Ohio State Buckeyes vs Oregon Ducks Prediction, Odds and Picks for Thursday, 01/08/26

Big Ten play continues on Thursday when the Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Eugene, Oregon to face the Ducks. Ohio State comes into this matchup off a home loss to undefeated Nebraska 72-69, despite the Cornhuskers making only 8-of-29 three-point attempts. The Buckeyes scored just 1.01 points per possession and were out-rebounded by the Cornhuskers 38 to 29. Meanwhile, the Ducks are coming off a road overtime loss at Rutgers (88-85). Oregon was efficient from the field, making 50% of attempts inside the arc and almost 41% of attempts beyond it, but the Ducks committed 17 turnovers and sent the Scarlet Knights to the free-throw line 34 times. They made 30 of those attempts. 

Usually the West Coast Big Ten team is at an advantage situationally when an East Coast team travels across the country for a conference game. While that angle is somewhat negated here since Oregon played in New Jersey on Monday, I still like the Ducks in this matchup. After all, this game tips off at 10:30 pm ET — which means the game will be played well past midnight on Ohio State’s body clock. Given the Buckeyes’ lack of depth (306th in bench minutes per KenPom), that could come back to bite them in the second half in Eugene on Thursday. Plus, Ohio State hasn’t exactly been trustworthy against the number (5-9) — and its offensive production dips when playing away from home. For reference, the Buckeyes’ effective field-goal percentage drops from 61.3% to 51.3% away from Value City Arena, and they score 10 fewer points per game. 

For what it’s worth, Big Ten home teams coming off a road loss are 108-82-2 ATS since 2022 — including 7-3 ATS in the last 10 and 3-1 ATS this season. Look for that trend to continue on Thursday, and for Oregon’s Nate Bittle to have a big game in the paint in the process.

Ohio State vs Oregon prediction: Oregon -2.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -3.5.

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