For the first time in three years, Ohio State has completed a three-game winning streak in January. Perhaps even more impressive, two of the wins have come on the road.
The Buckeyes (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten) led by double digits much of the way at Penn State (13-9, 3-8) en route to an 83-64 victory, pulling their conference record back to .500 with consecutive wins over No. 11 Purdue, Iowa and the Nittany Lions.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 43 | 40 | 83 |
| PENN STATE | 33 | 31 | 64 |
Ohio State smoked the solidly sized Penn State on the glass, outrebounding the Nittany Lions 41-23. Thirteen of those were offensive boards with the Buckeyes holding a massive 18-4 edge in second-chance points.
Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. continues to emerge as one of Ohio State's best scoring weapons, racking up a game-high 19 points. Star point guard Bruce Thornton followed with 17 as Devin Royal added 15. Mobley added eight assists.
Forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser led the way in defeat for Penn State with 21 points.
First Half
Ohio State straight-up outworked Penn State in the first half, outrebounding the Nittany Lions 23-12. Early contributions from the Buckeyes' stars propelled them to a small early lead.
Mobley and Thornton each hit triples before the second media timeout of the contest as Mobley added a floater and Royal collected four points around the rim. Sean Stewart knocked down a layup and Ohio State rolled out to an 18-11 advantage early.
Much of the Buckeyes' gains were made on the defensive end of the floor, however, a trend holding from their second-half performance against Purdue and full-game performance against Iowa. Penn State made just six of its first 15 shots for just 14 points in the game's opening 11 minutes.
Mobley collected his second first-half triple and pushed the lead to 23-14 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions chopped it back down to 23-19 but a baseline jumper from Parrish and a Thornton 3-pointer made the edge nine again at 32-23.
From there the Buckeyes worked to extend the lead going into halftime. Mobley sank a circus three and knocked down two technical free throws, Royal strung together back-to-back buckets over strong contests to make it a 15-point ballgame. Penn State answered with a Baldwin 3 and a tomahawk dunk, but the edge remained 43-33 Ohio State entering the locker room.
Second Half
| OHIO STATE | STAT | PENN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 83 | POINTS | 64 |
| 29-62 (46.8%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 21-46 (45.7%) |
| 8-22 (36.4%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-19 (31.6%) |
| 17-23 (73.9%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 16-29 (55.2%) |
| 10 | TURNOVERS | 9 |
| 41 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 23 |
| 13 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 4 |
| 28 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 19 |
| 13 | BENCH POINTS | 10 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 2 |
| 6 | STEALS | 1 |
| 13 | ASSISTS | 14 |
Zach Hicks came out firing and nailed two triples to quickly cut Penn State's deficit to 45-39, but the response came rapidly from Ohio State on a Royal dunk and mid-range jumper from Ques Glover. More second-chance points courtesy of a Stewart tip-in placed the lead back at double digits at 52-42 entering the first media timeout.
Another set of second-chance points, this time a putback slam by center Ivan Njegovan, kept the lead holding at two figures after forward Nick Kern strung together five straight points for the Nittany Lions.
A top-of-the-key triple by Thornton off four crisp passes was followed by a second 3-pointer from the left corner and Ohio State extended its lead to 15, then two Njegovan free throws made it 67-50 with 9:28 to play.
When Thornton hit one of his signature step-back 3-pointers three minutes later, the game felt all but over at 74-56. A Mobley make made the lead 20 for good measure, and Ohio State held on for a 19-point win from there.
Bruce Thornton is a badddd man. pic.twitter.com/P8F1wcYmlo
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 31, 2025
What's Next
Ohio State completes its two-game road trip on Sunday with arguably its toughest remaining regular-season game this year at No. 18 Illinois. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. on CBS.
Game Notes
- Ohio State improved to 41-20 in its all-time series with Penn State.
- The Buckeyes have shot 74% or better from the free-throw line in seven consecutive games, shooting 80% or better in five of those contests.
- Freshman wing Colin White remained out with a lower-body injury against the Nittany Lions. Meechie Johnson Jr. is still away from the team addressing a personal matter.
- Aaron Bradshaw stayed in foul trouble pretty much the entire game for Ohio State, picking up four fouls in his first seven minutes of action and eventually fouling out. Both Bradshaw and Sean Stewart fouled out in just 13 minutes of action.
- The Buckeyes are now 10-4 this season when Mobley scores 10 or more points.
