Big Ten Tournament primer: Penn State Basketball faces familiar foe in Round 1
By Evan Smith
Can Penn State Basketball knock off Minnesota and Ohio State?
IF Penn State Basketball beats Minnesota, they know their opponent on Thursday will be the #23 in the nation and #6 seed Ohio State Buckeyes. That game will tip-off likely a little after 9:00 pm. Penn State battled the Buckeyes tough both at home and on the road but lost both games.
The first game, a 76-64 loss back in December at home, was probably the best home crowd Penn State saw all year, although most were unfortunately there just to boo former point guard and now Buckeye starter Jamari Wheeler.
Penn State Basketball kept it close but the boos seemed to spur on the fiesty Wheeler, who finished with a very typical for him nine points, five rebounds, nine assists, and three steals.
Micah Shrewsberry’s team struggled offensively (no, really) in Columbus about six weeks later, a game Seth Lundy missed for an undisclosed reason. Ohio State led the entire game but was unable to land the knockout blow, keeping the Nittany Lions hanging around.
However, Penn State was never able to get within one possession in the second half and fell 61-56.
Winning back-to-back games is never easy, but hey, it’s also not easy to beat a team three times in a year, right? So let’s give this one to the Nits…