Does anyone know why on earth this line is so low?? I have been very impressed with them on the road this year. They had a chance to win at both Mich St. and Tenn. I think Penn St. is awful and should get beat by 14+. Please let me know what I'm missing here.
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I see Ohio St coming thru big tonite...here's some added info on the game
Key Matchup: Cornley vs. OSU’s interior players.
Two weeks ago, Penn State lost the services of Claxton, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and the loss is huge. Claxton was an equalizer for the Nittany Lions. When healthy he can score and create plays under duress. He also is one of the top offensive rebounding wings in the entire nation and has a knack for keeping possessions alive.
All that is out the window now because of Claxton’s season-ending knee injury, which means Cornley will have to try to lead the way on both ends of the floor. And when Cornley is even more determined than normal, he tends to play like a bull in a china shop, even with his height disadvantage.
The Buckeyes are going to have to keep him boxed out and also have to be wary of his power moves, strong drives and multiple head fakes. When on offense, the Buckeyes also can wear him out by pounding the ball inside and looking to shoot over him.
“When you look at Cornley, he’s a three-year starter, he’s had a tremendous run up there,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Geary Claxton’s. I think he is just a great player and feel awful for what happened to him. But I think Cornley now is picking up a little bit more of a scoring load for them. Defensively, he’s a guy that has to guard a couple different positions. So I think he definitely is the key spot in a lot of ways for them.”
Chess Game: If there’s a player in the Big Ten that can carry his team simply on heart, it’s Cornley. However, making him work even harder for every single basket and rebound could cause his teammates to stand around and observe a little too much, especially since he’s sometimes too stubborn to toss the ball back outside once he’s got it anywhere near the lane.
Plus, without Claxton the Lions don’t have an accomplished player who can hurt teams off the dribble. Morrissey and Walker are adept outside shooters capable of getting hot from rather deep but aren’t threats to blow all the way to the basket. Battle is an X-factor because he is fearless and athletic but also is a freshman who sometimes can try too hard to make something happen.
The Buckeyes will be extra aware of Cornley in and around the lane and make sure to stay out on the identified shooters. After that, they will live with an occasional contribution from Battle, Jackson or whomever. Still, the unknown makes it a little tougher to devise the perfect pregame game plan and the Buckeyes may have to adjust on the fly.
“I think they’re struggling a little bit just because (Claxton) brought so much rebounding to that two-three-four spot,” Terwilliger said. “It kind of isolates Cornley down there as kind of their sole rebounder. That could also be bad for us, though, because they’ll have a bunch of people coming in there thinking they need to step up and fill Claxton’s spots. There are going to be a bunch of people trying to get as many rebounds as they can.”
Notable: To say Penn State has been reeling without Claxton, an All-Big Ten forward, would be an understatement. Claxton went down in a clump at home Jan. 15 vs. Wisconsin and his injury was later diagnosed as a torn ACL in his left knee, ending his college career. At the time, the 6-5 forward was averaging 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Without that production the Lions have looked like lambs. They eventually lost 80-55 to UW, fell 81-65 at Indiana (Jan. 20), and were humbled 64-42 at home against Purdue (Jan. 23). No PSU starter managed to score in double figures against Purdue and the team combined to make just 15 field goals. … The Nittany Lions have dropped their last five league games after opening the season 2-0 with wins at Northwestern and Illinois. … Cornley is a Columbus native who helped Brookhaven High School to a Division I state championship during his time there. Penn State’s roster also features two other Ohioans – Morrissey, who is from the Cleveland area, and Hassell, who is from Farmersville. … Butler has faced the Lions eight times over his career and has averaged 8.1 points in those games. Terwilliger averages 4.0 points and leads Ohio State with 3.8 rebounds a game vs. PSU over his four career games. … Matta is a perfect 8-0 vs. Penn State in his three-plus seasons as OSU coach. The eight victories are the most he has over any school in his head coaching career, which also includes one season at Butler and three at Xavier. … The Buckeyes lead the overall series 20-12 with wins in the last nine meetings. However, Ohio State is 7-7 against the Nittany Lions in State College. … Butler dropped to third nationally in free-throw percentage after missing a pair of foul shots Saturday vs. Minnesota. He’s hit 51 of 55 attempts at the line this season for a percentage of 92.7. Butler also rates No. 18 nationally in assists per game (6.3) and is No. 21 in assist/turnover ratio (126/49, +2.6). … Butler scored a game-high 27 points against the Gophers to move to the No. 38 spot on the school’s all-time career scoring list. He enters tonight’s game with 1,058 points. Carter Scott (1978-81) is at No. 37 with 1,073 points. Butler also had nine assists against Minnesota, bringing his career total to 486. he ranks second all-time in that department and is 30 helpers away from Kelvin Ransey’s school record of 516. … Ohio State is among the top defensive teams in the country, currently ranking ninth in field-goal percentage defense (.373) and seventh in fewest personal fouls committed per game (14.4). … The Buckeyes have 96 blocks on the season for an average of 4.8 per game, which is more than twice as many as their opponents (42, 2.1). Koufos has 38 on the season and Hunter has 28. OSU logged eight blocked shots in the win over Minnesota and altered several others. … Terwilliger scored four points Saturday in OSU’s 76-60 win over Minnesota. Why is that noteworthy? Well, consider that Ohio State now is 29-1 in games in which Terwilliger scores at least four points.
Matta Says: On why he still considers the wounded Lions dangerous: “Number one, they are very well coached. They do a very good job of executing their stuff. They’ve got guys, as I look at this year’s team, that are capable of having a big night. And I think for whatever reason those guys have always played well against us. Last year we got off to a great start over there and they came storming back and had a shot to beat us.”
On how different he expects the Penn State attack to be without Claxton: “From what I’ve seen, and obviously I haven’t watched a lot without him in there, (it’s) not a whole lot (different). I think they are trying to committee his position. You know, who’s playing well on a particular night, that sort of thing.”
On the Buckeyes needing to establish themselves on the road this week: “I don’t think there’s anything more important. You’ve got to go on and get some road wins if you’re going to contend for a Big Ten championship. I think two years ago we were 5-3 on the road if I’m not mistaken and then last year 7-1. That winning percentage on the road has got to be, I don’t want to say perfect, but it’s got to be high. There’s no question about that.”Comment -
Looks like a trap game to me. I ended up playing Penn State +7.5 earlier for three units.Comment -
How do you smell trap Illusion? Just curious deciding whether to take Ohio State ML in a parlay or the points. or if I should do ML Ohio State and Wake Forest points...Comment -
If you truely like Ohio State MSG I would just bet the moneyline.Comment -
I just have them in a parlay, one for OSU ML and another OSU points
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At first glance I loved this game. Ever since Penn St. lost Claxton they have been blown out. OSU on the other hand has had a few tough losses on the road but has played very well. Illusion, if you hadn't taken Penn St. I probably would have put about 10* on OSU but since you did I am staying away. The reason for this is because I have felt very confident about many games and then see you go the other way and I end up losing. I guess I'll be hitting up the smaller games tonight.Comment -
I got The Ohio State University at -6.5.Comment -
Thee Ohio State University needs to get a run in the 2nd half go Buckeyes go!Comment
