Penn State Basketball: How to lose a game

Penn State Basketball’s collapse against Seton Hall is a textbook missed opportunity and masterclass on how to lose a college basketball game

There are many ways to lose a game.  One is to be out classed by a far superior team.  This will happen in the B1G season soon, I’m sure.  But that’s not what happened to Penn State Basketball on Sunday night.

Another way to lose is when the other team shoots the lights out.  But that didn’t happen to Penn State Basketball on Sunday night, either.

The flip side, another way to lose is to shoot poorly yourself.  But that’s not even what happened to Penn State Basketball against Seton Hall.

Sometimes, the refs can decide a game one way or the other.  While there were certainly some tough calls against the Nittany Lions against the Pirates (anytime Sam Sessoms drove, for example) and the Lions were called for almost 21% more fouls, that wasn’t the reason Penn State Basketball lost last night.

So, exactly how did Penn State fall to Seton Hall last night?

Plain and simple, Penn State lost by not managing the game correctly.

Period.

Basketball is a game of runs for sure, and every team will make their runs.  But there are ways to manage those runs and use the clock and score situations to your advantage.

Penn State simply failed to do that, over and over again.

Let’s take a look at three specific examples: