Gameday Preview: Penn State vs. Ohio State
Big Ten MVP thus far?
 Ohio State 14-6, 5-2 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
January 29, 2008 7:00 PM ET – ESPN —— Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA |
 Penn State 10-9, 2-5 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
OPPONENT: The perennial punching bag otherwise known as Penn State basketball welcomes Ohio State to the Bryce Jordan Center while in the midst of a five game losing skid following two wins to start the conference season. The season officially went in the crapper with the loss of senior leader Geary Claxton to a season ending knee injury a few weeks ago in Madison after the Nittany Lions had won seven straight games albeit against shoddy competition. Ed DeChellis’ squad is currently 149th in the RPI and boasts a laughable SOS of 102.
In conference, the Nittany Lions sport the 9th best offense (51 pgg) and have lost their last 4 games by an average of 19 points while shooting a league low 58% from the stripe. I’ll throw them a bone and mention they lead the conference in rebounding defense at 29.0 per contest. Yay.
KEY PLAYERS: The loss of Claxton devastated the lean Lions leaving much of the heavy lifting to former Brookhaven star Jamelle Cornley. The 6′5″ forward scored 15 points in last Saturday’s defeat at Iowa but has his own injury woes following the aggravation of a bone bruise on his left knee. Cornley is 5th in the conference in scoring at 15.3 and 5th in rebounding at 7.1 per contest.
Besides Cornley, the Lions receive contributions from 5′11″ freshman Talor Battle (8.8 ppg, 2.9 ast), 6′1″ junior guard Stanley Pringle (5.7 ppg, 2.1 reb) and 6′3″ junior guard Danny Morrissey (7.2 ppg), among others. Pringle led PSU with 17 in the Iowa loss while Morrissey has been held scoreless in his last two outings.
The smorgasboard of senior guard Mike Walker (5.6 ppg), 6′6″ freshman forward David Jackson (5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and 6′9″ sophomore forward Andrew Jones (2.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg) will also see action.
NOTES: PSU almost upset the Buckeyes before falling 64-62 last year so you can expect a rowdy crowd as Penn State gets some national TV face time on ESPN’s Super Tuesday…I’m not sure what’s so “super” about this matchup but since Erin Andrews will be working the sidelines, I’ll just assume that’s the reason.
BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN: Following last Saturday’s beatdown of Minnesota, the Buckeyes hope to avoid an emotional letdown on the road against an inferior foe. Thad Matta’s young squad is riding a modest two game winning streak that should swell to 5 in a row with PSU, at Iowa and Michigan on the docket before the February 10th showdown with Indiana in the Schott.
That said, inconsistency has plagued this team throughout the season meaning this will be a good measuring stick to see if this team has taken strides with regard to maturity. Good teams beat the teams their supposed to beat and the Nittany Lions are certainly in that category.
For all the individual inconsistency one constant continues to be the defense. The Buckeyes are currently 9th in the country in FG% Defense holding opponents to 37% and they rate 7th in the country committing just 14.4 personal fouls per contest.
KEY PLAYERS: Obviously, Jamar Butler is the straw that stirs the drink and the quiet leader was huge against the Gophers recording 27 points and 9 assists after reaching double figures in just 4 of the previous 6 contests. On the season, Butler leads OSU in scoring (15.0), assists (6.3) and steals (1.5) while boasting a sick 2.6/1 asst/to ratio. The handsome devil is also shooting 92.7% from the stripe and 42% from distance.
While Butler’s season is not surprising, the emergence of freshman Evan Turner has turned some heads. The rangy swingman from Chicago has shown steady improvement in recent weeks and he’s blown up in his last three outings averaging 17 points, 7 boards and 3 dimes per night. The decrease in turnovers has been just as impressive and he’s shooting a ridiculous 61% in conference play.
Strong play from Turner and Butler has helped to offset the roller coaster ride known as David Lighty. The sophomore had recorded back to back games in double figures before the wheels fell off against Minnesota. Lighty struggled from the floor (1/5) and committed a season high 6 turnovers in a performance comparable to the aroma of hot garbage.
