Penn State Faces Ohio State Thursday Night in Big Ten Tournament Second RoundPenn State Faces Ohio State Thursday Night in Big Ten Tournament Second Round
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Faces Ohio State Thursday Night in Big Ten Tournament Second Round

INDIANAPOLIS – The Penn State men's basketball team looks to keep its postseason run going Thursday night when the Nittany Lions face #RV/25 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament second round at approximately 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The 11th-seeded Nittany Lions match up with the sixth-seeded Buckeyes in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
  • Penn State advanced to the second round by way of a 60-51 win over Minnesota in Wednesday's first-round game.
  • Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Jalen Pickett's 13.1 ppg. Seth Lundy (12.4 ppg) and Sam Sessoms (11.4 ppg) follow, while All-Big Ten honorable mention pick John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS OHIO STATE

  • Penn State would move on to Friday's quarterfinal round against 3rd-seeded Purdue.
  • The Nittany Lions would advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.
  • Penn State would snap a four-game skid to the Buckeyes.

 
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

  • The Buckeyes are 19-10 overall and finished 12-8 in conference play to earn the No. 6 seed in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament.
  • OSU enters the tournament having lost three of its final four games of the regular season, including a 69-75 road loss at Michigan in Sunday's regular-season finale.
  • The Buckeyes are led by first team All-Big Ten selection E.J. Liddell who averages 19.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham follows with 13.2 points per game.

 
AGAINST OHIO STATE

  • Ohio State owns a 43-19 all-time advantage in the series against Penn State, including a 4-2 record in Big Ten Tournament games.
  • The Buckeyes swept this year's regular-season series. OSU earned a 61-56 win in Columbus in the most recent meeting on Jan. 16. Penn State played that game without second-leading scorer and top defender Seth Lundy. The Buckeyes earned a 76-64 win in the season's first meeting on Dec. 5 in the conference opener at the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Sam Sessoms (15 points) and Jalen Pickett (11 points) led Penn State in the Jan. 16 meeting. Pickett paced Penn State with 23 points in the first meeting on Dec. 5.

 
MOVING ON!

  • The 11th-seeded Penn State men's basketball team used a big second-half performance to power a 60-51 win over 14th-seeded Minnesota in the first round of the 2022 Big Ten Tournament Wednesday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
  • The Nittany Lions (13-16) shot 59.1 percent from the floor in the second half to outscore the Golden Gophers (13-17) 36-23 in the second term after trailing by four points at halftime.
  • Senior guard Jalen Pickett orchestrated Penn State's offense all night long with 22 points on 9-14 shooting, including 3-4 from three-point range. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists while playing all 40 minutes. Fellow senior guard Sam Sessoms added 14 points with eight coming in the first half to keep Penn State within striking distance. Junior guard Seth Lundy also scored 11, including eight in the second half, with a pair of three pointers.
  • The Penn State defense allowed just 51 points, marking the fewest points the Nittany Lions have surrendered in a Big Ten Tournament game since March 12, 2011, a 61-48 win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Semifinals.

 
TOURNEY HISTORY WITH OHIO STATE

  • Penn State and Ohio State are set to meet for the seventh time in Big Ten Tournament history Thursday night. The Buckeyes own a 4-2 advantage.
  • All six of the previous Big Ten Tournament meetings between the two teams have been decided by single digits.
  • Penn State and Ohio State meet for the first time in the tournament since March 2, 2018 when the Nittany Lions upset the Buckeyes 69-68 in the quarterfinal round. Tony Carr dumped a pass in the lane to Josh Reaves for the game-winning dunk as Penn State punched its ticket to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

 
DE-FENSE!

  • The Nittany Lions wrapped up the conference season with the Big Ten's best scoring defense against league foes, giving up just 66.2 points per Big Ten contest.
  • The Nittany Lions have held three opponents to under 50 points this season - Jan. 17 vs. Minnesota (67-46 Win), Jan. 11 vs. Rutgers (66-49 Win), and Nov. 27 vs. Oregon State (60-45 Win). Penn State has held its opponent under 60 points 12 times this season.
  • Penn State's current overall mark of 64.8 points per game allowed tracks to be the Nittany Lions' best defensive season since 2010-11 when Penn State surrendered just 62.5 ppg. The 2010-11 team made an NCAA Tournament appearance.

 
CLOSE BATTLES

  • The Nittany Lions have consistently found themselves in close games as 13 of Penn State's 20 Big Ten contests have been decided by seven points or less.
  • Five of Penn State's seven Big Ten wins have come by seven points or less: Indiana (61-58), at Northwestern (74-70), Iowa (90-86, 2OT), #19 Michigan State (62-58), and Northwestern (67-60).
  • Eight of Penn State's 13 Big Ten losses have come by seven points or less: #3 Purdue (67-74), at #16 Ohio State (56-61), at #11 Wisconsin (49-51), Michigan (57-58), at Minnesota (70-76), at Maryland (61-67), at #20 Illinois (55-60), and at Rutgers (58-59).
  • Including non-conference play, 10 of Penn State's 16 losses this season came by seven points or less.

 
THE ALL-B1G BIG FELLA

  • Penn State graduate student John Harrar collected All-Big Ten accolades for the second-straight year after being named All-Big Ten honorable mention by both the conference coaches and media.
  • Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. His 10.3 rebounds per game rank second in the Big Ten and 11th in all of Division I.
  • The Wallingford, Pa. native has tallied 11 double-doubles thus far, pulled down double-digit rebounds in 15 contests, and is shooting 64.4 percent (116-180) from the field. His 64.4 percent clip tracks to be the second-best single-season percentage in program history, behind only Mike Watkins' mark of 68.5 percent in 2017-18.
  • He leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with 3.59 offensive rebounds per game. Harrar owns 17 career double-doubles, the eighth most in Penn State history. He is the sixth-ever Nittany Lion to record both 800 career points and 800 career rebounds.

 
PICKETT'S POP

  • Senior transfer Jalen Pickett finished the conference season averaging 13.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per Big Ten contest.
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native surpassed the 1,500 career-point mark in Penn State's Big Ten Tournament opener against Minnesota. He ranks 17th amongst active career Division I leaders with 587 career assists.
  • Pickett is nearing an impressive multi-faceted achievement of 1,500 career points (has 1520), 500 career assists (has 587), and 500 career rebounds (needs 6). There are currently only three active Division I players that have achieved all three: Marreon Jackson of Arizona State, Conley Garrison of Furman and Terrell Brown Jr. of Washington.
  • Pickett's 37.1 minutes per game leads the Big Ten and ranks 10th in the country. His 2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio is a top-35 mark in the country.

 
UP NEXT

  • The winner of Thursday night's Penn State vs. Ohio State game advances to Friday's quarterfinal round to take on third-seeded Purdue at approximately 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.