Penn State Basketball faces off against Ohio State this Saturday in the Jordan Center. Can the Nittany Lions halt a three-game slide and beat the Buckeyes?
When: January 18 @ 12 pm. Television: ESPNU
Penn State Basketball last faced off against the Buckeyes six weeks ago, on December 7, 2019. For readers who didn’t pay attention in history class, that’s the month and day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and drew the United States into World War Two. Seventy-eight years later, yours truly sat in the stands of Value City Arena and witnessed an aerial assault that #6 Ohio State unleashed on the visitors. By the time the onslaught was over, the Buckeyes had defeated Penn State by a score of 106-74, fueled by a 66.7% second-half three-point shooting effort.
Fast-forward to the present. Who in the room would have thought that the Scarlet and Gray would have the same 2-4 conference record, as the Blue and White? The Buckeye’s Big Ten opening conference win was their sole victory until they drubbed Nebraska by twelve at home, on January, 14. The Buckeyes’ four losses have slid their ranking from #6 to #21.
Penn State rebounded from Pearl Harbor Day with an immediate win over #4 Maryland at home. A nonconference win over Alabama had the fan-base humming along to their teams’ freshly printed AP top 25 ranking, the first such ranking of the Pat Chambers’ era. With a win over Iowa at the Palestra, the now #20 ranked Lions then lost a tough game at the Rutgers Athletic Center to the rising Scarlet Knights.
Penn State failed to hold serve at home against a methodical Wisconsin team and the Golden Gophers prevailed at the Barn, a venue where Penn State has only won twice in the previous decade. With the latest loss, fans of Penn State Basketball are now grumbling instead of humming. Their team is no longer ranked and nightmares of last seasons 0-10 conference start are gnawing at their subconscious. Saturday’s game is a must-win.
Here are my keys to victory for the Nittany Lions to secure a win against the Ohio State Buckeyes.