Penn State Basketball Dampens Momentum in Loss to Ohio State

The Nittany Lions fall behind 16-0 early and can't repeat their December rally in Big Ten loss to the Buckeyes.

As has been the trend this season, Penn State men's basketball took a step back Saturday after a major step forward earlier this week. With a chance to ride momentum from their upset of No. 11 Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions looked lost against Ohio State on Saturday in a 79-67 Big Ten loss.

The Lions weren’t able to get much going, as evidenced by their bread-and-butter characteristics going dormant. Kanye Clary, averaging 19.1 points, scored just 13, thanks largely to a few late 3s. Defensively, Penn State (9-10, 3-5) got just six turnovers from the Buckeyes despite forcing 16.4 per night, most in the Big Ten, to enter the game.

Ohio State (13-5, 3-4) jumped out to an early 16-0 lead and built on it throughout. Unlike the last meeting between these two, Penn State couldn’t find any 18-point comeback magic. The Lions gave it a run with some hot 3-point shooting and a late 11-1 run, but Ohio State closed out coach Chris Holtmann's 250th career win.

"I thought we'd be really excited to play, and it sure didn't look like that," Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said in his post-game press conference. "It looked like we were in quicksand and they were on fire."

The Buckeyes were dominant inside to snap a three-game losing streak, and Penn State’s lack of overall offense impacted things in a number of ways. Shot just 3-for-18 from 3-point but finished 46 percent overall from the floor, which paints the picture perfectly, as 40 Buckeye points came in the paint.

No place like home

With Saturday’s loss, Penn State still has not won a game without from a home crowd. Its only win away from the Bryce Jordan Center came in a pseudo-home game against Michigan at the Palestra in Philadelphia.

The Big Ten is a universally tough road conference, but this trend is somewhat baffling for Penn State. The Lions were slow out of the gates Saturday, falling behind Ohio State 16-0 before scoring their first points at the 12:57 mark. Even at that, the points came on a wild shot from Jameel Brown that banked off the glass for 3.

"Winning on the road is tough, I'm learning in the Big Ten, but if you're not ready to play, you're going to get taken advantage of," Rhoades said in his post-game press conference. "And that's what happened today."

Evan Mahaffey’s revenge

Former Penn State forward Evan Mahaffey, who transferred to Ohio State upon Micah Shrewsberry’s departure, tied a team-high with 16 points (also a career high) and was a major factor in the Buckeyes’ performance. He tacked on five rebounds, two blocks and two steals to round out a really nice overall day.

The bounceback was important for Mahaffey, who struggled with just five points and three turnovers at the Bryce Jordan Center in December. He heard heavy boos from the Nittany Lion faithful and was called a traitor by some. Mahaffey put that to rest at home, giving high-energy minutes, scoring and defense for Ohio State.

Lineup notes

Rhoades slotted Nick Kern Jr. (12 points) into the starting lineup for the second straight game after previously going 10 straight with no changes. The player Kern replaced, Puff Johnson, actually had a quietly nice game Saturday, a needed moment after recent offensive struggles. Johnson scored 13 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from deep.

Demetrius Lilley was the first player off the bench for Rhoades, replacing struggling big man Qudus Wahab. Lilley played a career-high 19 minutes at Wisconsin and played well, earning increased action again Saturday. He had two points and five rebounds, though nobody had a particularly impressive game inside for Penn State.

Up next

Penn State gets a week-long break before Jan. 27 against Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Golden Gophers are 12-6 this season and 3-4 in the Big Ten but have dropped three in a row.

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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