Penn State Basketball: Wins a Thriller, beats Northwestern 67-65
By Andrew Adair
Penn State Basketball continues to improve its resume as they advance to the Big Ten Conference Semifinals.
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry and Penn State Basketball have been playing a survive-and-advance style of basketball for a couple of weeks now. The style of play is finally paying off as Penn State Basketball continues to cement itself into March Madness. After defeating Illinois for the third time this season, Penn State completed the season sweep on Northwestern as well to move into the Big Ten Semifinals.
First Half
The first half was a slog for both Penn State Basketball and Northwestern. The score at the ten-minute mark was Northwestern-8 Penn State Basketball-6. Neither team could find an offensive rhythm and struggled from 3-point range. Penn State Basketball shot 33% from deep while Northwestern shot a measly 23%. Not the most exciting half of Big Ten Basketball.
Penn State Basketball was led by Guard Seth Lundy with seven points and four rebounds. First-team Big Ten Guard Jalen Pickett continued his recent shooting struggles and only made one field goal. Uncharacteristically, Penn State Basketball had seven turnovers in the first half.
Northwestern found itself in early foul trouble with Forward Tydus Verhoeven, Guard Boo Buie, and Guard Chase Aduige all with two fouls. Guard Boo Buie continued to be Northwesterns best offensive weapon and led all scorers with eight points.
Second Half/OT
Penn State started the first half off very aggressively and that led to Northwestern picking up four fouls in the first three minutes of the half. Penn State used the foul trouble and some Andrew Funk magic to push the lead to five at the under-twelve timeout. The game stayed close throughout the second half and overtime. Andrew Funk had a chance to win it in regulation but couldn’t find the bottom of the basket. In overtime, the free throw struggles continued but Penn State got a huge three from Seth Lundy to take the lead.
Early in the second half was the Andrew Funk show for Penn State. Even with the turnover problems still persisting, Funk got hot and was key to building a lead. Kanye Clary also had a big second half for Penn State. Even though Penn State Basketball struggled with free throws down the stretch they were able to do just enough.
Northwestern was able to keep this game throughout by forcing Penn State into turnovers and crashing the offensive glass. The Wildcats finished the game shooting only 31% from the field. They just couldn’t find enough shots to beat the Nittany Lions.