Penn St. @ Ohio St. preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2018 ) Penn St. 69, Ohio St. 68

January was a dismal month for Ohio State, but it hopes a win last weekend signals the start of a turnaround that continues Thursday night at home against Penn State and ultimately results in a second straight NCAA Tournament berth. Penn State also will be shooting for its second consecutive win after ending an eight-game January losing streak Monday.

Ohio State, which lost six of eight games in January to slide down the Big Ten standings, has won two of its last three, with victories at Nebraska on Jan. 26 and at home Saturday against Rutgers sandwiched around a Jan. 29 loss at No. 7 Michigan. Kaleb Wesson and C.J. Jackson, two players who have struggled lately but Ohio State counts on the most for offense, produced 27 and 20 points, respectively, against Rutgers. Also encouraging for the Buckeyes was the contribution of graduate transfer Keyshawn Woods, whose finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Ohio State will face a Penn State team that finally won a Big Ten game Monday night, beating Northwestern 59-52, after losing to Purdue in overtime and three games before that by seven or fewer points.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT OHIO STATE (14-7, 4-6 Big Ten): Wesson's ability to stay on the floor in the win over Rutgers was a positive sign after he has been plagued by foul trouble that limited his impact for the past month. In addition to his game-high 27 points, he went 10-of-12 from the floor, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 at the line, and added five assists with only one turnover in 38 minutes. The enigmatic Jackson was similarly effective, hitting 8-of-14 shots from the floor and 4-of-7 3-pointers while committing only one of Ohio State's six turnovers in 35 minutes. Likewise, Woods shot 50 percent on 3-pointers and had no turnovers in 30 minutes.

ABOUT PENN STATE (8-14, 1-10): The Nittany Lions got over the hump at Northwestern after coming close in the past two weeks to ending their losing streak, thanks to a strong all-around performance by Lamar Stevens (18 points, seven rebounds, six assists). Freshman guard Rasir Bolton stepped up with 14 points and a career-high six rebounds. Stevens leads Penn State in season scoring at 18.9 points per game, followed by Bolton at 11.8, and Mike Watkins (8.5 points) is averaging a team-best 8.4 rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. Penn State G Josh Reaves' four steals against Northwestern gave him a Big Ten-leading 56 this season and boosted his career total to 226, bringing the senior within five of the No. 2 spot on the school's career list.

2. This is the only matchup between Penn State and Ohio State during the Big Ten's 20-game regular-season schedule.

3. Ohio State F Kyle Young remains sidelined with a stress fracture and coach Chris Holtmann says the sophomore is "day-to-day, week-to-week," but there are indications that Young could return to practice as soon as this week.

PREDICTION: Ohio State 73, Penn State 70