With not much left to play for this season other than pride and “growth” (as Chris Holtmann called it last week), Ohio State found itself playing a rare role on Thursday evening — spoiler.
For the first time since the 2016-2017 season, the Buckeyes find themselves out of the NCAA Tournament picture, with a miraculous run in the Big Ten Tournament the only thing that could save them. Penn State, on the other hand, was on the NCAA Tournament bubble entering Thursday night’s contest. The Nittany Lions are just below .500 in conference play, and are considered one of the first four to eight teams out of the tournament, depending on who you ask.