Something has to give.
The Ohio State men's basketball team has struggled all season, especially on the road, posting a 1-4 mark on the road in Big Ten games. The Penn State men's basketball team has struggled all season but has played relatively competitively at home in the conference but nonetheless is still winless.
One of these two dismal trends will have to break tonight at 8 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Buckeyes (11-10, 4-6 Big Ten) are coming off a blowout loss on Sunday at the hands of No. 14 Illinois, 76-57. Ohio State, on two days rest, will travel on the road for the second of three consecutive road games. This is the second three-game road trip for Ohio State during Big Ten play. Earlier in the season, Ohio State lost to Indiana before beating Iowa for its lone road win, then dropped a game to Purdue.
"In the real world everyone hopes that it could be worked out evenly," Ohio State men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien said of the scheduling. "You have to take the good with the bad, but when it's going bad it hurts more ... The conference is doing the best they can."
The Nittany Lions haven't played since last Wednesday's 75-55 loss to Iowa, the first game in which the Lions weren't competitive late in the game.
Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said that time off has been good for rejuvenating his players and allowing them to get fresh legs.
"You have to separate things and break them down," Dunn said. "The last eight games are a new start for us, but we need to take every game one at a time."
The rigors for Ohio State don't get any better, as the injury bug has circled Columbus for much of the early season.
Ohio State's top eight players have combined to miss 33 games with various injuries.
The most recent has been Velimir Radinovic, who suffered a compound dislocation in his left little finger, causing him to miss the Buckeyes' last two games. Radinovic is listed as a game-time decision. Pittsburgh native Brandon Fuss-Cheatham missed six games near the start of the season with a left ankle injury.
Penn State's big problem has been putting the ball in the basket. The Lions find themselves dead last in the Big Ten in field goal percentage, shooting a pathetic 40 percent from the field.
Aaron Johnson has struggled finishing recently, but he said he has been working on correcting that problem.
"I need to get set before I go up," Johnson said. "I need to gather myself and be strong with the ball."
The Lions will need Johnson to finish around the basket if they want to break their streak.
