With 30 seconds left in the game, Jermaine Marshall made a three to make the score 66-63 Nebraska.  On the ensuing inbounds play, D.J. Newbill was able to steal the ball from Ray Gallegos with 25 seconds to play.  The last 25 seconds would be disastrous for PSU. Newbill got fouled after the steal and would go to the line for two free throws.  But, the referees also called a flagrant foul on Nebraska for an elbow to the face of Ross Travis. So, Ross Travis would get 2 free throws, and Penn State would get the ball.  In total, PSU would get four free throws and the ball back, only down three points.  Newbill, a 68% shooter, made 1-2.  Ross Travis, a 60% shooter, bricked both of his attempts.  Penn State, now down 2, inbounded to Jermaine Marshall, who drove to the hoop and drew a foul.  Marshall was 6-6 on the day and is a 76% free throw shooter, but you can probably see where this is going.  Marshall missed both of his free throws, leaving Penn State’s deficit at 2 with only 15 seconds left to play.  In total, Penn State went 1-6 from the foul line in a span of 10 seconds.  A team can’t choke like that and expect to win, and they didn’t. Brandon Ubel would sink two free throws to effectively put the game out of reach.  The final score was 68-64, dropping Penn State to 0-6 in the Big Ten.

Nebraska got a huge performance out of  Freshman Shavon Shields, who came into the game averaging only 6.2 points per game.  Shields shot 10-11 from the field and 8-8 from the line to get 29 points on the game, his career high. Penn State’s leading scorer was Jermaine Marshall with 18, but he was only 5-16 from the floor.  Penn State didn’t get much from anyone else, and leading scoring D.J. Newbill struggled mightily shooting the ball and looked extremely uncomfortable running the point.  Newbill has been playing out of position almost all year, and this game might have been his ugliest as a point guard.  He committed six turnovers, and seemed to lose control of the ball almost every time he tried to dribble past his man.  D.J. only scored 11 points on 3-11 shooting.  Both teams struggled to score the ball early, highlighted by Nebraska’s 1-10 start.  Penn State started 3-10, and that trend would continue, as they finished at a measly 38% shooting.  The Huskers, however, fixed their struggles, and finished the game at 47%.  Penn State’s defense has been a problem all year, and letting a team as bad as Nebraska hit almost half of their shots is pretty terrible.

Penn State’s next game is Wednesday night in Bloomington, Indiana as they take on the Hoosiers.  The game starts at 7 on the BTN and Penn State will again look for their first B1G win of the year.  The two teams already faced each other this year, with the Hoosiers winning  by 23 points.

The Last Time Out

Penn State took on the the 18th ranked Michigan State Spartans Wednesday night at the BJC.  The Lions kept it close all game, mainly because of two career nights for Jermaine Marshall and D.J. Newbill.  The final score was 81-72 Spartans, using a late push to secure the victory.  Penn State had pulled within five after a Jermaine Marshall jumper with two minutes to go, but Derrick Nix was awarded a controversial basket on the next possession to put the game away.  Nix backed down Jon Graham, and then clearly shuffled his feet, setting himself up for the basket.  The whistle blew, but the call was a foul on Graham, instead of a travel on Nix.  Marshall recorded his career high in points with 29, and his first double-double with 10 rebounds.  Newbill also had his career high with 27 points.

About Nebraska

Nebraska comes into the game tied with Penn State for last place in the Big Ten.  Their overall record stands at 9-9, with their last win coming on Dec. 29th. Penn State’s last win also came on the 29th.  It may be hard to believe, but Nebraska averages less points per game than Penn State does.  The Huskers come in at 332nd in the nation, averaging only 58.1 ppg.  Penn State averages 62.1 points.  Nebraska’s leading scorer is senior Dylan Talley, checking in at 13.2 ppg.  Talley is also second on the team in rebounding, so he’s a player Penn State has to keep track of throughout the game. Penn State has also struggled with big men all season, and Nebraska’s Brandon Ubel is third on the team in scoring with 12.8 points a game. The 6-10 Senior is also leads the team in rebounds.

The Matchup

If Penn State can get repeat performances from Marshall and Newbill, they will have their first B1G win of the year.  That is pretty unlikely though, so the Lions will again need to get a third scorer to help those two guys out. Neither team will put up that many points, so whichever team can knock down open shots and shoot the higher percentage, should go on to get their first conference win.  The last time Penn State hosted a last place team, they got blown out.  I think they avoid that this time though.  A hard fought game ends with a 64-56 Penn State win.

Follow VBR Staff Writer Scott Anderson on Twitter for the latest on PSU Hoops!

