Ohio State Buckeyes vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 3/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: Peacock

Bryce Jordan Center is the location where the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-17) will attempt to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes (18-11) on Wednesday.

The Ohio State Buckeyes faced Purdue and took home the win by a score of 82-74 in their last game. Ohio State finished the game with a 51.1% field goal percentage (24 of 47) and converted 9 of their 24 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Buckeyes buried 25 of their 32 attempts for a percentage of 78.1%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned 33 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 9 assists for the matchup while creating 6 turnovers and having 3 steals. In regard to defense, Ohio State allowed the other team to go 44.4% from the floor on 28 of 63 shooting. Purdue doled out 13 assists and had 5 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Purdue grabbed 27 rebounds (8 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Purdue finished 70.0% when shooting free throws by converting 7 of 10 attempts. They also buried 11 of their 29 tries from distance. In regard to fouls, the Buckeyes finished with 17 while Purdue totaled 23 fouls.

John Mobley Jr. is one guy who was important for the matchup. He shot 53.3% from the field and distributed 3 assists. He was on the court for 36 minutes played and also snagged 2 rebounds. He ended up scoring 21 points on 8 out of 15 shooting.

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Ohio State enters this one with a win-loss mark of 18-11 on the season. They turn it over 10.4 times per game and as a group they commit 17.9 fouls per game. As a team, Ohio State is pulling down 34.0 boards per contest and has totaled 412 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 195th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Buckeyes are connecting on 34.8% on shots from downtown (226 of 650) and 77.3% from the charity stripe. They average 79.6 points per outing (97th in the country) while connecting on 48.7% from the field.

Defensively, the Buckeyes are forcing 10.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.2 fouls. They are currently ranked 145th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 386 conceded this season. The Buckeyes are giving up a field goal percentage of 43.5% (742 of 1,704) and they surrender 32.3 boards per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 31.0% from beyond the arc and they are 164th in the nation in points per game allowed (73.2).

In their last game, the Penn State Nittany Lions walked away with a victory by a final of 71-69 against Iowa. When it comes to rebounds, Penn State permitted Iowa to pull down 23 in total (10 on the offensive side). They shot 32.1% from distance via 9 of 28 and finished the contest at 8 of 9 from the charity stripe (88.9%). The Nittany Lions permitted Iowa to make 26 of 57 tries from the floor which had them at 45.6% in the game. Overall, the Nittany Lions shot 25 out of 39 from the field which had them shooting 64.1%. In terms of shooting from 3-point land, Penn State made 9 of 15 attempts (60.0%). They were able to convert 12 of the free throw tries for a clip of 75.0%. Iowa committed 15 fouls in this matchup which took the Nittany Lions to the free throw line for a total of 16 tries. They coughed up the ball 15 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. The Nittany Lions were able to collect 21 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive boards totaling 23 in the game.

Josh Reed ended up having an impact for the Nittany Lions for the matchup. He knocked down 9 of 12 for this game giving him a rate of 75.0%, and totaled 3 rebounds. He racked up 25 points in his 35 mins on the court and accounted for 4 dimes in this matchup.

Penn State has a win-loss record of 12-17 for the year. The Nittany Lions commit 15.6 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 75.1% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 12.6 times per game (277th in the country) and they are giving up possession 10.3 times per game. Penn State has tallied 2,168 pts this season (74.8 per contest) and they average 29.5 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Nittany Lions are hitting on 47.1% from the field, which ranks 70th in the nation.

The Penn State defense gives up 38.3% from downtown (282 of 736) and their opponents are connecting on 77.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 17.1 dimes and 33.1 total boards per game, which ranks them 355th and 98th in those categories on the defensive end. The Nittany Lions defensively are ranked 316th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 79.1. They are forcing 12.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 49.7% from the field (361st in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ohio State

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