UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (7-10, 4-9) plays host to No. 4/4 Ohio State (17-4, 11-4) at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in the Bryce Jordan Center. This is the second meeting of the regular season between the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes with Ohio State winning the first encounter in Columbus 83-79.
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ROSTER: Penn State | Ohio State
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Ohio State
STATS: Penn State | Ohio State
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Ohio State
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Coach: Chris Holtmann (Taylor, 1994)
Ohio State Record: 83-38 (Fourth season)
Career Record: 197-123 (10th season)
2020-21 Record: 17-4, 11-4 Big Ten
Leading Scorer
#32 E.J. Liddell, So., F – 15.4 rpg
Leading Rebounders
#32 E.J. Liddell, So., F – 6.7 rpg
Assists Leader
#13 CJ Walker, R-Sr., G – 4.1 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Interim Head Coach: Jim Ferry (Keene State, 1990)
Penn State Record: 7-10 (First season)
Career Record: 321-275 (20th season)
Top Scorer
#0 Myreon Jones, Jr., G – 14.9 ppg
#12 Izaiah Brockington, Jr, G – 13.8 ppg
Top Rebounder
#21 John Harrar, Sr., F – 8.9 rpg
Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Sr., G – 3.4 apg
PENN STATE LAST GAME STARTERS
F -- 21 – John Harrar – Sr. | 9.0 ppg | 8.9 rpg
Note: Averaging a double-double with 10.4 points, 10.5 rebounds over last 10 games; Shooting 63.0 percent from the floor over last 5 games
G – 0 – Myreon Jones -- Jr. | 14.8 ppg | 2.8 rpg
Note: Leading scorer for the 8th time in 2020-21 vs. Nebraska; Has 10+ points in all but two games this season
G -- 2 – Myles Dread – Jr. | 7.4 ppg | 2.3 rpg
Note: Made first start of 2020-21 and tied season highs with 14 points and 4 treys
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- Sr. | 5.3 ppg | 4.2 rpg | 3.4 apg
Note: Floor general dictates pace; Has 302 career assists and 200 career assists in Big Ten games
G – 12 – Izaiah Brockington -- Jr. | 13.8 ppg | 4.6 rpg
Note: Team's second-leading scorer and rebounder; Averaging most minutes on the floor at 30.9 per game this season.
STARTING 5
No. 4/4 Ohio State is the seventh ranked opponent the Nittany Lions will face so far in 2020-21. The Buckeyes hold the highest ranking, at the time of the game, of any Penn State foe this year.
Penn State utilized its third different lineup of the 2020-21 season in its last game, starting four guards (Izaiah Brockington, Myles Dread, Myreon Jones and Jamari Wheeler) and forward John Harrar.
Penn State has outrebounded seven of its last 10 opponents with an average margin of +2.9 in that stretch. In all B1G games this season, the Nittany Lions have a +1.9 rebound margin, which would top the Nittany Lions' all-time chart.
Senior forward John Harrar has led Penn State on the boards in 11-straight games, the longest streak dating back at least 20 seasons.
Senior guard Jamari Wheeler has 177 career steals, good for 18th on the NCAA Division I active career leaders list.
SERIES vs. OHIO STATE
Penn State has won four of the last seven games in the series, including the last two meetings in the Bryce Jordan Center.
In the last five regular-season meetings, the home team has claimed the victory.
Series streak: Ohio State, W1
Last game: Columbus, Ohio
No. 13 Ohio State 83, Penn State 79, 1/27/2021
Overall series: OSU leads 40-19 (PS H: 10-14)
Ferry vs. Ohio State: 0-1
Series record and results are on page 5 of the game notes.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
In the last three games, the Nittany Lions have kept their opponents significantly below their scoring averages coming into the game. Listed below are five games, four in B1G play, where the difference has been at least 9.0 points.
| Opponent | Incoming PPG | Score vs. PSU | Difference |
| at Michigan | 86.4 | 62 | 24.4 |
| Maryland | 70.8 | 50 | 20.8 |
| at Virginia Tech | 74.5 | 55 | 19.5 |
| at Michigan State | 72.2 | 60 | 12.2 |
| Nebraska | 71.1 | 62 | 9.1 |
NET & KENPOM.COM
The Feb. 17, 2021 NCAA NET ranking has Penn State at 38, one of nine Big Ten teams in the top 40. Penn State is No. 39 in the kenpom.com calculations, one of 11 Big Ten teams ranked in the top 40, and the only team among that group below .500.
