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The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (17-4, 11-4) will take on their rivals, the Penn State Nittany Lions (7-10, 4-9), for an exciting Big Ten matchup on Thursday night.
Coach Chris Holtmann's Ohio State Buckeyes have evolved since the beginning of the season, with the team securing a win in 9 of their past 10 games played. The team will look to extend their prolific winning streak to 7, when they take the court against Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Penn State Nittany Lions will look for an upset when they face one of the nation's best in college basketball. The team is on a 2-game losing streak and will need to be at their best if they are to come away with a win from the match against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Match Details
Fixture: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Penn State Nittany Lions - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date and Time: Thursday, February 18, 9:00 PM ET
Venue: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, PA
Ohio State Buckeyes Preview
The Ohio State Buckeyes have been brilliant this season, with the team finally meeting its full potential and establishing themselves as one of the best in the United States.
Coming off their strong 78-59 win against Indiana, AP's top 25 list bumped them up to the No.4th spit. The Ohio State Buckeyes' ranking is very much deserving as they represent a 10-1 record at home. Much speculation has been drawn out for the team to be projected as No. 1 come tournament time, but college basketball fans will need to sit tight and see how this team will perform leading up to the end of the regular season from here on out.
The team saw E.J. Liddell dominate against Indiana, scoring 19 points while Justice Sueing came up with 16 points and 10 rebounds to earn himself a double-double for the game.
Key Player -- E.J. Liddell
E.J. Liddell has become a vital component of a well-built Ohio State Buckeyes program. The forward serves as the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.1 points while also leading the team in rebounds (6.7) per game this season. Expect the 20year-old to dominate on both ends of the floor throughout the game against Penn State.
Ohio State Buckeyes Predicted Line-up
G Duane Washington Jr., F Justice Sueng, F Justin Ahrens, F E.J. Liddell,
F Kyle Young
Penn State Nittany Lions Preview
Penn State will need to find some answers to their troubles when they face the No. 4 team in the nation.
The Penn State Nittany Lions lost a tough 62-61 game against Nebraska, however, the team should take massive positives from that performance going into Thursday's encounter.
Myreon Jones was able to get things going for his side, going off for a team-high 18 points, though it wasn't enough to take Penn State over the hump.
Penn State Nittany Lions coach Jim Ferry will need to come up with a plan to contain E.J. Liddell and the pool of fiery guards that the Ohio State Buckeyes possess. The team sits near the bottom half of the Big Ten standings at No. 12. It must utilize all weapons against a Ohio State Offense that ranks 4th in college basketball, scoring 121.0 points per 100 possessions, per Buckeyextra.com.
Key Player -- Myreon Jones
A leading scorer in the team's loss to Nebraska, Myreon Jones was probably the only player for the Penn State Nittany Lions, who was able to hold his own. It's not surprising to see Jones as the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.9 points for the season.
Look out for Jones when he matches up against Ohio State Buckeyes guard Duane Washington Jr. The former will look to unleash his deep-range shooting against a defense that's still trying to put pieces of the puzzle together.
Penn State Nittany Lions Predicted Line-up
G Myreon Jones, G Myles Dread, G Jamari Wheeler, G Izaiah Brockington,
F John Harrar
Ohio State vs Penn State Prediction
Expect the Penn State Nittany Lions to stay in close proximity to the Ohio State Buckeyes for an initial bunch of minutes. However, one expects the visiting team to take matters into their own hands as the minutes of the game increase.
Thursday night's contest should be an interesting Big Ten matchup, though the Ohio State Buckeyes are very much capable of blowing out their hosts. For Penn State Nittany Lions, the key will be to contain E.J. Liddella and not allow Ohio State's offense to breakout for large leads if they wish to keep the game competitive.
Where to watch Ohio State vs Penn State
Thursday night's encounter between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
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