Virginia Cavaliers vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 2/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Virginia Cavaliers vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2026

Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

Bridgestone Arena is the site where the Ohio State Buckeyes (16-8) will take on the Virginia Cavaliers (21-3) on Saturday.

The Virginia Cavaliers took the court against Florida State and walked away with a win by a score of 61-58 in their last contest. In relation to fouls, the Cavaliers walked away with 16 and Florida State accumulated 14 fouls. They also buried 6 of 33 tries from three-point range. Florida State finished shooting 72.7% at the charity stripe by making 16 of 22 tries. In addition, Florida State had 33 boards (9 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Florida State earned 8 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. In terms of the defense, Virginia allowed their opponent to shoot 29.0% from the floor on 18 of 62 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists for the game as well as creating 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they earned 42 with 10 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers knocked down 5 of 8 attempts for a rate of 62.5%. Virginia ended the game having earned a 37.7% field goal percentage (23 out of 61) and buried 10 of their 33 3-point attempts.

Jacari White is a player who was important for this game. He finished with 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He played 21 minutes played and collected 4 rebounds. He went 63.6% from the field and dished out 2 dimes.

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Virginia will play this game with a mark of 21-3 on the season. They are losing possession via turnover 10.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Virginia is collecting 41.7 rebounds per game and has accumulated 408 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 58th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are connecting on 35.5% from downtown (243 of 685) and 70.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 81.9 pts per game (68th in Division 1) while hitting 46.3% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Cavaliers are forcing 11.0 turnovers per game and they draw 18.2 fouls. They are currently ranked 36th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 270 conceded so far this season. The Cavaliers are allowing a FG percentage of 39.3% (551 of 1,402) and they surrender 32.7 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 29.4% on three-point shots and they are ranked 33rd in Division 1 in opponents points per game (67.5).

In their last game, the Ohio State Buckeyes got the victory with a final of 89-82 when they played USC. The Buckeyes were able to corral 22 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 27 for the game. They also coughed it up 12 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. USC committed 21 fouls in this matchup which took the Buckeyes to the charity stripe for 25 tries. They were able to knock down 24 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 96.0%. With regard to shots from distance, Ohio State knocked down 7 out of 22 tries (31.8%). When the game finished, the Buckeyes ended up going 29 out of 58 from the field which had them shooting 50.0%. The Buckeyes permitted USC to bury 26 out of their 62 attempts from the field which left them shooting 41.9% for this game. They shot 35.3% from downtown by going 6 of 17 and ended up going 24 out of 33 at the free throw line (72.7%). Regarding team rebounding, Ohio State allowed USC to grab 25 in total (9 offensive).

Bruce Thornton ended up having an impact for the Buckeyes in this matchup. He had 21 points in his 32 mins on the court and had 8 assists in this contest. He made 5 of 11 in this contest giving him a rate of 45.5%, and accumulated 6 rebounds.

Ohio State has a record of 16-8 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Buckeyes are shooting 48.9% from the floor, which ranks them 29th in the nation. Ohio State has totaled 1,958 pts on the season (81.6 per contest) and they grab 35.0 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.0 times per contest (121st in the country) and they cough up possession 10.7 times per game. The Buckeyes are committing 17.8 fouls per contest and they hit 78.8% from the free throw line.

The Ohio State defense surrenders 31.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (181 of 584) and opponents are connecting on 74.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 13.3 assists and 32.0 total rebounds per game, which is 168th and 53rd in college hoops. The Buckeyes are ranked 180th in college hoops in points given up per game with 73.7. They are forcing 11.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (128th in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Virginia

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