Ohio State Basketball will take on Penn State in State College as it looks to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, and Bruce Thornton eyes the scoring record.
Coming off the heels of the biggest win and best overall performance of the season against the 8th-ranked Purdue, Ohio State will look to finish the job in these last two games. Today, they start with a trip to take on a 12-17 Penn State team that struggles mightily to score, with Junior Guard Freddie Dilione V being their leading scorer at an even 14.0 PPG.
PSU predicates itself on defense, and even though they occupy last place in the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions have given teams like Michigan a run for their money, with a narrow 74-72 loss to the Wolverines in early January. The Buckeyes, of course, cannot afford to have an off day in State College tonight.
Avoiding a Letdown
However, Coach Diebler and the team both know that no Big Ten opponent can be taken lightly this time of year. This is especially true after their recent loss to Iowa, which itself lost to Penn State this past Saturday. If there were ever a game where Diebler and his staff needed to guard against an emotional comedown, it would be this game. Mid-week, on the road, and against a team with just 3 conference victories this season is a recipe for sleepwalking through a game. Ideally, that will not be the case, given the implications of this game and the fact that Ohio State has already beaten the Nittany Lions.
The Ohio State basketball team will undoubtedly look to emulate many of the things it did against Purdue moving forward. Perhaps the biggest revelation was that the Buckeyes had four players in double figures in that game against a tough Boilermakers defense and held their own in the paint throughout. With production like that, the ceiling for this team could be much higher than previously thought, assuming they take care of business this week. Of course, one of those players in double figures stands out above all the rest, and for good reason.
Bruce Thornton Eyes Scoring Record
Another storyline to watch in this game is whether Bruce Thornton can break Ohio State’s all-time points record. He is currently 30 points away from setting the new record, and because he’s Bruce Thornton, he is more than capable of putting up that number on any given night.
Of course, Ohio State fans would selfishly say that this is a record that would be best broken on Saturday at home, on both Senior Day and Thornton’s bobble-head day. Players like Bruce are a dying breed in college basketball, and when you hear coaches like Tom Izzo or Matt Painter rave about just how remarkable a young man he is, it puts into perspective just how lucky we are as fans to witness his greatness. Tonight’s matchup is yet another opportunity to do just that.
Grant Kincaid was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Dayton. He serves as Creative Director and basketball contributor at The Silver Bulletin. At one point, Grant, a collegiate baseball player, also holds a B.A. in Management and Leadership Studies. Aside from the Buckeyes, he is an avid supporter of both the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals. His favorite Buckeyes include Braxton Miller, AJ Hawk, and Ted Ginn Jr.