By Danielle Daniels

1/19/2024

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team looks to complete a regular-season sweep of Ohio State Saturday when the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes at noon on the Big Ten Network.

FOLLOW ALONG

• TV: Big Ten Network – Jeff Levering (pxp) & Stephen Bardo (analyst)
• RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
• NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 388 & SXM App Ch. 978
• LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast | Live Stats
• GAME NOTES: Penn State | Ohio State

OPENING TIPS

• The Nittany Lions looks to carry momentum on the road from a big midweek win over #11/8 Wisconsin when Penn State travels to Ohio State Saturday.
• Penn State sits 3-4 in Big Ten play with conference wins over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions won the season’s first meeting with the Buckeyes 83-80 on Dec. 9 in Happy Valley.
• Kanye Clary is averaging a team-best 19.1 points per game, while Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 13.2 points, a team-best 4.9 assists and a Big Ten-best 2.9 steals per game.

IF PENN STATE BEATS OHIO STATE

• Penn State would win its fourth-straight game against Ohio State.
• The Nittany Lions would earn their first true road win of the Mike Rhoades era.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

• The Buckeyes started the season 12-2, but are riding a three-game losing streak into Saturday’s game with losses against Michigan (65-73), Wisconsin (60-71) and Indiana (65-71).
• Ohio State is 8-2 at home this season, with its only home losses coming against a pair of teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time in #15 Texas A&M on Nov. 10 and #15 Wisconsin on Jan. 10.
• Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes with 16.8 points per game, while Jamison Battle (14.6 ppg) and Roddy Gayle Jr. (14.1 ppg) follow.

AGAINST OHIO STATE

• Penn State and Ohio State meet for the second time this season. The Nittany Lions won the season’s first matchup, 83-80, in Happy Valley on Dec. 9.
• Penn State caught fire for a 46-25 run in the game’s final 15:30 to erase an 18-point second-half deficit and earn the 83-80 win in the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten home opener vs. the Buckeyes. Five Penn State players scored in double figures in the victory, with Kanye Clary leading the way with 19 points.
• Penn State has won each of the last three matchups with the Buckeyes. Ohio State leads the all-time series 43-22, including a 23-7 advantage when playing in Columbus.

SIGNATURE WIN

• The Nittany Lions earned their first win over a ranked opponent in the Mike Rhoades era in their most recent game, an 87-83 victory over #11/8 Wisconsin Tuesday night. Fans stormed the Bryce Jordan Center court as the Nittany Lions handed Big Ten-leading Wisconsin their first Big Ten loss of the season.
• Penn State led for over 36 minutes against the No. 11/8 Badgers, controlling the tempo from start to finish. The Nittany Lions shot 53.3% from the floor and 40% from downtown. The dynamic backcourt duo of Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin Jr. combined for 47 points.
• Penn State’s wins over Wisconsin (Jan. 16), Michigan (Jan. 7) and Ohio State (Dec. 9) marks the first time that the Nittany Lions have beaten all three of those teams in the same season since the 1999-2000 campaign.

TURN UP THE PRESSURE

• The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 16.39 turnovers per game, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th in the nation. Penn State’s +5.3 turnover margin ranks eighth in the country.
• The Nittany Lions have scored a Big Ten-best average of 17.7 points off turnovers per game thus far this season, while Penn State’s opponents have only scored 10.7 points per game off Nittany Lion turnovers.

FIRST-YEAR OFFENSE

• Penn State enters Saturday’s game averaging 76.9 points per game in Mike Rhoades’ debut season.
• That mark is on track to be Penn State’s best offensive output since the 1988-89 team averaged 77.1 points per game.
• It is also on pace to be Penn State’s best offensive output under a first-year head coach since 1954-55 when the Nittany Lions put up 78.7 ppg under John Egli.

SOPHOMORE LEAP

• Sophomore guard Kanye Clary has seen the second-highest PPG increase by a Division I player from last season to this season. Clary’s +15.4 ppg increase in scoring production trails only SIU’s Xavier Johnson’s +16.5 ppg difference.
• The Virginia Beach, Va. native played limited minutes as a freshman behind Penn State’s veteran 2022-23 backcourt that included two 2023 NBA Draft picks and five 1,000-point scorers.

CAN’T STOP CLARY

• Five-foot-eleven Kanye Clary’s 19.1 points per game is the highest scoring output by any power conference player under six-foot tall this season.
• Clary is on track to be one of only two Big Ten players under 6’0 to average more than 18 points per game in a season since 1992-93. Only Purdue’s 5’11 Carsen Edwards has accomplished the feat:
  • 2018-19 – Carsen Edwards (5’11) – 24.3 ppg
  • 2023-24 – Kanye Clary (5’11) – 19.1 ppg
  • 2017-18 – Carsen Edwards (5’11) – 18.5 ppg
• Clary is the second-highest scoring sophomore in the country. Clary’s 21.6 points per Big Ten game ranks fourth amongst conference players, while his 19.1 points per game overall ranks fifth in the conference.

GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

• Senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has stuffed the stat sheet through his first 18 games as a Nittany Lion, averaging 13.2 points per game, a team-best 4.9 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.9 steals per game. His 2.9 steals per game ranks third in the nation.
• Baldwin Jr. has proven to be one of the most dynamic players in the conference. He is the first Big Ten player to have a 25+ point game (vs. VCU & Michigan), 13+ assist game (at Purdue) and 8+ steal game (vs. Northwestern) in a single season since Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves during the 1997-98 season.
• Baldwin Jr. scored his 1,000th career point on Dec. 29 in Penn State’s win over Rider and notched his 500th career assist in his 13-assist performance at Purdue on Jan. 13. His 236 career steals rank third amongst active Division I players.

UP NEXT

• Penn State enters a bye week and will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 27 when the Nittany Lions host Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

The 2023-24 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.

COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS