Indiana vs. Ohio State Prediction & Best Bets: Bubble Boys Battle in Buckeye Territory

Over the next week, the final pieces of this season's March Madness puzzle will slide into place. Today's college basketball schedule features several pivotal bubble battles across the country, including in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of this evening's Indiana vs. Ohio State matchup (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX) will enter the Big Ten tournament in a positive position, while the loser will have minimal margin for error in Chicago.

Conference tournaments are already underway around the country, but the chaos will kick up a notch next week.

Ahead of the action at the United Center, eight Big Ten teams appear to be locked into the field of 68. That includes UCLA, who has moved into a secure spot with home wins over Illinois and Nebraska, as well as Iowa, who is slipping and sliding down the stretch but appears to have built up enough of a resume to withstand it.

Today's Indiana vs. Ohio State contest features the conference's other two possible tournament participants. As it stands, the Buckeyes (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten) will almost certainly be in with a win, while the Hoosiers (18-12, 9-10 Big Ten) might still need to ensure they don't go one-and-done in the Windy City even if they win in Columbus.

Who will pick up a vital victory at Value City Arena? My Indiana vs. Ohio State prediction and expert picks are below, accompanied by odds from Lucky Rebel, one of the best online sportsbooks for betting on college basketball.

Indiana vs. Ohio State Prediction and Expert Picks

Indiana vs. Ohio State Prediction & Analysis

Ohio State is coming off of its second-biggest win of the season, a 94-62 pummeling of Penn State on Wednesday.

It was an impressive follow-up to the Buckeyes' win over then-No. 8 Purdue last Sunday, and it kept them on track to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.

When many a decent team has had a hard time winning on the road this season, Ohio State being 5-5 on the road in conference play is a big resume boost, even if those five wins are against Northwestern, Rutgers, Oregon, Maryland, and Penn State, the five worst teams in the Big Ten.

That's two more road wins than Indiana, who enters today's tilt vs. Ohio State at 3-6 with wins over Maryland, Rutgers, and UCLA and losses to Minnesota, Michigan State, Michigan, USC, Illinois, and Purdue.

That win at Pauley Pavilion is doing a lot of heavy lifting right now for the Hoosiers' tournament resume, especially with the Bruins having worked their way into near-lock status with their recent wins over the Illini and Cornhuskers.

But the flashes that Indiana showed in the win over UCLA, as well as home wins over Purdue and Wisconsin, have not appeared consistently enough on the road or in Bloomington to ensure that the next week won't be anxiety-free.

The Hoosiers have one of the nation's top scorers in Lamar Wilkerson (21.1 PPG), but they have sputtered offensively far too often, scoring 70 or fewer points in eight of their 12 losses, including five of their seven road losses.

The Buckeyes have their own set of flaws, but they have ultimately done a solid job overall of winning the games that they should, both at home and on the road.

Indiana vs. Ohio State Expert Picks

Ohio State -4 (-107 at Lucky Rebel)

Of Ohio State's 19 wins this season, only two have by fewer than five points: a 64-63 win over Notre Dame on November 16 and an 89-88 double-overtime win over West Virginia on December 13.

On the other side of the Indiana vs. Ohio State matchup, all 12 of the Hoosiers' losses this season have come by four or more points, and their closest road loss in conference play is an 81-75 loss at USC on February 3.

Based on the percentages, this is a high-percentage play if you think Ohio State is going to win this game. I think the Buckeyes will do that, and this is the move to make with the moneyline a bit outside of the desirable range.