With 12 minutes to go in the first half, D.J. Newbill made a layup to put Penn State up 12-8, their biggest lead of the game.  Northwestern would then go on a 13-0 run, capped by a Sobolewski three.  They would never relinquish their lead, a lead that would grow to as many as 23 points.  D.J. Newbill was the lone “bright” spot for PSU, finishing with 20 points on the night. He was Penn State’s only aggressive player on the night, driving to the basket every chance he got.  While he didn’t finish very often, he got himself to the line 9 times, making 8.  The rest of the team shot 9 free throws combined, as many as Newbill did by himself.

The stats paint an even uglier picture for Penn State.  Other than hitting on 9 three-pointers, the Wildcats struggled tonight, leaving the door open for PSU.  Unfortunately, the Lions shot only 31.6% from the field, including a 3-15 showing from behind the arc.  This was caused by a lot of isolation play, instead of setting up teammates for good shots. As a result, Penn State only had 7 assists on the night as a team.  Northwestern was able to limit mistakes, only committing 6 turnovers and 16 fouls on the night.  The 16 fouls is a very low number for a B1G game, especially one called by Ted Valentine.  The Wildcats only shot 45% from the field, but Penn State still could not keep up with them.

• Again Penn State could not find a third scorer, laying all of the pressure on Newbill and Jermaine Marshall’s shoulders. Depth continues to be a huge issue for this team
• In my preview, I said Brandon Taylor needed to step up and stay out of foul trouble. Well, he committed a foul 15 seconds into the game, and had four on the game.  At least his only bucket came from inside the paint, a place where I think he needs to have a larger presence.
• Another key point in my preview was staying in front of Alex Olah.  I said if they didn’t he could get his career high in rebounds.  He came one rebound shy of his career high.
• Some of the calls by Ted Valentine were a little perplexing, including a whistle that came 5 seconds after the play, with Valentine about 40 feet from the action.  However, the referees can’t be blamed for Penn State’s problem getting to the line, as that has been an issue all season
• Ross Travis left the game with what looked like an ankle injury. I had a good view of him and he seemed pretty frustrated and had it wrapped with a lot of ice.  He needed help to walk back into the locker room. Hopefully he’s alright. As much as he struggles shooting the ball, he is the only consistent rebounder on this team right now.

Penn State goes to West Lafayette on Sunday to take on the Purdue Boilermakers.  Purdue has struggled this season, but it is never easy to win a game in Mackey Arena.  The Nittany Lions look for their first B1G win at 12:00 on the BTN.

Follow VBR Staff Writer Scott Anderson on Twitter for the latest on PSU basketball

Last Time Out

Penn State took on #5 Indiana Monday night at the BJC.  The Nittany Lions took an early 3-2 lead, and that would be the only lead they had all game.  Indiana’s offense overmatched Penn State’s defense for the entire game, resulting in a 52% field goal percentage, including 8-16 from three.  Indiana also got to the line 34 times, while Penn State only shot 11 free throws.  The only positive for Penn State was that they had 13 offensive rebounds to Indiana’s 6.  This resulted in Penn State shooting 18 more total shots than the Hoosiers.  Unfortunately, Penn State only converted on 31% of their attempts, erasing the only advantage they had on the #5 team in the nation.

About Northwestern

Jan 6, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Dave Sobolewski (3) brings the ball up court in the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

Northwestern has had a season eerily similar to Penn State’s, except Northwestern has a signature win.  The Wildcats defeated the Baylor Bears in Waco 74-70, and finished their non-conference schedule at 9-4.  Northwestern has opened their B1G season with losses to Michigan and Minnesota.  The Wildcats have lost two key players to injury this year in Drew Crawford and JerShon Cobb. Crawford, arguably their best player, was averaging 13 points a game before his injury.  Bill Carmody has used Tre Demps to fill in for Crawford and he has responded, averaging around 11 points in the six games since the injury.  The team’s leading scorer is guard Reggie Hearn at 14.2 ppg.

Keys to the Game

1.  Assists- Northwestern is 17th in the nation in assists per game, averaging 16.9 a game.  The Wildcats have a knack for setting up teammates for good shots, which could be a problem for Penn State’s defense.  The Nittany Lions will have to communicate well on the defensive side of the ball and utilize well-timed rotations in order to stay in front of the Wildcat shooters.  The Northwestern offense isn’t good enough for its players to create their own shots, so Penn State needs to try and limit their passing game, resulting in more 1-on-1′s

2. Boxing Out- as cliche as this is, it will be key for Penn State in a game like this.  Northwestern’s bigs are not athletic or strong enough to get rebounds over Penn State.  If PSU can stay in front of their man and get good positions, they will have no problem out rebounding the Wildcats.  While Northwestern has the tallest player on the floor, 7 foot Alex Olah, he is not athletic enough to get rebounds unless he is given good position.  Taller players have given Penn State some problems this year, but Olah has only averaged 4.3 rebounds in 21 minutes a game.  If Penn State can box him out and keep him behind them, he should be a non-factor in this game.  But if he can get in front of them, he could have double-digit rebounds for the first time in his career.

