Ohio State went on the road to State College, PA and left with their 2nd straight road win and 3rd straight overall, leading for the majority of the game to down host Penn State 83-64. In a game played in the intimate setting of Rec Hall, the 7,200 seat former home of the Nittany Lions, the Buckeyes pulled away midway through the first half to build a lead they would not relinquish, getting their third road conference victory, improving to 13-8 and 5-5 in the Big Ten. Penn State dropped their 3rd in a row and 7th in 8 games to fall to 13-9, 3-8. What looked like a longshot a couple weeks ago, Ohio State finished off a 4-4 month of January thanks to the aforementioned 3 game winning streak and will enter February with serious momentum, playing their most consistent basketball of the season thus far. In a game marred by 43 fouls combined by the two teams, where both Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart fouled out, Ohio State made 17 of 23 of their free throw opportunities, while Penn State struggled, making just 16 of their 29 attempts. The Buckeyes dominated in every facet and it showed in the statistics as they hit 46.8% from the floor, nailing 8 of 22 from beyond the arc, holding Penn State to a 45.7% shooting day and just 6 of 19 from three. Ohio State utilized a decisive 41-23 rebounding advantage, including 13-4 on the offensive glass, leading to an 18-4 scoring advantage in second chance points. Ohio State put 4 in double figures, led by John Mobley, Jr.’s 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Bruce Thornton added 17, while Devin Royal added 15 and 8 rebounds. Micah Parrish chipped in 12. Penn State was led by 21 from Yanic Konan Niederhauser, 13 from Zach Hicks and 10 each by Nick Hern and Ace Baldwin. 

The teams were feeling each other out in the early moments as the Nittany Lions grabbed a 4-2 lead with Ohio State’s only bucket coming off a nifty baseline penetration and dish from John Mobley, Jr. to Devin Royal. The Buckeyes scored the next 5, all off the fingertips of Mobley who capped the run with a three from the left wing and at the first media timeout, Ohio State led 7-4. Penn State cut it to two with a bucket but a Royal bucket followed by a Bradshaw block and running the floor, caught a Mobley feed for a dunk to put the Buckeyes up 5. After a bucket each way, Penn State drilled a three that was immediately answered by Bruce Thornton, who took a Ques Glover feed off of penetration and drilled a triple from the left wing to take a 16-11 lead at the under 12 media timeout. The Buckeyes extended the lead when Mobley found a cutting Stewart for two, but Penn State answered with a three on the other end. Micah Parrish hit a 10 footer along the left baseline after grabbing an offensive rebound and that was followed by a Mobley three from the top extending the lead to 9. Penn State answered with 5 straight as Ohio State took a 23-19 lead into the under 8 media timeout. After a bucket each way, Parrish drew a flagrant 1 foul and knocked down the pair of free throws and on the next trip, Royal knocked down a pair to put the Buckeyes up 8. After a pair of Lion freebies, Thornton, off the press break, drilled a three from the head of the key. A Parrish reverse lay-in followed a Lion score and at the final media timeout of the half, the Buckeyes led 34-25.  Coming out of the timeout, Penn State went to the stripe and split the pair and the Buckeyes answered with a Mobley three from the right point. After a technical foul on Penn State, Mobley hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 13. After Penn State hit a pair of free throws, Royal hit a jumper just below the stripe and following a Lion turnover, Royal scored off the window forcing Penn State to call timeout with 1:08 left in the first half and the Buckeye lead ballooned to 43-28. The Lions scored the next 5 and Jake Diebler took a timeout to set up the last possession of the half and despite having a couple of looks, the Buckeyes came up empty sending the teams to the locker room with the Buckeyes leading 43-33. The Buckeyes lead was in large part due to a 23-12 rebounding advantage, limiting the Lions to one and done on most possessions. The Buckeyes shot 44% which included 5 of 14 from three and Penn State knocked down 48% of their attempts and 4 of 12 from beyond the arc. The Buckeyes were a perfect 6 of 6 from the stripe compared to Penn State, who made just 5 of 9. John Mobley, Jr led all scorers with 13, while Devin Royal added 10. Penn State was led by Yanic Konan-Niederhauser’s 10. 

The run that ended the half at 5-0 for Penn State, increased to 8-0 with a three to open the second half scoring. Mobley stopped the run, scoring off a dribble drive. After a Penn State triple cut the lead to 6, Stewart split a pair of free throws and on the ensuing possession, Royal grabbed a loose ball and flushed it home. After a Penn State turnover, Glover drilled a jumper from the right elbow for a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 11. Penn State cut into the lead with an old-fashioned three point play, but just before the under 16, Stewart tipped in an Evan Mahaffey miss and Ohio State took a 52-42 lead to the bench.  After a Thornton bucket extended the lead, a free throw and a bucket on separate possessions by the Lions trimmed the lead to 9. The Buckeyes answered when Mobley was fouled attempting a three and knocked down 2 of 3 to put Ohio State back up 11. After Penn State scored in the lane, Ivan Njegovan scored on a tip dunk and at the under 12, Ohio State led 58-47. Each team split a pair of free throws before Thornton drilled a three from the top of the key to extend the lead to 14. After Penn State hit a pair of free throws, Thornton hit another three, this time from the left corner. The Buckeyes added on when Njegovan buried two free throws to extend the lead to 17. The Lions scored the next 3 leading into the under 8 with Ohio State on top 67-53. Micah Parrish, who was fouled attempting a three just before the timeout, went to the line and hit 2 of the 3 tries. The free throw shooting contest continued with Penn State hitting 3 of 4 and Ohio State making 2 of 2 before Thornton hit a triple from the head of the key and Ohio State took a timeout with 6:29 remaining and the Buckeyes leading 74-56. A Mobley floater and a Bradshaw dunk was countered by a pair of Penn State buckets and at the final media timeout of the game and with 4 minutes left, Ohio State was coasting to the finish, leading 78-60. A pair of Penn State free throws was followed by a Bradshaw bucket in transition and a Parrish score off the bounce to put Ohio State up 20. After a Penn State score, Mahaffey went to the stripe as the benches cleared. Mahaffey split the pair to complete the scoring in the Buckeye win. 

It’s called a winning streak. The Buckeyes suffered so many near wins that turned into losses early in the conference season, but they kept grinding and of late, the hard work and perseverance has paid off as Ohio State has come off the mat, continues to develop a great chemistry, and is making a push up the conference standings. It has all started with defense. Beginning with the great second half effort at Purdue, they have now strung together 2 ½ games of ultra connected defense and efficient offense. Rebounding the basketball at a high level, the Buckeyes continue to be aggressive on the glass, winning the 50/50 balls and eliminating extra shots by the opposition, while creating extra chances on the offensive end. While fouls continue to be an issue, the Buckeyes have overcome some of that with high level half court defense. Tonight goes down as a very important Quad 1 win which will once again improve the tournament resume, where as of now, they sit on the right side of that bubble. They will have another opportunity at a big road Q1 win on Sunday, albeit at a very difficult place to play in Illinois. Heading over there on a winning streak, this team has some momentum and will bring a lot of confidence on both ends of the floor into a big one in Champaign. 

The Buckeyes will tip it up again on Sunday afternoon in Champaign, Illinois taking on the 18th ranked Illini for a 1 PM tip on CBS.

-Jason Harris