Penn State Basketball: Ice cold Lions lose rematch to wisconsin
By Evan Smith
Despite leading with just seconds left in the first half, it was Wisconsin who routed Penn State in the second half to win 72-56 Tuesday night in Madison.
In a first half that saw the Nittany Lions shoot 3-11 from beyond the arc (27%), commit ten fouls (to just five Badger fouls) and turn the ball over 7 times, somehow the Lions trailed by just two at the buzzer.
It was a sloppy Lions half featuring bad ball movement, poor shooting and a combination of bad fouls and bad calls. And even with all of that, Wisconsin still had to hit a three at the buzzer to take back the lead at the half. The real question that remained would be if Penn State Basketball could capitalize on their ability to hang tough (as Wheeler, Brockington and Dread all had two fouls).
The answer was a quick no.
A bad Lundy entry pass led to a live ball turnover. Wisconsin scored on their next three possessions as Penn State continued their cold shooting, missing three shots from beyond the arc. With the the Badger lead at a then game high 9 points, Jim Ferry called a timeout less than three minutes into the half. A missed jumper by Dread and a wide open three miss my Myreon Jones and Wisconsin got the ball back. On their third attempt, the Baders scored to open the lead to 11 and that was prety much the end for the Lions.
The Wisconsin lead peaked at 21 as Penn State was never able to cut it to single digits. The Lions still hit the offensive glass hard and continued to battle but without any ability to shoot, the chances for a comeback were non-existent.
Penn State cut the lead to 13 at the nine-minute mark, and as the announcers said; the Lions get a steal and a bucket here things could be interesting.
Harrar hit the deck, got the steal and the Lions were on the break.
Trying for the high-flying lob to Brockington, the Lions turned it over. he Lions did get a stop and but they Myreon missed the rim enirely on a jumper and the Badgers hit another 3…such a perfect description of this game.
Effort was there Tuesday, but simply no result at all. (Also, Sandy Barbour, can we wear the traditional blue road jerseys again sometime this year? The pink and black is getting old…)