3. Brandon Taylor- Taylor needs to establish himself as Penn State’s number three scorer. B-Tay always seems to open the game with a three-pointer or two, and then disappear for the rest of the game.  This happens for two reasons.  The first is that he gets himself into foul trouble early and often.  Taylor has to keep his hands up on defense and stay in front of his man.  Too often he finds himself reaching in or coming down on someone when they shoot.  This has led to him averaging 3 fouls a game, including a DQ versus Indiana.  The other problem is that Taylor has become too one dimensional.  While he is a very good three-point shooter, he seems to stay out on the perimeter most of the game.  He needs to use his frame to his advantage and get to the block more often.  When Taylor sets a screen, he rolls to the arc almost every time.  This makes it easy for defenders to cover him, even though on paper he should be a match-up nightmare.  If he starts rolling to the basket and playing on the block/high post, it will keep the defense off balance, and help him score more points.

Prediction- For both Penn State and Northwestern, this is one of the few winnable Big Ten matchups.  Penn State being the home team gives them a little bit of an advantage, and I think they pull this one out to get their first B1G win of the season.  Penn State’s athleticism will be too much for the depleted Wildcats, but not enough for free Big Macs. The crowd is already getting one dollar hot dogs anyways.  Final Score is 63-52 Penn State.

1. First Half Struggles- Penn State has struggled to score in the first half of games this year.  Their highest total for a half is only 36 points, and in two games they failed to score over 20 points.  The offense has been one of the worst in the country this season, with only nine teams shooting worse than Penn State’s 36% from the field, and only seven teams worse than PSU’s 23% from three.     Penn State is losing their confidence early and getting themselves out of rhythm.  With tougher opponents coming, Penn State needs to tighten up their first half issues, and that needs to start Wednesday night.

2. Fill in for Frazier- It’s not fair to ask one player to replicate Tim Frazier’s stats, and that’s not what Pat Chambers needs.  What he does need is for his team to make up for those numbers as a whole.  Like in the movie Moneyball, when the A’s lost Jason Giambi, they didn’t replace his stats with one player, they didn’t have the resources.  Instead, they relied on several players to replicate his numbers.  Pat Chambers needs to see improved play from his supporting cast to make up for Frazier’s roughly 20 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds a game.  Brandon Taylor has already stepped up, putting up over 10 points in his first two starts.  But who else can improve their play?  At this point Nick Collela is what he is. A hustle player who can play average defense and a “outside shooter” who can knock down the occasional three (3-16 on the year). He hasn’t shot a two point field goal all year and is only hitting 18% of his threes, so it is safe to say he is not the answer. One of PSU’s role players will have to step.  Which one will it be…

3. Jermaine Marshall- With Tim Frazier out for the year, Penn State needs Marshall to pick up his scoring.  Marshall has always been seen as an offense first player, and is third on the team at 11 points per game.  The problem is that Marshall has been extremely inefficient.  He has taken 60 shots this year to score 58 points, which is not a good ration.  His 31% shooting and 26% from three are way too low, and are hurting the team more than helping.  Marshall is a capable scorer, but right now he is settling for outside shots and they aren’t falling.  Marshall is at his best when he is driving to the rim.  He’s a strong player who has really good moves in the paint, especially his spin move.  Even if he struggles from the field, he can get himself to the line and score that way.  In the Bucknell game, Jermaine scored 17 points, and was 7-11 from the line.  Sure he only shot 4-11 from the field, but he was utilizing his strengths and it was key in PSU’s victory.  Marshall needs to start shooting less threes and move closer to the hoop.  His midrange game and free throw shooting are what Penn State needs right now, not shooting an average of seven threes a game.

Prediction- If you can’t make it to the BJC, the game is on ESPNU at 9:15. Both teams will struggle from the floor and we will have ourselves a defensive game.  If Penn State can get hot and shoot 40% or higher, it could be a blowout.  But, expect both teams to shoot in the 30 percents and  battle it out to the finish, just like last years game. I think Penn State wins 57-49.

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