Loyola Chicago vs. Ohio State NCAA Tournament First Round Betting Preview (Archive)
Breaking in a new head coach proved to be no problem for Loyola Chicago, and the Ramblers are a popular college basketball pick for their clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Loyola Chicago Ramblers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Friday, March 18, 2022 – 12:15 PM EDT at PPG Paints Arena
One of the more interesting things about the 7/10 matchup between Ohio State and Loyola Chicago will be the fans who are inside the Pittsburgh arena. It’s not like Iron City is a hotbed for Buckeyes fans – indeed, quite the opposite – so most of the locals who turn out to watch should be cheering on the Ramblers.
Among the fans who will be on hand and definitely cheering for Loyola Chicago to upset the NCAA basketball odds is Sister Jean, the 102-year-old Ramblers superfan. Naturally, Sister Jean would never encourage anyone to bet on Loyola or any other team for that matter, but it does mean Ohio State will in some ways be playing against a team of six in this matchup.
First Meeting Since November 2006
The Ramblers and Buckeyes get the honors of being the opening game on the second full day of March Madness, and CBS will provide the broadcast. A quick check of BMR’s live college basketball odds board finds the contest a pick ‘em with many shops reporting more action on Loyola Chicago than Ohio State. Friday’s scoreboard target is 132½.
Ohio State and Loyola Chicago collide in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and it’s just the fifth meeting between the programs. The Buckeyes have won the previous four, each victory by 12 points or more and the most recent taking place early in the 2006-07 season when Ohio State posted an 87-75 decision at home that just did cover the 11½-point spread.
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For the second time in school history, Loyola Chicago is making a second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Tournament. The Ramblers also accomplished the feat in 1963-64, and this is their eighth time to go dancing. They will be hoping for at least a repeat of the showings in 2018 and 2021 when the Ramblers reached the Sweet 16, even making it to the Final Four just four short years ago.
Ohio State is in its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 35th in school history. That number includes the three in 2000-2002 when the Buckeyes were naughty and went astray of NCAA rules. They were a No. 2 seed in the South a year ago, and the Buckeyes were shocked by 15-seed Oral Roberts at Mackey Arena.
Ramblers Covered Six of Seven Neutral Site Games
Drew Valentine picked up where Porter Moser left off, guiding the Ramblers to a 15-win season and the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. Loyola Chicago finished in a 3-way tie for second place in the conference, and the tiebreaker relegated the Ramblers to the No. 4 seed in the tournament where they took out No. 5 Bradley, No. 1 Northern Iowa, and No. 3 Drake.
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Virus issues left the Ramblers sidelined for about a month, but they came out of the break-in fine shape to win seven of their first eight MVC contests. Loyola only faced one ranked team all season and dropped that decision to then No. 19 Auburn by a 62-53 count as a 1½-point underdog at the best online sportsbooks.
Not much older than some of his players, Valentine has a lunch pail squad that will grind it out with the best of them. Defense is the Ramblers’ calling card, ranking 18th in the landholding opponents to 62.1 PPG and top 50 limiting foes to a 41% field goal rate.
Buckeyes 1-10 ATS Last 11 Tourney Games
While the Ramblers breezed through the MVC Tournament to reach the dance playing well, Chris Holtmann brings a struggling Buckeyes team to the tourney. Ohio State lost four of its last five games and was favored at online betting sites in each contest. The real head-shaker was falling to Nebraska in Columbus as 14½-point chalk.
It certainly didn’t help the Buckeyes to not have two of their key players the last couple of weeks, and both Kyle Young and Zed Key will be game-time decisions on Friday. Key has been nursing a sore ankle and might be the most likely of the two to play. Young is dealing with a concussion suffered in the loss to Nebraska.
It’s easy to jump on the Loyola bandwagon right now, especially given how the Ramblers and Buckeyes have been trending in opposite directions. Instead, I’m jumping on the total with my crystal ball showing something around a 62-60 final.
NCAAB Pick: Under 132½ (-108) with Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.