Penn State looks to finish the regular season strong and continue its role as a spoiler when the Nittany Lions host Ohio State on Wednesday in University Park, Pa.
The Nittany Lions (12-17, 3-15 Big Ten) are last in the conference but didn’t play like it in a 71-69 win over Iowa on Saturday. The Hawkeyes were trying to hold off Ohio State for eighth place and a double bye in the Big Ten tournament.
The Buckeyes (18-11, 10-8) proceeded to upset then-No. 8 Purdue 82-74 on Sunday to bolster their challenge to Iowa, which owns the tiebreaker, and increase their odds of making the NCAA Tournament through an at-large bid.
Ohio State welcomed back center Christoph Tilly against the Boilermakers after he missed the previous game with an ankle injury. John Mobley Jr. adapted to playing with a broken finger, which caused him to improvise as he scored 21 points against Purdue.
“I’m not used to having two fingers (taped) together on my shooting hand,” Mobley said. “Obviously, you want to have the four fingers spread out. But it was just a lot of time in the gym with my dad, just knowing the right mechanics to be able to shoot with the tape.”
The Nittany Lions could be short-handed against the Buckeyes because guard Kayden Mingo is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, coach Mike Rhoades said on Monday.
Mingo was hit in the face midway through the second half of the Iowa game after playing without a mask to protect a broken nose for the first time since January. He averages 13.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds.
Josh Reed has added incentive to perform against the Buckeyes as the lone player to be honored on Senior Night. After three seasons at Cincinnati, he is putting up career numbers with 11.7 points and 4.0 rebounds.
“I feel like this has definitely been the best year of my career,” Reed said. “I’ve been able to play with a level of confidence that shows up on the court, and then just having my teammates’ back and having my coaches’ and teammates’ trust as well, that’s definitely helped me a lot.”
–Field Level Media
