Weather forces Ohio State to play waiting game on airport runway
It's apparently been a wild night for the Ohio State basketball team.
Bad weather detoured the Buckeyes on their Tuesday night flight to State College, Pa., for Wednesday night's game vs. Penn State. Freezing rain and low visibility forced the team's charter flight to land in Latrobe, Pa., about 110 miles from State College and the team's hotel.
With plans changing due to weather, the Buckeyes had to wait on the runway in Latrobe for a bus to the hotel. Whichever team manager runs the OSU Managers Twitter account tweeted at 8:53 p.m:
That was presumably an exaggeration, but the team was still sitting in the plane on the runway in Latrobe around 9:15 p.m.
Latrobe to State College is about a two-hour bus ride in good weather. Weather.com was calling for "a wintry mix" in State College and freezing rain through 11 p.m. with light rain and temperatures in the mid-30s through the night.
The Buckeyes left Columbus around 5:30 p.m., as expected, after their usual afternoon practice. Wednesday's game between No. 25 Ohio State and Penn State starts at 6 p.m. and airs on the Big Ten Network.
At 10-6 in conference play, Ohio State is tied for fifth place in the Big Ten headed into Wednesday's game, a half-game behind fourth-place Iowa. The top four finishers get automatic byes to the quarterfinals in next week's conference tournament in Chicago.
Ohio State's regular-season finale is Sunday at home vs. Wisconsin, which has clinched at least a share of the conference title.
Travel issues aren't new to Ohio State or several other Big Ten teams at this time of year. In the past, the Buckeyes have flown to some Big Ten cities on the morning or afternoon of the game to avoid snowstorms and other dicey weather. Last weekend, Wisconsin was diverted to Pittsburgh after its game at Maryland due to plane issues.
