Penn State basketball, who had been lurking on the bubble of the NCAA tournament these last few weeks, had a chance last night to put themselves in serious contention for a spot in the brackets as they were hosting Big 10 rival and national No. 1 Ohio State. Instead, they were routed by the Buckeyes 82-61 and saw their tournament hopes all but dashed.
Ohio State's Jon Diebler dropped a career high 30 on the Nittany Lions with all 30 points coming off 3-point shots. Diebler was 10-12 from beyond the arc last night, tying a Big 10 conference record and beating Penn State's Jordan Center record. The win guaranteed the Buckeyes at least a share of the Big 10 title.
For the Nittany Lions, their hopes of an at large bid are basically gone. Our bracketology expert Chris Dobbertean had Penn State in his "last eight out" as a bubble team before the game, but has dropped them from his bracket this morning. The Big 10 tournament starts March 10 and winning it looks like their only shot to get into the dance.