No. 8 Ohio State crushed by Penn State, fall 79-56 on the road
By Willie Lutz
The Buckeyes never found a rhythm against the Nittany Lions, which lead to their ugly road trip opening loss.
Last night, the Ohio State Buckeyes had a chance to prove conference dominance; The Nittany Lions were the only team in the conference they hadn’t bested. Instead, Penn State crushed Ohio State, presenting the Buckeyes plenty of questions before their Saturday game.
Right out of the gate, it seemed like Ohio State had their hands full. Penn State G Tony Carr had his magic going early and often. His 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting went towards a remarkably daunting Penn State attack.
Meanwhile, Keita Bates-Diop played his worst game of the season, scoring just 10 points (4-of-11 shooting) in 32 minutes. His defense lacked, grabbed just 5 rebounds, and didn’t play with much energy.
Bates-Diop wasn’t alone; as a whole, the Buckeyes played with a lack of energy. Furthermore, they shot just 38.9-percent as a team (13.3-percent from three) to Penn State’s 48.1-percent as a team (45-percent from three). Ohio State couldn’t score, so they were crushed.
Sometimes, good, even great teams let focus slip and they lose; it’s part of learning the game at the college level.
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The loss seemed insured by the injury sustained to F Kaleb Wesson with 10:50 left in action. As a freshman, he has provided mostly impressive minutes, averaging 11 PPG and 5.3 RPG. However, when he returned from the locker room later in the game, he didn’t have the same bounce (nor did the team).
Kam Williams didn’t find much to work with in his return to action. After missing three games due to suspension, Williams scored 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting in 16 minutes.
After such a dreadful loss, it’ll be interesting to see how the Buckeyes respond. Their next game is a match-up of ranked teams with a rivalry interwoven. On Saturday, the No. 8 Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor to meet No. 22 Michigan.
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During that game, the Buckeyes have to find more life than they showed against Penn State. Next time out, they’ll be playing for increasingly important NCAA Tournament seeding.