UC Santa Barbara vs Ohio State 2010 NCAA Bracket Predictions: The No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region takes to the court tonight as the Ohio State Buckeyes square off against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. The contest is set to get underway at 9:35pm ET at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2010 NCAA Bracket Predictions at SPORTSBETTING.com have the Buckeyes listed as a -17 against the spread favorite to take out the Gauchos.
UC Santa Barbara garnered a meeting with the Ohio State this evening by virtue of their championship
run through the Big West Conference Tournament. The Gauchos, which won the regular season crown as well with a 12-4 record against league foes, dispatched Long Beach State by a score of 69-64 in the championship game.
The Gauchos, which are led by forwards Orlando Johnson (17.9 pts, 5.4 reb) and James Nunnally (15 pts, 5.7 reb), have won nine of their last 10 games. Their last loss came on February 27th when they fell 57-60 at Cal Poly.
UC Santa Barbara went 0-2 against fellow NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season, losing 61-69 to San Deigo State and 66-87 to California.
Ohio State backed up their regular season Big Ten title with a succesful 3-0 run through the conference tournament (Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota). The Buckeyes made a big statement in the championship match, drilling Minnesota (No. 11 West) 90-61 to improve to 27-7 overall.
Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner leads a group of four players which average double figures in scoring for Head Coach Thad Motta. Turner posted season averages of 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.
The Buckeyes, for all their brilliance, went a modest 7-5 against teams that quailifed for the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State lost to conference rivals Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and it also fell to Butler and West Virginia. The Buckeyes, however, have played lights out down the stretch, winning seven in a row and 13 of their last 14 games.
SPORTSBETTING.com UC Santa Barbara vs Ohio State 2010 NCAA Bracket Predictions:
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos +17 (-110), Over 132 (-110)
Ohio State Buckeyes -17 (-110), Under 132 (-110)
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