Penn State faces massive opportunity to turn season around vs. Ohio State

Penn State basketball has struggled in recent games, suffering a 5-game losing streak after starting the season 4-0. The Nittany Lions have some key flaws that need to be figured out if they want to avoid being at the bottom of the Big Ten this year. Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions will get a chance to do just that today, as Penn State takes on Ohio State this evening in the conference home opener.

Struggling on the glass

The lack of rebounding this season has been shockingly bad for a Mike Rhoades team. Penn State basketball currently ranks a shockingly low 227 out of 362 in offensive rebounding. The Nittany Lions only are grabbing an average of 10.1 offensive boards per game.

But Penn State is struggling even more on the defensive end, grabbing an average of 22.9 per game (No. 317). Overall, the Nittany Lions are averaging 33 total rebounds a game, sitting at No. 308 nationally.

It is strange to see Penn State struggle on the glass this season, given how well transfer forward Qudus Wahab has played at times. However, if you watch closely, Wahab is in a great position plenty of times but struggles to pull down the rebound, giving the offense another opportunity.

This isn’t really on Wahab entirely, though, as he is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game so far this season, which leads the team. The concerning part is the next highest rebounders are Nick Kern Jr. at 4.7 and Zach Hicks at 3.9 rebounds per game.

That simply isn’t going to get it done with the physicality of Big Ten play. We got a taste of that on Wednesday when Penn State basketball was outrebounded a stunning 53-31 by Maryland, including a 23-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The Terrapins are one of the bottom-feeder teams in the league so far this season, so this is alarming and signals what is potentially to come once conference play ramps up.

Penn State basketball has a chance to change the season today

Penn State basketball seems to have lost the confidence it had during the 4-0 start.

After a rough ESPN Invitational where the Nittany Lions went 0-3, many expected the Bucknell game to be a chance to get back on track. Losing outright 76-67 to a 2-7 Bison team after being a 20.5-point favorite is enough to downright tank a season. Going and winning at Maryland was always going to be tough, but the opportunity was certainly there with a down Terrapins team.

Now Penn State returns to the Bryce Jordan Center to take on Ohio State, who is off to a 8-1 start. The Buckeyes’ only loss of the season was to a ranked Texas A&M squad, and they have picked up a signature win against Alabama since then.

Ohio State currently ranks No. 25 in the NET and would be a Quad 1 win for Penn State if the Nittany Lions were to pull off the upset. Penn State sits at No. 173 in the latest edition of the NET rankings, so a win would certainly help Mike Rhoades and company move up into a more competitive position within the Big Ten.

This is exactly the game that can turn your season around. A win can bring the Nittany Lions back to .500 both in Big Ten play and overall. It would also give momentum heading into the last nonconference stretch before Big Ten play resumes in January.

This team still has the talent to win games this season. The Nittany Lions just need to get their confidence back.

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