The No. 13 Ohio State men’s basketball team (18-4, 9-0) hosts the Penn State Nittany Lions (13-8, 3-5) Thursday evening at Value City Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:07 pm and the game will be aired on BTN.
The Buckeyes are coming in off of a 64-59 win over Nebraska at home on Monday. Penn State, meanwhile, lost 70-61 at Northwestern this past Saturday.
Note: Keita Bates-Diop is questionable for the game tonight due to an illness. He is a game-time decision per OSU.
Opening Tip
Who: Penn State (13-8, 3-5) at Ohio State (18-4, 9-0)
What: Men’s Basketball
Where: Columbus, Ohio — Value City Arena (18,809)
When: Thursday, 8:07 pm (BTN)
Why: Because it’s a pretty darn good time.
Line: Ohio State -9.5
Ohio State
Three Point Territory
[Still in Good Company] Chris Holtmann is the first Big Ten coach to record a 9-0 record in conference play during his first season since Sam Barry went 11-0 to start the 1923 campaign at Iowa 95 years ago. Holtmann is the third coach in conference history to start his career in league play at 9-0 or better. Coaches to Start Career 59-0 in Big Ten: Walter Meanwell, Wisconsin, 12-0 in 1912; Sam Barry, Iowa, 11-0 in 1923; Chris Holtmann, Ohio State, 9-0 in 2018.
[Another Honor for Wesson] Freshman Kaleb Wesson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten Conference Jan. 22 after earning the honor first Dec. 4. Wesson averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in wins at Northwestern and vs. Minnesota in New York last week.
[Keita is Great-a] Keita Bates-Diop led the scoring effort in Monday’s win over Nebraska with 20 points. He added six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He now has 17 consecutive games in double digits, the longest active streak in the Big Ten. Eight of those 17 games are 20+ point games. Bates-Diop moves to 50th on the list of all-time scoring, passing Lenzelle Smith, Jason Singleton, and Bill Andreas.
Penn State
What You Should Know
+ Ohio State has won the last five meetings overall, including a 71-70 decision at the Bryce Jordan Center on February 28, 2017, and the last two games at Value City Arena. The two programs have played only once in each of the last two seasons. In 2013-14, Penn State snapped an 18-game losing streak to the Buckeyes and swept the season series for the first time since 1998. The Nittany Lions’ won at home 65-63 (2/27/14) and in overtime in Columbus 71-70 (1/29/14). Overall series: Ohio State leads 37-15; at Columbus: Ohio State leads 19-5; Big Ten games: Ohio State leads 34-13.
+ Redshirt sophomore forward Mike Watkins is 36-47 from the field in the month of January for an 80% field goal perentage. Those figures have moved him to the top spot for the season in the Big Ten (70.8) and on Penn State’s single season chart. Watkins’ 70.8 field goal percentage ranks second nationally.
+ Shep Garner recorded his Big Ten career best with six 3-pointers at Northwestern and continues to move up on both Penn State’s and the NCAA’s career list for 3-pointers made. To date, the senior guard has 276 total for fourth on the Nittany Lion all-time list and seventh on the NCAA active career list.
+ Penn State had moved up to 56th in the national rankings in rebound margin with a +5.1 advantage over its opponents this season, but dropped to +3.8 (77th) in the most recent rankings. In 13 games in which the Nittany Lions have outrebounded their opponents, they are 11-2. The current rebound margin of +3.8 still ranks as Penn State’s highest since the 1995-96 season when the Nittany Lions were +6.1.
+ Freshman Jamari Wheeler has provided a spark for the Nittany Lions, averaging 19.8 minutes per game this season and earning three-straight starts against Nebraska, Minnesota and at Northwestern. His team-leading 40 steals top the Big Ten and are good for a national ranking of 33rd and his 1.90 steals per game of 60th.
Prediction
Penn State has lost four of six, but those four losses have only come by an average of 7.5 points. They are losing, but not getting blown out. In fact, their biggest loss in that stretch — an 11-point defeat at home to Minnesota — occurred in overtime. The Nittany Lions can struggle to score, which bodes well for Ohio State’s defense. The Buckeyes have had a couple of days off, which will help the tired legs they dealt with against Nebraska. Penn State has been allowing opponents into the 70s quite regularly, so Ohio State should be there as well. Will Keita Bates-Diop continue to find new ways to score? If so, the score will be worse than the one predicted below.
Ohio State 75, Penn State 63
