Penn State basketball drops Big Ten opener to Ohio State
Penn State men’s basketball got the new week started on the wrong foot Sunday night. The Nittany Lions fell in their Big Ten opener at home against the Ohio State Buckeyes, 76-64, dropping Penn State to 4-4 overall. Jalen Pickett scored 23 points on a night where Penn State trailed by 11 points at halftime and by as many as 18 in the second half.
Penn State jumped out to a 12-5 lead on the Buckeyes at the start of the game thanks to a 12-0 run with Seth Lundy (13 points) and Pickett leading the charge. But Ohio State answered by finding their three-point touch. Ohio State’s Kyle Young drained all four of his three-point shots in the game as he recorded a team-high 16 points for Ohio State.
Ohio State took a 41-30 lead into halftime and started the second half with a quick run to open the second half and separate themselves from Penn State. Any time Penn State gave their own push to cut into the lead, the Buckeyes would eventually find an answer to cut off the chances for a comeback by the Nittany Lions.
Penn State did do well in defending E.J. Liddell and Zed Key, holding the two far below their combined points-per-game average, but the Buckeyes showed they had the depth to overcome Penn Stae’s defensive focus.
One of the biggest takeaways Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry had to share after the game was how his team is still not playing a full 40-minute game, which has led to a 4-4 mark and two straight losses against power conference competition (and 1-3 overall).
“I’m looking forward to the day where we put together 40 minutes of good basketball for them,” Shrewsberry said after the game. “We’re getting better, but we’re not playing 40 minutes. And you have to against a good basketball team.”
Penn State will return to non-conference action later this week with another home game against Wagner. Penn State tips with Wagner on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Penn State will continue its Big Ten schedule on Saturday with a road trip to Michigan State.
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