The Big Ten only had one game on Monday night and it featured Penn State facing off against Ohio State on the road. It was a relatively competitive game.

Let’s take a look at what happened.

Game of the Night:

–Ohio State Buckeyes 84, Penn State Nittany Lions 78

Neither of these teams entered Monday’s meeting with much momentum. Ohio State was coming off a tough loss to arch-rival Michigan on Friday night and Penn State had lost six straight, topped off by an embarrassing loss to Wisconsin at home on Thursday. Of course, the good news was that someone was going to get a win when all was said and done.

The game ended up being relatively competitive, though Ohio State controlled from early on. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the game was early in the second half when the Nittany Lions picked up some momentum and put a bit of fear in the Buckeyes. However, John Mobley had another great night with 25 points and five assists and was able to hold off Penn State. Amare Bynum also had 15 points and five rebounds.

Ohio State improved to 14-6 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten play with the win. While it’s a result that won’t turn heads, it was an important one, namely because it prevented a “bad” loss on Ohio State’s resume. The team remains in the heart of the NCAA at-large race and losing to an opponent like Penn State would certainly serve as a massive blow in that regard. Preventing that should be welcome news for Buckeye fans.

On the other side, Penn State fell to 9-11 and 0-9 in Big Ten play with the loss. The team has now lost seven straight dating back to December and is just 1-10 over its last 11 games. Notably, Penn State also remains winless against opponents rated in the top 175 on KenPom. That’s an astonishing stat, considering that we’re about to roll into February.

The Buckeyes will now prepare for Wisconsin on the road on Saturday. The Nittany Lions will try and get back on track against Northwestern on the road on Thursday.