TICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available men’s basketball games this season. Use promo code TMN241 to unlock a special Buy One, Get One holiday offer! Visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will get back into Big Ten play this weekend as the Buckeyes head to Penn State for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Saturday evening. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Wayne Randazzo and Jess Settles calling the action.

• Ohio State officially leads the all-time series with Penn State 40-20, and that includes a 15-10 mark in State College. The Buckeyes have come away with wins in each of their last two games inside the Bryce Jordan Center, winning 92-82 in February of 2021 and 76-64 in December of 2021, which was the Big Ten opener for each team that season.
• This will be the second consecutive game in State College where a Penn State transfer will be facing his former team for the first time. Jamari Wheeler scored nine points, dished-out eight assists, grabbed five rebounds and swiped three steals on Dec. 5, 2021. Evan Mahaffey will have the honor on Saturday. He played in 34 games as a freshman last season for the Nittany Lions.
• The Buckeyes are completing a stretch of three games in seven days, its lone such stretch of the season.
• Ohio State has won seven consecutive games and is off to its best start to a season since pre-Zed Key (how long ago does that seem??). The Buckeyes won 11 of their first 12 games to start the 2019-20 season.
• After opening Big Ten play with a solid 84-74 victory over Minnesota at home last Sunday, the Buckeyes took care of business against Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday night with an 84-64 victory. Roddy Gayle Jr. led six Buckeyes in double-figures with 15 points. Zed Key notched his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Evan Mahaffey put up a season-high 10 points and had a pair of steals.
• Penn State started the year with four victories but has since lost its last five games, including its Big Ten opener on Wednesday in overtime at Maryland. Kanye Clary leads three Nittany Lions in double-figures at 16.2 ppg. Penn State is near the top of the conference in three-point attempts and turnovers forced.
• Ohio State is ranked for the first time this season, sitting at No. 25 in the coaches poll. The Buckeyes have been receiving votes in the AP poll each of the last two weeks.
• The starting back court of Thornton and Gayle Jr. have combined to average 33.4 points and 8.1 assists while combining to shoot over 51 percent from the floor this season.
• As a team, the Buckeyes lead the league and are 12th in the country in three-point percentage at 40.1 percent.