The Ohio State Buckeyes are set to face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Tip-off is approximately 9:00 pm ET on BTN, live from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game will begin shortly after the conclusion of Michigan State and Maryland.

Buckeye Recap:

The Buckeyes had quite a poor finish to their season, posting a record of 1-3 over the final week and a half. Which included losses to Maryland, Michigan, and Nebraska, two of which were at home. They finished 6th in the Big Ten, falling below Iowa and Rutgers and losing the double-bye.  Following a road victory over Illinois, the Buckeyes were in line for the 4th seed and double-bye in the conference tournament. The regular-season finish was a mixture of injuries, offensive woes, fatigue, and overall ugly stretches of basketball. However, this Buckeyes got a much-needed four days of rest and practice and will look to reset for postseason play.

Leading scorers EJ Liddell and Malaki Branham added some impressive titles to their resumes this past week. First, EJ Liddell was named to the 2022 All-Big Ten first team as well as the All-Defensive team. Also, Branham was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well as receiving third-team All-Big Ten honors. Their success in the regular season didn’t go unnoticed and these rewards reflect that. They will ultimately need to maintain that level of play if the Buckeyes hope for a postseason run. Their teammates are going to have to step up as well if any postseason success is on the horizon, such as Justin Ahrens, who gained some confidence in the Michigan game while making four three-pointers. Jamari Wheeler, Joey Brunk, and Eugene Brown will also need to play big minutes in the postseason.

Who is Penn State?:

The Penn State Nittany Lions were able to defeat the Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the tournament by a score of 60-51. After trailing by 4 at the half, the Nittany Lions were a completely different team in the second half outscoring their opponent 36-23.

The leading scorer was Jalen Pickett with 22, while Sam Sessoms added a valuable 14 off the bench. These two will have to put together another well-rounded game if they look to knock off the Buckeyes. However, forwards Seth Lundy and John Harrar will likely be players the Nittany Lions look to get going as their size and physicality down low will be a potential advantage for them.

What to expect:

This will be the third matchup of the season between the two teams. The Buckeyes have won both of those contests, by a 12-point margin in Happy Valley and a 5-point margin in Columbus. The Buckeyes will be looking to defeat the Nittany Lions for a third time this season, returning the favor from 2018. However, this is the conference tournament, and anything can happen so don’t count the Nittany Lions out yet.

Injury News:

-Kyle Young: OUT, concussion

-Zed Key: game-time decision, re-injured sprained ankle against Michigan

-Meechie Johnson: available, rolled ankle

-Justice Sueing/Seth Towns: unavailable

Gabe’s Guess:

Despite their woes down the stretch, the Buckeyes are a five-point favorite on the neutral court. I believe that even with the Ohio State injuries, the Buckeyes will enter the post-season ready to rock and roll. This is a clean slate for Holtmann and his crew, with a chance to lock themselves in as a six-seed if not better. I think that Buckeyes are going to play a well-rounded 40 minutes of basketball and handle business on their way to a matchup with Purdue.

Final: 83-69, Ohio State

How to watch:

Catch all the action at approximately 9:00 pm ET on BTN

 

Featured Image: Gary M. Baranec, AP Photo