Puff Johnson injury update: Status of Penn State guard revealed vs. Ohio State

The Penn State Nittany Lions got some bad news ahead of their game against Ohio State on Thursday evening. They’ll be without Puff Johnson due to a hand injury, according to a press release. He has not played for the Nittany Lions since January 15th. Johnson has averaged 10.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Ohio State throttled Penn State. The Buckeyes led after the first half and strengthened their lead in the second half, coasting to an easy 83-64. Penn State big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 21 points to lead the Nittany Lions (13-9, 3-8 Big Ten), who have lost seven of their last eight games.

Freshman John Mobley Jr. had 19 points and Bruce Thornton scored 17 points for Ohio State in the blowout win. Mobley drilled three shots from beyond-the-arc, while also adding eight assists and six rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten). OSU has now rattled off three straight wins following a three-game losing streak. Thornton also hit five of his seven shots from beyond-the-arc.

Ohio State outrebounded Penn State to the tune of 41 rebounds to 23, with 13 of them coming at the offensive end, giving the Buckeyes an 18-4 edge in second-chance points.

Devin Royal tallied 14 points and eight rebounds for OSU. Micah Parrish had 12 points for the Buckeyes. Zach Hicks pumped in 13 points and five rebounds for Penn State. They also had a number of other scorers in double digits, Nick Kern Jr. (10 points), and Ace Baldwin Jr. (10 points).

OSU won the points in the paint battle 36-30. But the Buckeyes also came away with more fouls 26-17. PSU had two technical fouls in this one as well.

The Buckeyes will play against No. 18 Illinois on Sunday. Penn State will host Minnesota on Tuesday.