Penn State Falls to Ohio State 94-62 As Bruce Thornton Chases History

Mar 4, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) looks to pass the ball as Penn State Nittany Lions forward Mason Blackwood (1) defends during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State was a chance for the Ohio State team to look good in front of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. They did exactly that by winning 94-62 in a laugher. More importantly for the Buckeyes is that star senior Bruce Thornton is only 12 points from being the Ohio State leading scorer.

In this game, a complete victory for the Buckeyes, John Mobley Jr. led all scorers with 28 points. There were four other Buckeyes in double figures in scoring. Thornton had 18, Devin Royal and Amare Bynum both finished with 14, and Christoph Tilly finished with 10.

Penn State Loses to Ohio State Summary

This was a complete victory for Ohio State over Penn State. Not only did they win by a wide margin, but they also had the high scorer of the game, and were ahead by so much that victory was assured in the second half. The big story from this game is that Thornton had 18 points and is now only 12 points away from being Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer. Now, we will see if Ohio State can keep it going against Indiana in the regular season finale on Saturday.

Ohio State never trailed in this game, and after a close start, there was never a real chance the Buckeyes were going to lose this game. The Buckeyes shot 67% from the field and were 16-of-23 from three-point range. Seven different Buckeyes connected from three-point range, and the team recorded 22 assists on 34 made baskets.

Bruce Almighty

This was the final road game for Ohio State. There is no doubt they are now motivated by getting their star, Thornton, into the NCAA Tournament. He has never been there and will become the program’s all-time leading scorer. In this game, he only had 18 points, on 7-of-8 shooting. The game Saturday will be a coronation for Thornton. A bobble head of him will be given out to fans who attend the game.

Player Of the Game

The player of the game was Mobley. Not only did he have a game-high 28 points, but he hit a career-high eight three-pointers. He was 8-of-9 from three-point range. He added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He seems to be able to play with his broken finger and has become a second viable scoring threat for the Buckeyes.

The other is Thornton. He had 18 points in the game against Penn State and is now only 12 points from passing Dennis Hopson as the all-time leading Ohio State scorer.

Turning Point Of the Game

Ohio State led by a wide margin for most of this game against Penn State, but for the first half of the first half, the game was close. That ended with Mobley making a three-point shot with 8:07 left in the first half.

Parting Shots

This was an impressive victory for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Following their upset win over Purdue, this blowout of Penn State was exactly what they needed. There is a great chance that those results will help the Buckeyes with the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

Both of these teams have one more regular-season game remaining, and then they will play in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Ohio State hopes they will get selected.