Feb. 17, 2021
NCAA NET – 38
Kenpom.com – 39
STILL TO COME
The game at Nebraska, originally scheduled for Jan. 30, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 23. The Jan. 9 Michigan game, postponed and rescheduled for Jan. 27, will be rescheduled for a new date. The programs are working with the Big Ten Conference office on options.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Penn State has two wins over No. 4-ranked teams in the Bryce Jordan Center, a 79-75 win over Iowa (2/17/16) and a 76-69 win over Maryland (12/10/19).
4 – Junior guard Izaiah Brockington led or had a share of the lead in four of the five main stat categories in the Maryland win: points (13), assists (2), blocks (1) and steals (2).
4.6 – In the last 10 games, senior forward Harrar is averaging 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. He leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with 3.82 offensive rebounds per game average for the season.
11 – Eleven of Penn State's games this season have been decided by eight points or less.
14.41 – The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in turnovers forced (14.41) and turnover margin (2.8).
27 – Twenty-seven of Penn State's 36 home victories over ranked teams have occurred in the Bryce Jordan Center.
LAST TIME OUT
NITTANY LIONS' DEFENSIVE EFFORTS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPLETE COMEBACK EFFORT AGAINST NEBRASKA
Penn State battled back from a second-half, double-digit deficit to take a one-point lead, but a steal and layup by Nebraska with 12 seconds remaining produced a 62-61 win for the Huskers (5-12, 1-9). Two shots by the Nittany Lions in the final 64 seconds didn't find the bottom of the net and Husker Teddy Allen converted a fastbreak layup off a turnover for the game-winner.
Nebraska opened the second half on a 10-3 run and shot over 67 percent for the first 12, minutes, building a 60-49 lead. The Nittany Lion defense willed Penn State back into the game as senior guard Jamari Wheeler picked up a steal and then finished the layup to begin a 12-0 run.
The game's leading scorer with 18 points, junior guard Myreon Jones scored the final six points during the run, which included a four-point play after his 3-pointer tied the game at 60. His made free throw gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the second half at with 1:58 to play.
During this stretch the Nittany Lion defense held Nebraska scoreless for more than eight minutes, going 0-9 from the field, with Allen's first points of the second half on a basket at the 8:43 mark. Allen led Nebraska with 14 points, scoring the Huskers' last four points in the game.
Defensive stops by Penn State were critical and 10 Nebraska turnovers in the second half contributed to the Nittany Lion resurgence.
Junior guard Myles Dread tied a season high with 14 points and tied a season-best with four treys. Senior forward John Harrar finished with a game-best 11 rebounds, his 11th career game with 10 or more rebounds.
Behind Jones' 12 points in the opening period, the Nittany Lions and Huskers were tied at 35 at the end of the first half. Down by four, 25-21 with 5:01 left to play in the first half, Nebraska made six-straight field goals, keyed by an Allen 3-pointer to take a 35-32 lead. Dread, making this first start of the season, connected on a triple with 12 seconds left in the first half to tie the game at 35 going into the break.
The Nittany Lions' seven 3-pointers accounted for seven of their 13 field goals in the opening 20 minutes. Penn State outrebounded Nebraska 39-35 and had fewer turnovers, 16-12, but the Huskers' had 21 points off the bench to the Nittany Lions' 10, including 13 by Kobe Webster.
FOLLOW PENN STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL VIRTUALLY
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