Penn State Nittany Lions @ Ohio State Buckeyes Preview and Gamethread

What: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

When: Wednesday, January 25th; 6:30 p.m.

Where: Value Center Arena; Columbus, Ohio

Television: Big Ten Network

Nittany Lions Record: 10-11

Opposing Coverage: Black Shoe Diaries

As expected by everyone, except perhaps the corn farmer with red ink Husker tattoos, Ohio State defeated Nebraska handily, 79-45. Ohio State forced an absurd 25 turnovers, and William Buford led three Buckeyes in double-digits with 15 points.

Now a struggling Penn State program, tied for last place in the Big Ten and in possession of a 1-5 record on the road, comes to town looking to remain afloat in the Big Ten race. Head coach Patrick Chambers inherited a depleted roster from his predecessor Ed DeChellis, who surprisingly bolted to Navy last offseason. Against Indiana last Monday, the Nittany Lions were competitive for a time, leading at the half before a disastrous stretch gave way to a Hoosier blowout victory.

Junior Tim Frazier leads the Nittany Lions with 18 points and 5 rebounds per game, but lacks a deft shooting touch, only hitting 40% of his shots and 27% from 3-point range. Frazier's points-per-game average places him atop the conference scorers list, but he undeniably benefits from a paucity of competition from his teammates.

With Talor Battle's exit, Frazier remains the sole consistent scoring threat. Sophomore guard Jermaine Marshall averages 9 points per game, and functions as the next strongest contributor, but he had an awful showing against the Hoosiers, missing all of his shots. Sophomore forward Sasa Borovnak adds size to the mix, but he, too, struggled against Indiana and their talented freshman Cody Zeller. Borovnak is neither as talented nor as polished as Jared Sullinger, and Sullinger should dominate.

• According to Bob Baptist, Ohio State still leads all 338 NCAA Division I teams in scoring margin (22 points per game). In conference play, Baptist adds, Ohio State leads the Big Ten in fewest points allowed per game (57.4), defensive field-goal percentage (.391) and steals (8.4).
• Nebraska, oddly, was the first team to out-rebound Ohio State this season.
• Plain Dealer sports reporter Doug Lesmerises has an article detailing Ohio State's focus this season, despite a spate of blowout victories over inferior teams. Thad Matta had a choice quote in the article. "Through the course of a game someone will say something and I'm kind of like, 'I don't know what you're talking about,'" Matta said. "And then we look at the scoreboard and it makes perfect sense what they're saying. My mindset is that we're playing the right way and we're doing the things we need to do."
• Bob Hunter penned a kind column about Ohio Bobcat legend Gary Trent, who was honored at the last Bobcat home game.
• Ohio State has an almost 10% effective field goal shooting advantage over the Nittany Lions.