UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State dropped its final home game of the 2025–26 regular season Wednesday, March 4, falling to Ohio State 94–62 before hitting the road for its regular-season finale Sunday, March 8, in Piscataway against Rutgers. The Nittany Lions were unable to bounce back in that matchup, suffering a 74–62 loss to close out the regular season.
Ohio State came out fast, opening the game on a 7–0 run and never looking back. The Buckeyes continued to build momentum with several scoring stretches, including a 10–1 run that pushed the score to 33–11 with 3:44 remaining in the first half. The Nittany Lions showed some fight in the closing minutes of the half, going on a 7–2 run, but still trailed 45–22 heading into halftime.
Ohio State came out of halftime hot from beyond the three-point line, extending its lead to 60–31 with 15:11 remaining in the game. From there, both teams traded baskets back and forth; a pace Penn State could not afford while facing such a large deficit, as the Buckeyes cruised to a 94–62 victory.
Penn State had three players finish in double figures. Freddie Dilione V and Ivan Jurić led the way with 15 points each, while Dominick Stewart added 11 points and recorded a team-high four assists.
Penn State then traveled to New Jersey to take on Rutgers to close out the regular season. The Nittany Lions defense showed up early, forcing turnovers and helping them take a 10–8 lead to start the game. The Scarlet Knights quickly responded with a 12–0 run and later added a 16–0 run to extend the lead to 37–14, and Rutgers would not look back from that point on. Penn State did get it to 43-21 before halftime.
The Nittany Lions scored 13 of the first 21 points in the second half, cutting the deficit to 17 just over five minutes into the half. Rutgers kept its lead between 16 and 20 points for much of the period until the 3:06 mark, when Penn State went on a 12–4 run to trim the deficit to 12. However, the Nittany Lions could not get any closer, as the Scarlet Knights held on for a 74–62 victory.
Jurić led Penn State with 16 points and six rebounds in the game. Dilione V added 14 points and six rebounds, while Kayden Mingo recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Josh Reed rounded out the scoring in double figures with 12 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Penn State ends the regular season with a 12–19 overall record and a 3–17 mark in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions will now shift their focus to the Big Ten Tournament, set for March 10–15 at the United Center. Penn State will begin postseason play against the Northwestern Wildcats men’s basketball on Tuesday, March 10, with tipoff scheduled for around 7:30 p.m. ET.
