There were two teams that beat Ohio State twice last season.
One was Michigan, a team featuring two first-round NBA Draft picks (Nik Stauskas and Mitch McGary) and a second-round selection (Glen Robinson III) that found itself one win away from making it back-to-back appearances in the Final Four.
The other team to beat the Buckeyes twice, though, may surprise you. Heck, you may not even be able to remember.
Give up yet? It was Penn State.
The Nittany Lions, who finished last year 16-18 overall and were just 6-12 in the Big Ten, knocked off Ohio State 71-70 in overtime in Columbus and 65-63 in Happy Valley. A pair of head scratching results to say the least.
Don't think the Buckeyes forgot about that, either.
"Knowing we’ve been very fortunate to not lose very often at home and this one of the teams that has beaten us here. I think from that perspective guys will have that respect and understanding," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said Monday night on his weekly call-in show. "They know — we’ve got five or six veteran players back — and they remember that Penn State plays well against Ohio State and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
The 23rd-ranked Buckeyes welcome Penn State to the Schottenstein Center on Wednesday night for their first meeting of this season. Like last year, Ohio State is one of the teams in the top half of the Big Ten while the Nittany Lions find themselves near the bottom of the standings.
The Buckeyes have a lot of new faces, but a handful of familiar ones who went through those two losses last year. The Penn State players, for the most part, are the same.
Specifically D.J. Newbill, who is the Big Ten's leading scorer at 20.9 points per game. The senior guard gives the Nittany Lions at least a puncher's chance any time they take the floor.
“Everybody is a year older. They’re going to run a lot of set actions and a lot of them gear around trying to get Newbill shots, but they’ll exploit you if you switch," Matta said. "They’re rough, physical, a lot like Purdue in man-to-man defense, but they’ll play some 3-2 zone, 2-3 zone and press a little bit. It’s your typical Penn State-type of team.”
The phrase "typical Penn State-type of team" usually wouldn't hold much water when it comes to the Buckeyes. But to this year's Ohio State team it may mean a little bit more as it is fully aware of what happened last season against the Nittany Lions.
"They're a team that beat us twice last year," Matta said. "They've been on the road more than they've been at home this year so it's another great challenge for us."
