Wichita State vs. Ohio State Point Spread

Carrie Stroup here with your Wichita State vs. Ohio State point spread, courtesy of Sportsbook.com where you can claim your FREE $100 BET here.

Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Ohio State -4.5 & 131

Ninth-seeded Wichita State has one more hurdle in its quest for a Final Four berth, when it faces a second-seeded Ohio State team that has earned a spot in Saturday's Elite Eight game thanks to last-second heroics in two straight games.

While the Shockers have hammered their three NCAA Tournament opponents by an average of 12.7 PPG, the Buckeyes have won their past two contests with game-winning three-pointers in the closing seconds of each victory. That gives them 11 straight SU victories (8-3 ATS). Points could be at a premium in Staples Center, as Wichita State has held all three of its NCAA tourney opponents under 36% FG, while scoring at least 72 points in all three victories. Ohio State has actually allowed 70+ points to all three of its games in the Big Dance, but gives up a mere 59.1 PPG on 39.6% FG for the entire season. The Shockers are now 8-1 SU (6-3 ATS) on a neutral court this season, outscoring these opponents by 10.3 PPG, while the Buckeyes are 8-0 SU (5-3 ATS) and beating teams by 10.5 PPG on a neutral court. WSU is 4-2 (SU and ATS) in the underdog role, while OSU is 17-12 ATS (59%) when favored, but just 2-3 ATS when favored outside of Columbus.

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Wichita State continues to win with a hard-nosed defense that allows only 60.7 PPG on 39.6% FG and 32.5% threes. In Thursday's win, it held La Salle to 22 first-half points and 35.7% shooting for the game. The Shockers dominated the Explorers on the glass with a 47-29 rebounding advantage, increasing their season margin to +8.1 RPG (7th-best in nation). The offense hasn't been great this season (69.8 PPG on 44.3% FG and 33.8% threes), but it has been clicking during the tournament with 73.7 PPG, including 19-of-40 threes (48%) over the past two games. The Shockers are able to stay fresh and hound opponents on defense because head coach Gregg Marshall gives 11 of his players at least 11 MPG. The three double-digit scorers are junior SF Cleanthony Early (13.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG) and seniors PF Carl Hall (12.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG) and PG Malcolm Armstead (10.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.8 RPG). Early had just 5.0 PPG on 5-of-21 FG in three games leading up to the tourney, but has stepped up in a big way in NCAA play with 15.0 PPG on 46% FG and 7.0 RPG. The 6-foot-8 Hall was the team's best player on Thursday with 16 points (7-of-11 FG), eight rebounds and three blocks, increasing his tourney averages to 11.7 PPG (57% FG), 5.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG. Armstead shot poorly in the Round of 32 against Gonzaga (2-of-9 FG, 1-of-6 threes), but was outstanding versus La Salle on Thursday with 18 points (7-of-15 FG), six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Freshman SG Ron Baker (8.6 PPG) was 0-for-5 against Pittsburgh to start the tournament, but hasn't missed much in the past two games, scoring 14.5 PPG on 9-of-13 FG (69%), including 6-of-9 from three-point range, to go along with 5.0 RPG and 3.0 APG.

Ohio State usually relies on an outstanding defense, giving up only 59.1 PPG (24th in D-I) on 39.6% FG (41st in nation) this season. But it has been the offense that has put the Buckeyes one win away from the Final Four, averaging 82.0 PPG on 47.1% FG in the three NCAA wins, numbers much greater than their 70.3 PPG (100th in D-I) on 45.5% shooting for the season. OSU has been incredibly efficient in handling the basketball, averaging just 9.2 TOPG during its 11-game win streak, including 8.2 TOPG in the past five victories, turning the ball over 10 times or less in each of the five contests during this span. The Buckeyes are able to protect the basketball so well with two top-notch point guards in Aaron Craft (10.1 PPG, 4.7 APG) and Shannon Scott (4.9 PPG, 3.9 APG) who are the biggest reasons why the team commits just 10.5 TOPG (8th in nation). Scott's 3.11 Ast/TO ratio this season ranks second among all Division-I players, while Craft's 2.46 Ast/TO ratio is 24th-best in the nation. Craft hasn't made the best decisions late in the past two games with costly turnovers and missed free throws, but he did win last Sunday's Round of 32 contest with a three-pointer in the closing seconds. Craft also finished Thursday's game against Arizona with a well-rounded 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. Although Craft has 15.5 PPG in the past two games, the team needs him to focus mostly on setting up the offense, which isn't easy against the tenacious Shockers. Sophomore PF LaQuinton Ross (8.0 PPG) was the hero on Thursday with a game-winning three-pointer with two seconds left, giving him 17 points for the second consecutive game. At 6-foot-8, he could present a big matchup problem for the smallish Shockers. The bulk of the team's scoring belongs to junior PF Deshaun Thomas (19.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG), who has 22.0 PPG on 58% FG in the NCAA Tournament so far. He was also vital to his team's Final Four run last year, averaging 19.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG in the five tourney games. However, Thomas will have to do a better job of rebounding against a WSU opponent that is fierce on the boards, as Thomas has just 3.0 RPG in the three NCAA wins. SG Lenzelle Smith Jr. (9.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG) is the team's third-leading scorer, but he has been ice-cold all month, averaging just 6.1 PPG on 33.9% FG in eight March games. He's just 4-of-13 from the floor in the past two contests, but he did pull down eight rebounds against Arizona. However, high-flying SF Sam Thompson (7.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG) has been huge in the past six games, averaging 12.2 PPG on 58% FG, while grabbing 7.0 RPG in the three NCAA matchups.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter