Quick Report: Ohio State 66, Penn State 46

Penn State may very well be one year away from being a competitive team in the Big Ten. Until then, coach Pat Chambers and the Nittany Lions (11-10, 2-6 Big Ten) will continue to endure the growing pains of a rebuilding program as they fell to another conference powerhouse, 66-46, at Ohio State (13-8, 5-3 Big Ten) on Monday. Penn State has now lost four of its last five games as it heads into the toughest part of its Big Ten schedule.

At first...
Shep Garner injured his ankle after a misstep on defense resulted in him stepping on teammate Julian Moore’s foot. With its leading 3-point shooter hobbled, Penn State struggled to buy a basket, starting 0-for-6 from deep, meanwhile Ohio State nailed 3 of its first 5 to jump out to a 13-6 lead in the opening minutes.

Seven minutes would elapse before Penn State’s next bucket, a transition layup from Davis Zemgulis on a cross-court pass that threaded the needle from Devin Foster. The Nittany Lions futility from 3 would continue as they missed four more, watching the Buckeyes lead grow to 20-12.

Turning Point…
Defense and careless offense from Ohio State kept the score close in the first half. As the Buckeyes committed their ninth turnover of the half, they still held a 29-15 lead. Back-to-back Penn State 3s from Garner then Donovon Jack cut the lead to 10 two minutes before halftime. Despite a woeful shooting performance, Payton Banks scored on a fast break layup with less than 15 seconds left as the Nittany Lions took a seven-point deficit into the half — which was a welcome sign, relatively.

Shining star…
Kelta Diop-Bates (22 points, 8 rebounds) and Jae’Sean Tate (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) were unstoppable against the Nittany Lions defense. The two sophomore forwards combined to shoot 14 of 20 from the field, including timely buckets that guided the Buckeyes to their fifth Big Ten win of the year.

Garner has continued to leave it on the court for this team. After playing through illness last week, he playing through an ankle injury that was picked up on the opening possession of the game and managed to be somewhat effective in other facets of the game as he failed to get much lift on his jump shot. He shot 1 of 9 from the field, but managed to dish out a game-high six assists while pulling down four rebounds.

Noteworthy number…
20-of-60.
The Nittany Lions didn’t do many things wrong. They made the most of their possessions, only committing 11 turnovers while forcing 15. Fouls were at a minimum as well, just committing 15. But shots simply were’t falling for the team as they shot 33 percent on the road in a hostile Big Ten arena. It’s back to the drawing board for Chambers, who will continue to look for the right buttons to push as he hopes to find and maintain offensive consistency.

Up next:
Penn State vs. Michigan (15-5, 5-2 Big Ten) Noon, Saturday at Madison Square Garden
Ohio State @ Illinois (10-10, 2-5 Big Ten) Thursday, 9 p.m.