The Ohio State basketball team is riding high. They have been playing the best basketball they have all season long, and that culminated in their victory over Purdue. That was the win that they needed to take themselves off the bubble and put them in a much better position.
That one win helps, but it doesn't punch their ticket. The Ohio State Buckeyes still have to make sure that they don't slip up against bad teams. They only have one really bad team left on their schedule, and that is Penn State. Ohio State took on the Nittany Lions on Wednesday night.
If there was any hangover from their court-storming victory over the Boilermakers, they didn't show it. They absolutely crushed the Nittany Lions from the moment the game began. Penn State never got close, and Ohio State won on the road 94-62.
The Ohio State basketball team smashes Penn State to help March Madness case
John Mobley Jr. was once again the star of the game. He finished the game with 28 points and was electric from beyond the 3-point arc, hitting eight of his nine 3s. It's clear that his broken pinky is getting better, as his shot isn't as affected as it was in the first few games after he hurt it.
With this win, the Buckeyes only have one game left in the regular season. They are playing Indiana on Saturday evening in that final game. IU is a fellow bubble team. Indiana has to win that game if it wants to have any prayer of making the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, a loss to the Hoosiers would be equally damaging to the Buckeyes' Tourney hopes. A win in that game means, at the very least, they will be on the bubble on Selection Sunday. A couple of wins in the Big Ten Tournament could put them squarely in the field.