NCAA Prediction: Penn St Nittany Lions vs Ohio St Buckeyes
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
by Joe Rodriguez
The nation's second longest home winning streak is on the line Wednesday evening when No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes plays host to Big Ten rival Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Buckeyes, who have won 36 straight games in Columbus dating back to 2010, are coming in off a convincing 79-45 road win over Nebraska on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions fell to 1-6 on the road this season after Sunday's 73-54 defeat at then-No. 13 Indiana.
- Penn State Nittany Lions @ Ohio State Buckeyes
When: 6:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
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Justbet Sportsbook currently have the Buckeyes listed as 23½-point favorites versus the Nittany Lions.
Penn State Nittany Lions (10-11): The Nittany Lions are one of the coldest shooting teams in the country, ranking a distant last in the conference in field-goal percentage (38.7) and 3-point shooting (30.8 percent). Junior PG Tim Frazier has generally been a one-man show for the struggling Penn State offense, leading the team in scoring (18.0), rebounding (5.0), assists (a Big Ten-best 6.4) and steals (2.3). Penn State has reached the 60-point mark just three times in eight conference games, scoring more than 66 just once (an 88-82 home loss to Indiana).
Ohio State Buckeyes (17-3): The Buckeyes, not surprisingly, rank among the national leaders in a number of categories, including scoring margin (1st, 22.0), turnover margin (2nd, plus-6.8), assist-turnover ratio (8th, 1.43) and field-goal percentage (8th, 49.4). Ohio State isn't particularly deep, but its starting lineup features three of the Big Ten's top nine scorers — sophomore PF Jared Sullinger (17.1 ppg), senior SF William Buford (15.2) and sophomore F Deshaun Thomas (15.0). Sullinger also ranks second in the league with 9.1 rebounds, while sophomore PG Aaron Craft leads the conference in steals (2.5) and is second in assists (5.1).
1. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 27-12, but it has dominated recently, winning the last 16 meetings overall and seven straight in Columbus.
2. The teams last met in the 2011 Big Ten Tournament final, with Sullinger posting 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the then-No. 1 Buckeyes to a 71-60 win, ending the Nittany Lions' surprising tourney run.
3. Buford is averaging 15.7 points in his career against Penn State, shooting 52 percent from the field (36 for 69) and 88 percent (14 of 16) from the free-throw line.
BASKETBALL PREDICTION: Buckeyes 74, Nittany Lions 49.
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aaron craft - deshaun thomas - jared sullinger - ohio state buckeyes - penn state nittany lions - schottenstein center - tim frazier - william buford
