Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes look to improve to 10-0 in Big Ten
An unbelievable start for Ohio State.
Despite being picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference before the season started, Ohio State sits atop the Big Ten Standings through nine games. Tonight the Buckeyes will be looking to extend their conference record to 10-0 when they host the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Penn State is coming in with a 3-5 Big Ten record. The Nittany Lions have lost three of the last four games, but their win during that stretch was a two point victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers who gave the Buckeyes difficulty on Monday.
On paper this looks like another win for Ohio State, but Penn State can be dangerous and has a formidable inside-out combo. 6-9 forward Mike Watkins and 6-5 guard Tony Carr are two of the best players in the Big Ten.
Watkins averages 13.3 ppg and is the conference leader in field goal percentage (.708) and defensive rebounds (7.9). He is also the 2nd in total rebounds (9,9) and block shots (3).
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Carr is 2nd in the Big Ten in scoring averaging 18.9 ppg and is 4th in assists (4.8). He has also hit 43.8 percent of his shots from beyond the three point line.
The Buckeyes will also have to contain two other players, forward Lamar Stevens and guard Shep Garner. Stevens is averaging 15.6 per contest, Garner is scoring at a 10.4 clip and leading the conference with 2.9 made threes per game.
With the firepower on the Penn State roster it will probably be necessary for Keita Bates-Diop to have yet another big scoring game for Ohio State. That has been the norm so far this season with the other players all chipping in, and at least two of them hitting double figures.
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That along with playing strong defense has proven to be a winning formula for the Buckeyes so far this season. If they use that formula again tonight against the Nittany Lions, coach Chris Holtmann should extend his Big Ten record to 10-0. Wouldn’t that be quite a start to his Ohio State coaching career?