The Penn State men’s basketball season is still going, for now.
Last night, the Nittany Lions took care of Minnesota in their first-round Big Ten tournament matchup.
Penn State beating the last-place Gophers wasn’t a surprise, but the Nittany Lions beating sixth-seeded Ohio State would be.
Penn State lost to Ohio State in both regular season meetings, and is a 5.5-point underdog in Part III according to Tipico Sportsbook. Ohio State is looking to replicate what Penn State did to it in 2018, when the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes three times. That Penn State team ended up winning the NIT championship.
Ohio State’s regular season finale turned into a disaster. The Buckeyes lost to arch-nemesis Michigan at home, and the Wolverines beat their rival without their best player, 7-foot-1 center Hunter Dickinson.
Nonetheless, the Buckeyes (19-10, 10-8) are virtually a lock for the NCAA Tournament and can further help themselves with what would be their 20th win of the season against Micah Shrewsberry’s squad tonight.
Leading the charge for the Buckeyes is E.J. Liddell, who averages 19.4 points per game. Malaki Branham (13.2 PPG) is the only other Ohio State player averaging double figures.
When Penn State played Ohio State Dec. 5 in State College, it did so without Greg Lee, who had yet to make his season debut. In the second meeting, which took place Jan. 16 in Columbus, the Nittany Lions didn’t have Seth Lundy. Now, both are ready to go, and both should give the Lions a boost in meeting No. 3.
The game is scheduled for approximately 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The game can also be streamed on Fox Sports Live. Penn State fans who can’t watch the game can listen to Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi at any of these affiliates.
