Moda Center - Portland, OR
NCAA Tournament – Round of 32
Tip-off: Saturday, 5:15 p.m. ET
Line: Arizona -9.0

No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 10 seed Ohio State meet for the second time in three years in the NCAA tournament, as the Wildcats look to avenge a 2013 buzzer beating loss.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

Wildcats coach Sean Miller doesn’t have fond memories of the last time his Wildcats lined up against coach Thad Matta’s Buckeyes. With the score tied at 70 with two seconds left, in this same West region in 2013, former Buckeye F LaQuinton Ross let fly with a three pointer that would propel then-No.2 Ohio State into the next round. Ohio State players, F Sam Thompson and G Shannon Scott were then sophomores, while Arizona C Kaleb Tarczewski and F Brandon Ashley were freshmen. Arizona is now wearing the mantle of No. 2 in the West region, but will have to take care of an Ohio State team that just toppled a very good VCU squad in overtime on Thursday night, 75-72. Arizona was able to easily dispatch No. 15 Texas Southern, 93-72, for their fifth 20+ point margin of victory in their past six games. The Wildcats have won 18 of their past 19 games (14-5 ATS) and have won 12 in a row (9-3 ATS) as well. Ohio State is 6-4 SU (4-6 ATS) in its past 10 games. The Buckeyes dropped both non-conference games (0-1-1 ATS) against tournament opponents (at Louisville and versus North Carolina) and was 3-6 SU (2-7 ATS) against Big Ten opponents that made the NCAA tournament. Arizona was 3-0 SU (1-2 ATS) against non-conference NCAA tournament opponents and 7-0 SU (5-2 ATS) against Pac-12 opponents that made the NCAA tournament.

Can Ohio State upset Arizona in the third round of the NCAA tournament Saturday? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. StatFox Zach is on a 56% ATS (32-25) Best Bets run since Jan. 1 and has a 55% ATS mark (52-43) this season. StatFox Brian is a strong 59% ATS (17-12) in Best Bets since Feb. 6 to put him at 55% ATS (50-41-1) this season, while StatFox Gary has been a profitable 53.1% ATS (34-30) since Dec. 23 to maintain a 55% ATS (52-42) record for the season.

Ohio State’s success against the hottest team in the country not named Kentucky will hinge on whether do-everything freshman G D’Angelo Russell (19.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 5.1 APG) can not only create for himself, but create for others as well. This can be a defining game for Russell’s legacy and his NBA draft stock, as questions surround his athleticism and ability to truly run a team against length and size (something Arizona has an abundance of). Russell’s one-on-one matchup with either of Arizona’s talented perimeter defenders will be fun to watch. While Arizona has one of the stingiest defenses in the country, Ohio State’s offense isn’t to be dismissed (75.8 PPG, 24th in NCAA). The Buckeyes are phenomenal from the field (48.6% FG, 9th in NCAA) and are very efficient with their possessions (1.14 points per possession, 14th in NCAA). Their stellar efficiency stems from Russell being on the floor along with G Shannon Scott (8.5 PPG, 5.9 APG, 1.8 SPG), giving the Buckeyes great chances at easy baskets via a great assist (15.4 APG, 16th in NCAA). Ohio State is very good at staying out of foul trouble (16.1 FPG, 40th in NCAA) and will need to keep that number as low as possible as the Wildcats love getting to the line and having opponents in foul trouble. For all of Arizona’s defensive accolades this season, though, they’ve been a little leaky in their past three games (opponents are 16-for-38 3PT in that span). If Arizona’s troubles defending the three are truly a trend, Russell (2.7 3PT/game) will definitely have the opportunity for a huge game. Unfortunately, the one thing Ohio State lacks is size to match up with Arizona’s vaunted frontcourt and elite rebounding. If F Sam Thompson (10.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG), F Jae’Sean Tate (8.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and C Amir Williams (6.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG) can’t all find a way to play big inside without fouling, it could be a long night for the Buckeyes regardless of how well Russell and Scott perform on the perimeter. Williams had his first double-figure outing in 10 games with 13 points against VCU, and anything close to that effort against Arizona from the mercurial center would be a pleasant surprise for Ohio State.

Arizona will first and foremost be looking to punish the smaller Buckeyes on the glass and considering its impressive rebounding numbers (+9 RPG margin, 2nd in NCAA) the Wildcats should have no trouble doing so. As the NCAA tournament has historically shown us, one star player is capable of putting a team on his shoulders and carrying them to victory, and while Arizona has many capable offensive weapons, all eyes will be on the Buckeyes’ dominant offensive weapon – Russell. Who ends up guarding Russell will be one of the best individual matchups of the tournament, as while Coach Sean Miller doesn’t play a strict man-to-man defense (they play a version of the “pack line” defense, similar to Virginia) either fellow freshman stud F Stanley Johnson (14.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG) or lock-down F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (10.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG) will be tasked with keeping at least one eye affixed to Russell’s red zero jersey at all times, making sure he doesn’t have another 28-point game in him, as he did against VCU. Johnson and Hollis-Jefferson, both at 6-foot-7, have the requisite length and athleticism to make Russell’s evening a very tough night at the office. When Arizona has the ball, it’s quite good at getting great shots at the hoop and converting (49.3% FG, 4th in NCAA). The Wildcats score 76.9 points per game (20th in NCAA) and have been even better in their past five games, upping that average to 81.4 points per game. Spearheading the attack is heady senior G T.J. McConnell (9.8 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.4:1 A:TO ratio, 2.1 SPG). McConnell finished out the regular season with three games of 11 assists each in his last five contests. Speaking of players who finished the regular season strong, both F Brandon Ashley (12.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 52% FG) and C Kaleb Tarczewski (9.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 58% FG) have shown flashes down the stretch. Tarczewski had 6 out of 7 games in late February-early March with double-figures. After struggling in the Pac-12 tournament, Tarczewski found his form for 13 points in 23 minutes on Thursday versus Texas Southern. Ashley has had himself one hell of a March, scoring double figures in his past six games, including taking home Pac-12 tournament MVP after pouring in 24 and 20 points respectively in the semifinals and title game. Overall, in five games this month, Ashley is averaging 19.0 points per game on 71% from the field and 86% from the line.