Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 11/16/25

Sunday afternoon gives us a college basketball tilt between two traditional football powerhouses as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both teams are 3-0 to start the season, and neither has left home yet. The Irish will hit the road in this one, and they are a team very much improved over last year. Ohio State barely missed the tournament last year—the literal first team out—and made some improvements to get on the good side of the bubble. This is the sort of game that might matter to the metrics later. My favorite play in this game is actually an SGP of the Ohio State ML and an alt line under on the game total; but if we are just going with one thing here, I like Notre Dame to keep this game close. Give me the Irish +8.5, as I expect a competitive game.

Let’s start with the Irish. This is a guard-driven team that has a couple of really good backcourt players, and specifically Markus Burton, who averaged over 21 points per game last season as a sophomore. The weakness of this team is its frontcourt, and they are clearly dependent upon the 3-pt shot, but that makes the Irish a dangerous team when they hit a few. Ohio State, on the other hand, is a slower, more deliberate team that relies on a veteran lineup. They have a lot of program continuity, and far more than most teams in the country, and the transfers they brought in are also mostly seniors. This team is old, experienced, and strong. Neither team plays with a lot of pace, and that should lead to a relatively low-scoring game that is likely to remain close. I expect a game that ends with both teams in the 70s, and I think Notre Dame can knock down enough shots to keep it close.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State Prediction: Notre Dame +8.5 (-115) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.