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A Big Ten battle is on tap between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats at 8 p.m. ET Thursday at Value City Arena. OSU is 11-12 overall and 8-3 at home, while Northwestern is 16-7 overall and 5-2 on the road. The Wildcats are ranked fifth in the Big Ten; OSU is ranked 13th. Ohio State holds a 100-24 all-time record versus Northwestern, and the Buckeyes prevailed by 16 points when these two last met on New Year's Day.

The Buckeyes are favored by 5 points in the latest Northwestern vs. Ohio State odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over/under is set at 136. Before entering any Ohio State vs. Northwestern picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters Week 14 of the season 57-37 on all-top rated college basketball picks, returning more than $1,000 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Northwestern vs. Ohio State. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Ohio State vs. Northwestern:

  • Northwestern vs. Ohio State spread: Northwestern +5
  • Northwestern vs. Ohio State over/under: 136 points
  • Northwestern vs. Ohio State money line: Northwestern +185, Ohio State -225
  • Northwestern vs. Ohio State picks: See picks here

What you need to know about Northwestern

The Wildcats didn't have too much breathing room in their contest with the Wisconsin Badgers this past Sunday, but they still walked away with a 54-52 win. Northwestern's guard Boo Buie paced the team with 13 points while Chase Audige added 11 points. Northwestern had lost its two previous games by a combined 33 points so it was a much needed victory by Chris Collins' squad.

The Wildcats have one of the best defenses in the country, ranking 20th in points allowed per game. Few teams protect the basket like Northwestern as the 43.8% 2-point percentage it holds opponents to is the 12th-best mark in the nation. Buie and Audige are the only players averaging in double-figures as Northwestern lacks depth, utilizing an eight-man rotation in most games.

What you need to know about Ohio State

Meanwhile, OSU lost its fourth straight game on Sunday when it fell to Michigan by a 77-69 score. Bruce Thornton led the losing side with 22 points but also contributed just one rebound and one assist. After starting the year 10-3 and being ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll, the Buckeyes have lost nine of their last 10 games.

The Buckeyes are a high-quality team from beyond the arc but they lack in quantity of 3-point shots. They rank 30th in the nation in 3-point percentage (37.6%) but attempt just 18.4 of them per game which ranks 314th. Brice Sensabaugh leads OSU with 17.3 points per game despite shuffling between being a starter (for 13 games) and coming off the bench (for 10 games).

How to make Ohio State vs. Northwestern picks

The model has simulated Northwestern vs. Ohio State 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Northwestern vs. Ohio State? And which side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $1,000 on its top-rated college basketball spread picks, and find out.