Ohio State Men's Basketball vs. Penn State: How to Watch, Preview

The Buckeyes are set to face another conference opponent in February — a pairing that has yet to be favorable for them this season.

In what has been a less-than-pretty stretch of the season for the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-16, 3-13 Big Ten), coach Chris Holtmann's squad will suit up for their first home game in 11 days, facing the Penn State Nittany Lions (16-11, 7-9 Big Ten) in Value City Arena.

The Buckeyes have yet to win a game in February, and currently sit on an eight-game losing streak, their most recent loss coming in blowout fashion against No. 3 ranked Purdue. 

Holtmann commended his team for their "tremendous fight" in the first few minutes of the game, but cited their difficulty scoring heading into halftime that put the game out of reach. 

And with junior forward Zed Key out for the remainder of the season, Ohio State will have to look to its other scorers to replace his production — especially stand-out freshman Brice Sensabaugh, the Buckeyes' leading scorer, who is averaging 16.5 points and 5.1 rebounds on the season. 

In his last game against the Boilermakers, Sensabaugh tallied 20 points — marking the  ninth time this season where he has done so — and was one of Ohio State's few bright spots. 

Penn State, after a recent four-game skid, has begun to find its rhythm once more, coming off a road win against Minnesota to add a second game to its winning streak, and will look to make it three on the road against the Buckeyes.

The key for Ohio State will be slowing down the Nittany Lions' Jalen Pickett, the Big Ten's fourth-best scorer and best passer, who is averaging 18.6 points and seven assists.

A win for the Buckeyes would give them much-needed momentum heading into their final three games of the season and also stop them from making history — entering the game never having lost four straight home games in program history. 

Tipoff will be at 5:30 p.m. 

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WHAT: Ohio State Buckeyes (11-16, 3-13 Big Ten) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (16-11, 7-9 Big Ten)

WHERE: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH (18,809)

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, 5:30 p.m. CT

TELEVISION: Fox Sports 1

STREAM: FuboTV

RADIO: The Ohio State Sports Network

Betting via SI SportsBook

SPREAD: Ohio State -2.5

TOTAL: 142.5

MONEYLINE: Ohio State -150, Penn State +115

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