GAME NOTES: The Ohio State Buckeyes aim for their third straight victory tonight as they pay a visit to Big Ten foe Penn State. On Saturday, Ohio State knocked off Minnesota by a 76-60 final to improve to 11-1 at home. The Buckeyes are now 14-6 overall and 5-2 in league play, but a 2-4 record in true road games could certainly stand some improvement. It wasn't long ago that Penn State owned a six-game win streak and a 2-0 record against Big Ten competition. Clearly, however, things have fallen apart since, and the last five outings have resulted in defeat, including four in a row by double figures. The Nittany Lions dropped a 64-49 decision to Iowa on Saturday, the second straight game in which they were held to fewer than 50 points. Ohio State owns a 20-12 series advantage over Penn State, including wins in both meetings with the Lions a year ago.

Jamar Butler and Kosta Koufos have both started every game for Ohio State this season, and they have been the team's top performers. Butler is playing over 35 minutes per game and is netting 15.0 ppg to go along with 6.3 apg. As for Koufos, he has admirably filled the void at center created by Greg Oden's departure to the NBA. The big man is scoring 13.7 ppg in addition to grabbing 6.8 rpg and swatting away 38 shots. Strong defense has been key to OSU's success this season, as the club is limiting opponents to 60.6 ppg on 37.3 percent shooting from the field. Butler poured in 27 points and dished out nine assists to lead the Buckeyes in the recent win over Minnesota. Evan Turner added 17 points, and Koufos had 15 points and eight rebounds. Ohio State connected on 50 percent of its field goal attempts and limited the Golden Gophers to 36.5 percent efficiency.

Since Penn State lost leading scorer and rebounder Geary Claxton with a season- ending knee injury, the team has had trouble even remaining competitive. Against Iowa on Saturday, the Nittany Lions shot 39.2 percent from the floor, including 4-of-16 from three-point range, and they even struggled from the foul line, converting 5-of-11 shots. They finished the tilt with only seven assists and were outrebounded by a 34-22 margin. Stanley Pringle tallied 17 points for PSU, which got 15 points from Jamelle Cornley and 11 points from Talor Battle. Cornley is the only active double-digit scorer on the roster, as he is posting 12.5 ppg. The Nittany Lions own a positive scoring differential overall, but they are being outscored by nearly 10 ppg in league play.

Expect Ohio State to continue its winning streak, while the losing skid of Penn State will reach six games. Without Claxton, the Nittany Lions may not win another league contest.