Penn State Basketball: 2019-20 keys to victory at home against Ohio State

Bench scoring. Hello? Is anybody out there?

A key component of Penn State Basketball’s early success was production from the bench. In two out of three conference losses, the Nittany Lion bench was outscored by a 2:1 margin. Minnesota’s bench only scored 2 points against Penn State’s 19, however, Marcus Carr and Daniel Oturu played 78 of the available 80 minutes for their positions.

During this three-game slide, Izaiah Brockington and Curtis Jones, Jr. combined for 36 points over 133 minutes of playing time. If you calculate out points per minute played, that comes to 0.27. Let’s compare the last three conference losses to the two conference wins plus the Ohio State loss. A similar calculation nets 0.57 points scored per minute. Early in the season, these two players were more dynamic scorers.

You can argue that the Badgers’ ball-control offense lowered the possession rate and that Rutgers’ length and similar defensive mindset as Penn State accounted for the difference and you would be correct. However, I would argue that bench players need to make the most out of every opportunity they get. Ohio State likes to run just like Penn State does. This game will provide these two players an opportunity to break out of their scoring slump and contribute to the offense while the starters are getting a break.