Freshman Kosta Koufos has been a whipping boy all season due to a style of play that’s softer than your alcoholic Grandpappy’s stool but he’s still the Buckeyes’ 2nd leading scorer at 13.7 ppg and leads the team in rebounding (6.8) and blocks (1.9) while Othello Hunter checks in at 9.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg.
Off the pine, Arctic-Jon Diebler is averaging 6.3 ppg and his shooting percentages have plummeted to hypothermic levels (28% FG, 26% 3FG drawing the ire of Buckeye Nation. Conversely, Matt Terwilliger is the talk of the nation after the Buckeyes moved to 29-1 when he pours in at least 4 points.
NOTES: Thad is 8-0 all time against PSU…Butler is averaging just 8.1 ppg in 8 games against the Nittany Lions…The Buckeyes have held every conference opponent to 39% shooting or less thus far.
They’ve got to win this game tonight. If they go on the road and lose to a Claxton-less p*nn st*t* squad, I won’t know what to think about them. Road struggles aside, you have to think they desperately need to win these next three games to make the tournament, right?
And thank Gawd we only commit 14-odd fouls per game. We have very little coming off the bench. At least when Diebler gets in, he’s not turning the ball over and fouling. That behind-the-back pass he made against the Woodchucks on Saturday was beautiful.
“Arctic Jon.” Too funny.
The Buckeye have to get this game tonight and could get the next four on the road: @Penn St., Iowa, Northwestern and Michigan. Getting all four of these would solidify their tournament bid.
Anyone know the spread?
I wouldn’t expect to see much of a fight from PSU like last year, even with the ESPN telecast. This year’s basketball squad is a joke it seems, especially without Claxton. Claxton was a good player for the Nittany Lions, but it’s not exactly like he was Michael Jordan, or even Scottie Pippen.
p*nn st*t* just worries me, since they seem to be so tough and rangy at home. They’re annoying.
I dearly want to win that road game against m*ch*g*n. I’d love to see Rodriguez make a stupid promise during halftime of a blowout by OSU, without Pryor in the fold. That’d make my week.
According to what I can find, Ohio State is favored by 6.5 to 7 points, depending on the source.
Hey guys, when you throw down these previews, is there any chance you could put the TV broadcast info in that slick white box at the top of the page? I know it can be found on other places, but when this crosses my RSS feeder my first question is always…can I see this tonight or not?
A loss tonight would be bad, no doubt about it. Penn St. is not that good of a team and da Bucks have no business losing to them. So far this year, none of their losses will hurt them too much come tournament time, but a loss here could. I’m encouraged by OSUs competitiveness of late but they worry me with shot selection and turnovers. Let’s hope they put a complete game together and put these guys away. Anyone else want to see Lauderdale playing more?
Theebler sighting.
Also, Dirty6 – you got it. The TV network should be on display above and going forward.
The Butler did it.
Life imitates 11W again. Musburger just made the Victorian novel reference of “the Butler did it” as well.
I’m pretty sure he just wants someone to shotgun beers with him the next time he’s in Columbus.
I expect this victory to be qualified by analysts and justifiably so. Penn State wasn’t that good of a team and they were made a whole lot worse by losing Claxton, but not matter which way you slice it, winning this game on the road was crucial to any tournament chances or Big Ten trophy chances, especially after that brutal 3 game road stretch earlier this month.
Of course, Penn State has been woeful on offense, but that 10 minute stretch of Penn State being scoreless is not that much of a fluke. These guys can play defense.
Oh, also, I’m normally a fan of Thad Matta’s tie selection, but tonight, I was a huge fan of the Thad Tie. I gotta find me one of those.
Brent said, “and Penn State’s gonna lose this one.” with over 3 minutes left. I didn’t like that very much. I think it’s because I’m a Cleveland fan, too.