Ohio State vs. Penn State
Date: January 20, 2024
Time: noon
Venue: Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Watch: BTN
Listen:Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats:OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Game Notes: Ohio State | Penn State
Rosters:Ohio State | Penn State
Season Stats:Ohio State | Penn StateTICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available men’s basketball games this season. Visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State is back home this weekend to host Penn State on Saturday at noon. It will be kids takeover day at the Schottenstein Center as kids will be selected to assist in various parts of the gameday operation. Tip-off is set for noon and the game will be televised on BTN. Jeff levering and Stephen Bardo will call the action.

• The Buckeyes come into the game on a three-game losing skid and are 12-5 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. Penn State is coming off its best win of the season, knocking-off No. 11 Wisconsin 87-83 at home on Tuesday night, setting off a court storming.
• Ohio State officially leads the all-time series with Penn State 40-21, and that includes a 15-3 mark inside Value City Arena.
• In the first meeting this season, Penn State erased an 18-point second half deficit and pulled-out an 83-80 victory on Dec. 9 in State College. Bruce Thornton had 17 points and Zed Key recorded a double-double as the Buckeyes used 11 three-pointers to build that 18-point advantage. But the Nittany Lions got hot down the stretch, shooting over 50 percent in the second half and making seven threes in the final 14 minutes to complete the comeback.
• On Monday, Thornton led the Buckeyes with 19 points and a career-high four steals but despite a 16-0 second half run that gave them a four-point lead, the Buckeyes couldn’t hold on against Michigan. Felix Okpara added 10 points, nine rebounds and career-highs of five blocks and two assists. Dale Bonner also gave the Buckeyes a boost off the bench. He finished with just two points but had three assists, helping spark the 16-0 run.
• The Buckeyes are third in the Big Ten in grabbing nearly 13 offensive rebounds per game. Okpara has pulled-down 12 offensive rebounds himself over the past three games.
• Okpara is shooting 66.7 percent and averaging over eight points, seven rebounds and nearly three blocks per game over his last seven games.
• Jamison Battle continues to lead the Big Ten in three-pointers made with 52 as well as three-point percentage at 44.4. That number is also in the Top 20 nationally.
• Thornton has a 4.56 assist to turnover ratio (73 assists to 16 turnovers) which is the second-best ratio in the country.
• Penn State is led in scoring by its backcourt of Kanye Clary (19.1 ppg) and Ace Baldwin Jr. (13.2 ppg). Baldwin Jr. had missed 13 consecutive three-pointers before making his first four in the win over Wisconsin on Tuesday. Conversely, Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr. has missed his last 12 three-point attempts and his returning home this weekend. He’s due for a breakout game.
• Head coach Chris Holtmann is one win away from 250 in his career. He has 135 wins at Ohio State, which is the fifth-most by a Buckeye head coach.