Well, the hits just keep on coming. After limping and crawling across the finish line of the regular season, the Ohio State basketball team continued its struggles by losing to No. 11 Penn State 71-68 in its first game in the Big Ten Tournament and will now rest before the NCAA Tournament.
It wasn’t for the efforts of E.J Liddell. He finished the game with 25 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Unfortunately for him and OSU, the defense that was so solid in the first half couldn’t corral the Penn State guards that seemed to get points in the paint at will. The Nittany Lions scored 47 points in the second half after scoring just 24 in the first twenty minutes. They shot 62 percent from the field in the second half.
Malaki Branham scored 16 points and Joey Brunk added ten for the only other OSU players in double figures. But it wasn’t nearly enough.
Penn State had four guys in double figures with guards Sam Sessoms (18), Jalen Pickett (16), and Myles Dread (12) leading the way with drives in the lane and mid-range shots that OSU couldn’t stop. Big Man John Harrar also notched 12 points including a huge rebound put back late that put Ohio State behind the eight-ball.
Final: OSU 68 | Penn State 71
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 11, 2022
For OSU, the season isn’t done, but it’s hard to see any path to any kind of decent run in the NCAA Tournament with what we’ve seen from this team down the stretch.
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