Ohio State 94, Penn State 62: Is It Over Yet?

Ohio State beat Penn State 94-62 on Wednesday night in a pitiful effort on Josh Reed’s Senior Night. The Nittany Lions fell to 3-16 in conference play and are all but locked into the bottom spot in the Big Ten standings.

Penn State shot just 4 for 22 from the floor in the first half, allowing the Buckeyes to open up a 37-13 lead with 2:27 left in the half. The Lions stopped the bleeding a bit before halftime, but the damage was already done.

Ohio State maintained at least a 21 point lead for the entire second half and quickly widened the lead past 30 when Taison Chatman made a three to make it 68-36 with 13 minutes left in regulation. Penn State managed to score 41 points in the second half, but another atrocious outing for the defense prevented any opportunity for a comeback.

Some of the statistics from this game are mind-boggling for a program in the third year of this coaching regime. Ohio State shot 16 for 23 from three-point range and 67% from the floor overall. Penn State had just one offensive rebound in the game. The Buckeyes’ largest lead was 36. Ohio State outrebounded the Lions 34-14.

Player of the Game

John Mobley Jr- 28 points, 8-9 three point FG, four assists, four rebounds, two steals

Tonight’s performance was so bad I can’t even give player of the game to one of our guys. John Mobley Jr played one of his best games of the season for Ohio State in a game they needed to win to avoid falling back in the pecking order on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Credit to him. He shot 8 for 9 from three-point range, shades of Jon Diebler’s performance at the BJC in 2011.

Random Observations

• Decisions, Decisions- Pat Kraft was in attendance, and every time I caught a glimpse of him on TV, he certainly did not look pleased. He will have some tough decisions to make later this month. I can’t remember the last time a power conference team fired the football and men’s basketball coaches in the same athletic year, but I can’t imagine that’s an easy choice.
• Thank You, Josh- It was a rough night for the roster’s only senior, but Reed has been an overall bright spot in what has been one of the worst seasons for this program in recent memory.
• I’m Tired, Boss- It was barely a few years ago that Penn State had a decent men’s basketball program. I know basketball will never be the top priority at Penn State, but the results from the last two seasons are not acceptable. This cannot go on.

What’s Next

Penn State finishes out the regular season at Rutgers on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for noon on Big Ten Network.