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The Ohio Bobcats will try to pull off another big upset on Saturday when they take on the Buffalo Bulls in the final of the 2021 MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. The fifth-seeded Bobcats (15-7) dominated No. 1 seed Toledo in an 87-80 victory in Friday's first semifinal, while the No. 2-seeded Bulls (16-7) needed overtime to beat Akron 81-74. The Bulls won the tournament two years in a row before last year's was canceled, and they came in as the East division winner. Buffalo has reached the NCAA Tournament four times since 2015, while Ohio's last appearance was in 2012.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The Bulls are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Ohio vs. Buffalo odds from William Hill Sportsbook, and the over-under for total points scored is 156. Before locking in any Buffalo vs. Ohio picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It has also returned over $400 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Ohio vs. Buffalo in the MAC Tournament 2021. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Buffalo vs. Ohio:

  • Ohio vs. Buffalo: Bulls -2.5
  • Ohio vs. Buffalo over-under: 156 points
  • Ohio vs. Buffalo money line: Bobcats +125, Bulls -145
  • OHIO: The Bobcats have had five different leading scorers over their past eight games
  • BUFF: F Jeenathan Williams has scored at least 20 points eight times this season

Why Buffalo can cover 

Buffalo is 13-6 against the spread in MAC games this season, and the Bulls have the conference's top offense. They average more than 82 points and outscore opponents by 10 per contest. The seasoned lineup is led by athletic forward Josh Mballa, who averages a double-double at 15.5 points and 10.4 rebounds. The junior also gets 1.7 steals as the Bulls average more than eight per game, and he was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Fellow junior forward Jeenathan Williams is the team's top scorer and grabs seven boards for a Bulls team that leads the nation in rebounding (43.9 per game). Buffalo is 13-8-1 ATS overall, and guards Jayvon Graves and Ronaldo Segu are the catalysts of the offense, combining for 27.4 points and 8.5 assists per game. Segu is the sharpshooter, hitting more than 41 percent of his 3-point attempts, while Graves has made 32 threes and averages 1.5 steals.

Why Ohio can cover

Ohio has covered the spread in three straight conference tournament games, and it is led by tireless point guard Jason Preston. The junior leads a Bobcats offense that averages more than 80 points per game, and he scored 27 and had five assists on Friday night. He leads the team with 15.6 points per game, gets a conference-high 7.4 assists and is second on the team with seven rebounds per contest. He also shoots an efficient 38.3 percent from 3-point range.

Six players average at least nine points for the Bobcats, who led by as many as 18 points Friday. Dwight Wilson ranks second in the NCAA in field-goal percentage at 68.3 and scores 15 per game while grabbing a team-high 7.4 rebounds. Fellow forward Ben Vander Plas does a little of everything, averaging 12.4 points and 3.6 assists, pulling down 5.6 rebounds and getting a team-high 1.6 steals. He scored 26 and had eight rebounds and seven assists Friday.

How to make Buffalo vs. Ohio picks

The model is leaning over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 158 points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Buffalo vs. Ohio? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks.