After a strong start to conference play, Mike Rhoades’s Penn State Nittany Lions have gone into freefall down the Big Ten men’s basketball standings. Penn State has lost six of its last seven games, with the lone victory coming at home over Rutgers on January 20. The Nittany Lions are now 13-8 and 3-7 in conference play after a 2-1 start against Big Ten opponents.
On Thursday night Penn State will return to its home floor at the Bryce Jordan Center to host Ohio State. Rhoades’s team will look to get back into the win column against the Buckeyes after back-to-back road losses, first to Iowa on Friday night then to Michigan on Monday. Nick Kern Jr. who has emerged as an offensive catalyst while point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. continues to battle nagging injuries, led the team in scoring on both matchups, posting a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Ann Arbor.
Penn State’s biggest issue on Monday night was turnovers, giving the ball away 18 times to the Wolverines. Luckily, Ohio State ranks 194th in the country in turnovers forced per game. The Buckeyes are led by veteran backcourt duo, Bruce Thornton and Micah Parrish, who have carried the team to back-to-back wins, including an upset victory over Purdue.
Parrish, like Kern is on a recent hot streak, leading the Buckeyes in scoring in each of the last two games. The 6-foot-6 senior San Diego State transfer is averaging 11.5 points a game and shooting 45% from the field and could be tough to slow down.
Here’s how you can watch this Big Ten rivalry between Ohio State and Penn State on Thursday night from Happy Valley.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Penn State
- Date: Thursday, January 30
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Bryce Jordan Center (State College, PA)
- How to Watch: FS1
- How to stream: Fubo TV
- Ohio State record: 12-8 (4-5)
- Penn State record: 13-8 (3-7)