Who's Playing

Loyola Chicago @ Ohio State

Regular Season Records: Loyola Chicago 25-7; Ohio State 19-11

What to Know

The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers are set to clash at 12:15 p.m. ET March 18 at PPG Paints Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Loyola Chicago will be strutting in after a win while the Buckeyes will be stumbling in from a loss.

OSU was close but no cigar last Thursday as they fell 71-68 to the Penn State Nittany Lions. A silver lining for OSU was the play of forward E.J. Liddell, who had 25 points in addition to eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Loyola Chicago earned some more postseason success in their contest last week. They snuck past the Drake Bulldogs with a 64-58 victory. Loyola Chicago got double-digit scores from four players: guard Lucas Williamson (18), forward Aher Uguak (16), forward Ryan Schwieger (13), and guard Braden Norris (10).

The Buckeyes are expected to win this handily, but they should have beaten the Nebraska Cornhuskers March 1 easily too and instead slipped up with a 78-70. In other words, don't count the Ramblers out just yet.

How To Watch

  • When: Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET
  • Where: PPG Paints Arena -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • TV: CBS
  • Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds

The game is expected to go down to the wire, as the oddsmakers have this as a pick 'em.

The line on this game has moved a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Ramblers as a 1.5-point favorite.

Over/Under: -112

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Series History

This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last seven years.