Why Ohio State basketball will take care of Penn State

The Ohio State basketball team takes on a Penn State team that they struggled with earlier in the year. Here’s why there won’t be any struggle tonight.

Ohio State has a big-time matchup coming up on Sunday when they take on Michigan. It will be the third-ranked team vs. the fourth-ranked team in the country. But before that, they have to take on a Penn State team that was hard to beat earlier in the year.

In that game, Ohio State almost choked it away. They had the lead the entire first half before finding themselves down 8 with just under 8 minutes left in the game. They then ended the game on a 21-9 run to sneak out the four-point victory.

There won’t need to be any such comeback tonight. Ohio State is in the middle of a six-game winning streak, including that first win over the Nittany Lions. Since that loss, the Nittany Lions have lost three of their last five games, albeit in some close losses.

Penn State is a frisky team. There’s no doubt about that. But Ohio State is just too talented. Duane Washington and E.J. Liddell have continued to be the primary scorers of the team. Kyle Young is playing the best basketball of his life right now as well.

The Buckeyes should be able to stay focused enough to win this game without too much stress. They know Penn State will fight hard so they won’t take them lightly. Chris Holtmann will come up with a good gameplan. This team is very mentally tough.

Game Prediction: Ohio State 74 Penn State 64

Ohio State should be able to keep Penn State far enough away to not have any real stress down the stretch. They aren’t one of the best teams in the country for nothing. A win today sets up the biggest basketball matchup between Ohio State and Michigan in some time.

The game tonight is at 8 pm on Big Ten Network.