Ohio State's brutal stretch of five games in 11 days is almost over.
The Buckeyes return to action Thursday night to take on a Penn State team that has lost three of its last four games, including a 70-61 defeat to the hands of Northwestern on Jan. 20. After that, Ohio State will receive a five-day break, a stretch of rest that the Nittany Lions are coming off of as they invade Columbus.
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State (13-8, 3-5) | Value City Arena | 8 p.m. | BTN |
Penn State has struggled to find wins on the road this season, tallying a 2-3 record with its only wins coming against Iowa and George Mason, both coming in December. However, two of the Nittany Lions' road losses came by single digits to Maryland on Jan. 2 (75-69) and to Indiana a week later (74-70).
With Penn State's record being what it is (13-8, 3-5), Chris Holtmann said he expects Patrick Chambers' group to come into Value City Arena with a chip on its shoulder.
"We've got another one coming right at us with a really good and talented Penn State team that while they have had some really close losses here, they have played well on the road," Holtmann said Wednesday. "I have a lot of respect for them. They're fantastic. I think we are going to play against a very hungry team."
Opponent Breakdown
While Penn State has struggled to piece together wins recently, the Nittany Lions have not had many problems turning teams over this season.
Chambers' team leads the Big Ten in steals this season, forcing 8.1 takeaways per game, led by freshman guard Jamari Wheeler. Not much of a scoring threat (3.1 points per game), Wheeler has made his presence felt on the defensive end in his rookie season with the Nittany Lions. He has tallied a Big Ten-best 40 steals this season despite averaging just 19.7 minutes off the bench.
Fellow backcourt mate Josh Reaves leads the conference in steals per game, as the junior guard has collected 38 steals in just 16 games played this season, giving him an average of 2.4. A starter for Chambers, Reaves is averaging 10.8 points per game.
| Player | Pos | HT | WT | Min | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TONY CARR | G | 6-5 | 204 | 33.3 | 18.9 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| LAMAR STEVENS | F | 6-8 | 226 | 31.6 | 15.6 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| MIKE WATKINS | F | 6-9 | 254 | 28.0 | 13.3 | 9.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| JOSH REAVES | G | 6-4 | 210 | 29.5 | 10.8 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
| SHEP GARNER | G | 6-2 | 196 | 31.4 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
All five Nittany Lion starters average double-digit points, but it is sophomore guard Tony Carr that leads the team in the scoring column. Carr pours in 18.9 per game, which is second in the Big Ten behind only Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop (19.7).
In the post, Penn State is led by redshirt sophomore forward Mike Watkins, who is just short of averaging a double-double on the year. Watkins leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage, converting on 70.8 percent of his shots, leading to 13.3 points per game. He also averages 9.9 rebounds per game, second in the conference only to Minnesota's Jordan Murphy (11.7). Fellow frontcourt player Lamar Stevens averages 15.6 points and 6.5 boards per game, and has shown the ability to knock down the occasional outside jumper as well.
Rounding out Penn State's starting five is Shep Garner, the Nittany Lion's three-point specialist. Of Garner's 74 made shots this season, 60 of them have been behind the arc, as the senior shoots the long ball at a 40.8 percent clip, leading to 10.4 points per game. Against the Buckeyes last season, Garner connected on five shots from long distance, scoring 20 points in a 71-70 loss to Ohio State on Feb. 28 in University Park, Pa.
Buckeye Breakdown
Over the last two weeks, Ohio State hasn't exactly had a set formula of how to win games.
Early in the year, it was Bates-Diop willing the Buckeyes to Big Ten victories, as the redshirt junior forward scored 20 or more points in Ohio State's first four games of the new year, before struggling with his shot in games against Northwestern and Minnesota.
The Big Ten Player of the Year candidate got back on track with a 20-point performance in a win over Nebraska on Monday, as he found ways to get more high-percentage shots while his outside jumper continued to fall off the rim.
"They were doubling me pretty much everywhere and pretty much anytime I drove (to the basket)," Bates-Diop said following the win over the Cornhuskers. "I started slipping screens and just moving around a little bit more and cutting more off the ball. My teammates found me. It was mostly just layups at the basket."
Bates-Diop's effectiveness in the post only helped complement the increasingly impressive play of freshman center Kaleb Wesson, who entered the Nebraska game as the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week. The Westerville South High School product lived up to the honor against the Cornhuskers, scoring 12 points and corralling seven boards in just 13 minutes of game action.
While he was hampered by foul trouble for most of the game, Holtmann said Wednesday that Wesson's minutes are about where Ohio State wants them (21.3 minutes per game), mainly because of his inexperience and conditioning level.
"It's a lot to expect a kid of his size as a freshman really to play even 20 minutes," Holtmann said. "I think his minutes are probably where we'd like for them to be. I wouldn't want to put 30 minutes on him right now as freshman. I don't know that that is best for our team, or for him."
Normally, Micah Potter would pick up Wesson's minutes. Due to matchups, however, Potter played just four minutes in the win over Nebraska. Instead, it was Bates-Diop getting moved to center at times while Andre Wesson picked up 23 minutes, which is well over his average at 15.2.
Also helping pick up the slack in the post has (per usual) been Jae'Sean Tate. The senior collected 17 points and seven rebounds against Nebraska, despite briefly leaving with an ankle injury. The minor setback was nothing to worry about Tate said Monday, joking that the ankle injury is a common occurrence.
"I just tweaked my ankle a bit, I am fine," Tate said. "I do this like every other day. I just had to get re-taped."
How It Plays Out
The lone matchup between the two teams last season went in Ohio State's favor thanks to a game-winning layup from Tate in the closing seconds of a one-point victory on the road.
Ohio State has not lost to Penn State since the 2013-14 season, in which the Nittany Lions won both meetings between the schools by a combined three points. Entering Thursday's game, Ohio State is ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and No. 11 in Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistical rating system, while the Nittany Lions check in at No. 67 in KenPom.
The Nittany Lions have the size and skill to compete with the Buckeyes. However, Penn State utilizes just a seven-man rotation, while Holtmann continues to routinely play anywhere from eight to 10 players depending on matchups and situations.
Penn State is coming in fresh off of five days rest, but Ohio State has momentum, having won its last eight in a row. Playing with confidence and riding the high of being one of the hottest teams of the country, Holtmann's squad should improve to 10-0 on the conference season.
Prediction: Ohio State 74, Penn State 65
