Brandon Zimmerman
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MBB Preview: Penn State Nittany Lions
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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The post MBB Preview: Penn State Nittany Lions appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Pat Chambers gesturing about something or another.
(Image courtesy deadspin.com)
The young Buckeyes are in another losing streak as they have dropped their last two games to Maryland and Purdue. Consistency has not been there for the Buckeyes the entire season as they attempt to get a feel for any sort of consistent rhythm. At this point, it is hard to see any scenario where the Buckeyes will be playing in the NCAA tournament. Sure, they have some big games left and if they win those they will be in, but I don’t think any Buckeye fan sees that as a realistic possibility at this point in the season. If they can get 2-3 wins from their games left against Michigan State, Maryland, and Iowa it is a possibility but they would still have to take care of business with the lesser teams which has been just as difficult this year.
Monday night, the Buckeyes take their first step in changing the direction of their season as they welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions to the extremely friendly confines at 7:00 PM ET on the Big Ten Network.
WHAT OHIO STATE BRINGS
The Buckeyes had a rough stretch over the past week. They went on the road and lost to Maryland by 35 points and then went to West Lafayette where they lost by 11 points. The Buckeyes need to find consistency these next couple of games and gear up for the stretch run if they really have any chance of making the tournament. Head coach Thad Matta has his work cut out for him as he tries to figure out who is best to run point guard, has sophomore Jae’Sean Tate figured things out, and when will Marc Loving have everything completely click.
In their last game, as stated earlier, the Buckeyes dropped a heart-breaker to Purdue 64-75. The Buckeyes held a 36-33 lead at half but was unable to hold on down the stretch as Purdue just took over. Tate played his best game of the years as he scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds. Sophomore Kam Williams continued his hot shooting off of the bench adding 14 points on 4-5 shooting from three-point land. Freshman Daniel Giddens and sophomore Trevor Thompson combined for five blocked shots.
On the season; junior Marc Loving leads all scorers with 13.7 points per game, Tate leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game, and freshman JaQuan Lyle leads the team with 5.1 assists per game.
WHAT PENN STATE BRINGS
Penn State comes into this game with a 11-9 record on the season. So far during the Big Ten season they have struggled to a 2-5 record. They have struggled on the road this season going 3-6.
In their last game, the Nittany Lions lost to Wisconsin 60-66. Senior forward Brandon Taylor led the team in scoring with 13 points in the losing effort. Junior forward Julian Moore grabbed 10 rebounds during the contest but none of them were of the offensive variety.
For the season, Taylor leads the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 16.2 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Shep Garner leads the team with 2.9 assists per game.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
OHIO STATE
NAME
YEAR
HEIGHT
WEIGHT
POSITION
Trevor Thompson
SO
6’11”
250
C
Jae’Sean Tate
SO
6’4”
225
F
Keita Bates-Diop
SO
6’7”
235
F
Marc Loving
JR
6’7”
220
F
JaQuan Lyle
FR
6’5”
210
G
PENN STATE
NAME
YEAR
HEIGHT
WEIGHT
POSITION
Jordan Dickerson
SR
7’1”
245
C
Payton Banks
SO
6’6”
220
F
Julian Moore
SO
6’10”
235
F
Brandon Taylor
SR
6’6”
225
F
Shep Garner
SO
6’1”
185
G
PREDICTION
Penn State will be a tough challenge for Ohio State as they have a couple of big men down low which can cause some problems. They will need sophomore Keita Bates-Diop to get back on track to really excel in this game. With this young team, it is always a crap shoot on which team will show up. I think coming off of two losses will help the Buckeyes stay focused and give them the ability to knock off Penn State.
Buckeyes win 67-55
The post MBB Preview: Penn State Nittany Lions appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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