The No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-5, 2-4) head to State College to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-5, 2-4). This is the second matchup between the two teams, with OSU winning the previous game 106-74 back in early December. The Buckeyes enter this contest coming off of an 80-68 win over Nebraska on Tuesday, snapping a 4-game losing streak. Penn State last hit the hardwood on Wednesday, securing a 75-69 win at Minnesota, snapping a 2-game losing streak.
Opening Tip
Who: No. 21 Ohio State at Penn State
What: Men’s Basketball
Where: State College, PA — Bryce Jordan Center
When: Saturday 12:00 pm (ESPNU)
Why: Because when you beat a team by 32 a month earlier, they’re gonna want a rematch.
Line: Penn State +1
The Ohio State Buckeyes
Three-Point Territory
+ Freshman point guard DJ Carton is currently third among Big Ten rookies in scoring, third in field goals made and attempted, second in three-point field goals made, sixth in free throws made, first in assists, and sixth in steals. Expect to see him off the ball more moving forward the rest of the season.
+ Ohio State leads the all-time series with the Nittany Lions 36-17. Ohio State owns a 19-5 record in Columbus and is 13-9 in State College. The teams have played on a neutral court seven times with the Buckeyes winning four. Andre Wesson has faced the Nittany Lions five times over his career, most of any Buckeye. He averages 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in the series. Younger brother Kaleb Wesson averages 11.2 points and 4.6 boards. Luther Muhammad contributes 17 points and 3.5 rebounds. As a ranked team, Ohio State is 19-7 vs. the Nittany Lions.
+ The win over Nebraska gave the Buckeyes win number 1,700 over 121 seasons. With the win over Nebraska, Chris Holtmann has defeated each Big Ten coach, including former Michigan coach John Beilein and Nebraska’s Tim Miles, he has faced at least once during his Ohio State career. The only coach Holtmann has yet to face is first-year Michigan coach Juwan Howard. The Buckeyes take on the Wolverines in Ann Arbor Feb. 4 and then in Columbus March 1.
The Penn State Nittany Lions
What You Need To Know
+ Senior forwards Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins have earned All-Big Ten honors during their careers at Penn State and have posted some accolade-worthy numbers in conference games. Watkins has Penn State’s second-highest Big Ten rebounds total with 471. Stevens, with 997 points in 62 league games, needs just three more points for 1,000 career points in Big Ten play. He is second on Penn State’s Big Ten scoring list behind Nittany Lion all-time leading scorer Talor Battle.
+ Penn State reached a double-digit win total by December 31st for the fourth time in the last six years and the Nittany Lions reached 12 wins in 14 games for the fourth time in Penn State’s 28 seasons in the Big Ten era:
14-Game Season Record
1995-96………………… 13-1
2019-20………………… 12-2
2014-15………………… 12-2
2008-09………………… 12-2
+ Tallying his 1,000th career point in the Central Connecticut game, Mike Watkins became the 37th member of the 1,000-point scoring club, but he also became one of only three Nittany Lions with at least 800 rebounds to go along with that scoring milestone.
+ With a career-best 13 rebounds as part of his double-double with 13 points vs. Yale (Nov. 23), Lamar Stevens became one of only four Nittany Lions with 1,500+ career points and 700+ career rebounds. He was the fastest Nittany Lion junior to 1,500 points and is the 14th Penn State player to collect 700 rebounds.
+ Saturday’s game is designated as the annual Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) game with all proceeds from $5 single-game student tickets benefitting the THON organization of the student’s choice. The year-long efforts of THON, the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, culminate in an annual 46-hour dance marathon Feb. 21-23 in the BJC. THON has raised more than $168 million dollars and helped more than 4,000 families since 1973.