Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions struggle at Nebraska without Mike Watkins

Penn State basketball really felt the absence of big man Mike Watkins Sunday in Nebraska

In a contest that seemed like a de facto elimination game for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Penn State continued it’s recent struggles and fell 76-64 on the road to the Cornhuskers. The loss was the third straight for the Nittany Lions and made a trip to the Big Dance nearly impossible without a title run in the Big Ten Conference tourney.

The Nittany Lions entered Sunday’s game already behind the eight ball with the news that forward Mike Watkins would be inactive for the game after injuring his knee early in the first quarter against Michigan on Wednesday.

Penn State looked completely out of sorts right from the start. Nebraska came out hot and built a double-digit lead midway through the first half. Outworked in nearly every area, Penn State went into the break down 34-17.

The second half was better for head coach Patrick Chambers’ squad, but it wasn’t good enough to make up for the brutal first half. Penn State outscored Nebraska 47-42 in the second half.

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Guard Tony Carr did all he could to help the Nittany Lions to victory by pouring in a game-high 27 points. Unfortunately, outside of the 13 points from Lamar Stevens and 11 from Shep Garner, the Nittany Lions received very little production from anyone else.

Without Watkins, Penn State was unable to do much down low. The Nittany Lions were out-rebounded 45-28.

Nebraska got a double-double by Isaac Copeland, who scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Cornhuskers got great production from their bench, as 32 of the team’s 76 points came from the reserves.

With the loss, Penn State ended the regular season with negative momentum heading into the conference tournament. A strong showing this week at Madison Square Garden is now a must for the Nittany Lions.

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