Ohio St. @ Penn St. preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2019 ) Penn St. 74, Ohio St. 106

Ohio State and Penn State are struggling to get their seasons back on track going into a Big Ten rematch Saturday in State College, Pa. The 19th-ranked Buckeyes were mired in a four-game losing streak before snapping out of it Tuesday with a 80-68 victory at home over Nebraska, but the Nittany Lions couldn't end a skid that reached three games with a 75-69 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday.

The teams had lost a combined three games through Christmas before their cold snaps started. Ohio State routed Penn State 106-74 in their first meeting Dec. 7 and added a victory over No. 12 Kentucky before going into a funk that included losses to 13th-ranked West Virginia and three Big Ten opponents while struggling to score points. The skid-busting win over Nebraska came without starting guards Duane Washington Jr. and Luther Muhammad, who were suspended for the game by coach Chris Holtmann, but both will return Saturday. Penn State is trying to avoid a slump similar to last season when the team went 0-8 in January.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT OHIO STATE (12-5, 2-4 Big Ten): An encouraging sign in the win over Nebraska without Washington and Muhammad was guard C.J. Walker stepping up his game with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard D.J. Carton added 13 points and five assists. Forward Kyle Young's return to health from an appendectomy (10 points, six rebounds versus Nebraska) helps complement leading scorer and rebounder Kaleb Wesson, whose seventh double-double of the year Tuesday saw him finish with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

ABOUT PENN STATE (12-5, 2-4): Since an 89-86 overtime victory over Iowa on Jan. 4, the Nittany Lions have lost their mojo on the offensive end of the court, averaging 59.7 points in their three straight losses. In one of those, they managed 49 points against Wisconsin in their only home loss of the season. In Big Ten games, Penn State is averaging 7.5 points below its season average and leading scorer Lamar Stevens is at 14.5 points per game in the conference compared with 16.1 overall.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Ohio State busted out of its shooting doldrums in its win over Nebraska, finishing at 54.5 percent from the field and 45.5 percent on 3-pointers.

2. The reinstatement of Washington, Ohio State's second leading scorer, and Muhammad gives Ohio State four scholarship guards again after playing with two - Walker and Carton - against Nebraska.

3. Stevens and Myreon Jones, Penn State's top two scorers this season, combined for 20 points in the December loss to Ohio State.

PREDICTION: Penn State 67, Ohio State 65