: Predictions, Odds and Roster Notes

Where: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN, USA.

When: Saturday, March 2nd at 2pm EST.

How (TV/Radio): ESPN |

Ohio State Buckeyes (Away)

Head Coach: Chris Holtmann {Overall: 18-10, .643 W-L% | Conference: 8-9, 7th in Big Ten}

With a conference record under .500 the Buckeyes see themselves on the bubble for a berth in the NCAA tournament. Their tournament hopes will improve immensely if they can avenge their January 23rd loss to Purdue at home in Columbus. Ohio State fell to the Boilermakers 79-67 in a sloppy game where both teams turned the ball over 18 times.

In their most recent game, Ohio State hammered then-20th ranked Iowa at home 90-70 this past Tuesday. Freshman forward Justin Ahrens had a breakout performance with 29 points on 6-10 shooting from deep. Leading scorer Kaleb Wesson contributed a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds to compliment Ahrens’ effort.

Purdue Boilermakers (Home)

Head Coach: Matt Painter {21-7, .750 W-L% | Conference: 14-3, T-1st in Big Ten}

The Boilermakers have been on a roll, winning 9 of their last 10 games as they look to claim the Big Ten regular-season crown. Matt Painter’s squad can become one step closer to achieving that goal by sweeping the Buckeyes in the season series, a feat the program has not achieved since 1998. Such an accomplishment could be in reach if leading scorer Carsen Edwards can repeat his 27 point performance from the first leg against Ohio State.

Purdue’s last game was business as usual, as the Boilermakers took down lowly Illinois at home 73-56 on Wednesday. Edwards led them in scoring with 23 points, while 7-3 sophomore Matt Haarms had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 5 blocked shots. Purdue did not make life easy for Illinois on the defensive end, as the Fighting Illini shot just 32.8% from the field.

Ohio State Roster Notes

Junior forward Micah Potter is no longer on the roster after electing to transfer to Washington on December 18th.

Purdue Roster Notes

Freshman center Emmanuel Dowuona is redshirting this season and will not play.

Head-to-Head: Kaleb Wesson vs Matt Haarms

Kaleb Wesson

Power Forward | 6-9, 270lb (206cm, 122kg) | Westerville South HS | Westerville, OH | Sophomore

14.6 PPG | 1.8 APG | 6.7 RPG | 1.0 SPG | 0.6 BPG | 2.2 TOV | .511 FG% | .355 3P%

Matt Haarms

Center/Power Forward | 7-3, 250lb (221cm, 113kg) | Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Sophomore

8.8 PPG | 1.1 APG | 5.4 RPG | 0.1 SPG | 2.0 BPG | 1.2 TOV | .641 FG% | .333 3P%

The matchup to focus on will be in the paint between two sophomore big men. Their body types are near polar opposites of each other, however, each player uses it to their advantage, making themselves key weapons for their respective teams.

With a build similar to Duke phenom Zion Williamson (minus the super-human athleticism), Kaleb Wesson loves to bully his opponents with his hulking frame. One area where this has allowed him to dominate is on the glass as managed to lead the Big Ten in offensive rebound percentage as a freshman last season. Wesson is more than an old school power forward, however, as he has proven to be able to step outside and get buckets from the perimeter.

After backing up fellow 7-footer Issac Haas last season, Matt Haarms has managed to play a larger role for Purdue. His scoring output has nearly doubled from his freshman season, but his penchant for protecting the rim has remained strong as the Dutchman ranks second in the Big Ten in blocks and blocks per game behind Michigan’s Jon Teske. It will be interesting to see how Haarms’ lanky frame handles Wesson’s physicality, as he has had struggles against bruisers like Nick Ward in his young career.

Ohio State at Purdue Predictions and Odds

The Boilermakers are 11 point favorites at home against the Buckeyes. Oddsmakers also have the over/under set at 133.