NCAA Basketball Picks: South Carolina Gamecocks at Ohio State Buckeyes Big Ten-SEC Preview

South Carolina Gamecocks at Ohio State Buckeyes
Saturday, 12/18/10, 2:00 PM EDT, TV: CBS
Opening Point Spread: Ohio State -17
Current Betting Line: Ohio State -17.5
Opening Total: 135
Current Total: 135

The Ohio State Buckeyes are heavy favorites in hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon

South Carolina has won six straight games since dropping a 82-73 contest at Michigan State and will now look to improve upon its 1-1 record on the road. The Gamecocks 7-1 start this season is their best win-loss tally through the first eight games since the 2008-09 season. “We’re starting to see some growth and maturity in this team,” said head coach Darrin Horn. “That’s good. But the good news is we have a lot of room to keep getting better.” The two teams are opening a home-and-home series with a game in South Carolina scheduled next year and haven’t met since Ohio State’s 59-46 victory in 1989. The only other meeting came the previous year, when the Gamecocks won 74-68 at home. The team is 3-0 ATS as an underdog and is currently a double-digit underdog on the college basketball lines page.

The Gamecocks have a major strength in their ability to rebound the basketball and they currently lead the SEC by grabbing 43.2 boards a contest. South Carolina is also a shot-blocking team in averaging 5.4 blocked shots per game, which ranks fourth in the conference and 25th in the nation. The program owns a 12-20 record against current schools in the Big Ten and will look to improve upon the longest win streak in the Horn era with a victory on Saturday afternoon. He also owns a 6-12 overall record in his career against ranked opponents, including a 5-8 mark during his time in Columbia.

Ohio State is off to a perfect 9-0 record and has surprised many by how quickly the program moved on from the loss of national player of the year Evan Turner. The Buckeyes have won 17 straight home games against non-conference opponents and are shooting 46.3 percent from 3-point range this month, but head coach Thad Matta doesn’t want his squad to rely heavily on the perimeter. “Eventually we’re going to have to put it together,” Matta stated. “That’s a thing we’re still striving for. That’s kind of how we preach to our team, that we want to be able to strike inside and outside.” Ohio State is 9-12 ATS as a home favorite of 12.5 or more points the last three years.

The Buckeyes are definitely balanced on the offensive end and have four starters averaging double-figures, led by freshman Jared Sullinger with 17.2 points per game. He scored a freshman school-record 40 points against IUPUI, while the team has outscored its three opponents this month by an average of 21.3 points. Surprisingly enough, the team has a 28-26 all-time record against Southeastern Conference opponents.