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Preview: Ohio State Men's Basketball Must-Win Game vs Penn State

Ohio State plays Penn State on Saturday in Columbus. This game is a must-win for most players and fans. Defending home court and getting back on the winning column. They lost to Penn State on December 9th in a game where they were up 18. That left a sour taste in the mouths of the players. This is a perfect opportunity for the Buckeyes to get back on track.


Roddy Gale Jr. said this when asked about their game vs. Penn State on Saturday.

"It’s extremely important to defend our home court. It would be an amazing turnaround for us to be able to get rolling a little bit, especially in conference play. This is a must-win game for us.”

Ohio State is in a rough patch, especially Roddy Gale Jr. and Bruce Thornton. Turnovers and missed threes have ruined the Buckeyes 8-1 start. They were too careless with the basketball and did not have enough movement on offense. This is a gigantic game for the Buckeyes to get back on track. Ohio State has the talent to make a run at any time in any game. This is where it needs to start.


On February 13th, they play the 11th-ranked Badgers on the road, then they host the 2nd-ranked Purdue with National Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey on February 18th. If this Buckeye team gets hot before that tough stretch and can pull either of those off, the Buckeyes are looking good for March. January also includes a ranked road trip to 14th-ranked Illinois. The Big Ten is extremely tough this year, and the Buckeyes can definitely compete.

Keeping up with Kanye Clary is a key point in this game for the Buckeyes. Clary is coming off a 27-point night against the 11th-ranked Badgers. He is a top scorer in the Big Ten and is coming off his best game of the year. The Buckeyes shooting just over 30% from the 3-point line in the road loss at Michigan won't cut it, speaking how much they rely on the 3-point shot to fall. They came into the season as the best 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten, and they've completely lost their touch from behind the arch.


This is the perfect game to get the touch back. Ohio State is currently on a three-game losing streak, and this is a key game to determine what the season could end up as. The Buckeyes play 9-9 Penn State at noon on the Big Ten Network.

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