Penn State played its second conference game of the season against Rutgers on Tuesday night, and its near 17-point comeback fell just short, dropping the contest 80-76.
Rutgers freshmen tandem of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey led the way for Rutgers. Harper finished the game with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, while Bailey put up 15 points and 15 rebounds. Rutgers shot 48.3% from the field, but just a meager 56% from the free throw line, a reason why Penn State was able to mount a comeback in the second half.
Penn State was led in the scoring books by Zach Hicks, who finished the contest with 20 points on 6/10 shooting from three. Freddie Dilione V and Nick Kern Jr. were the only other Nittany Lions in double digits, scoring 14 and 10 respectively.
Ace Baldwin Jr. had a night to forget, shooting a poor 3/14 from the floor, and had himself in foul trouble for most of the second half. He did salvage to finish the game with seven assists and four steals. Baldwin’s game-tying shot with just a few seconds remaining unfortunately did not fall, as Penn State now falls to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
How should Penn State fans react to this game? What should they take away from this close loss?
Penn State dug too deep a hole
The Nittany Lions did not get out to a hot start, letting Rutgers have what they wanted for the entirety of the first half. They looked sluggish and lacked a sense of urgency, as Rutgers got themselves to the line way more than Penn State did, and the Scarlet Knights got many second chances in the half.
It’s really tough to come back from a 17-point deficit after the first possession of the second half, especially on the road in conference play at one of the toughest places to play in college basketball. The early struggles were cleaned up in the second half, as the Nittany Lions started to make several threes, largely coming from Hicks.
Head coach Mike Rhoades's team did not allow Rutgers to make a single three-pointer in the second half, shooting 0/4 as a team. Penn State outscored Rutgers 43-32 in the second half, but it was too much of a deficit at halftime to overcome.
Rutgers bullied Penn State on the glass
In my pregame breakdown, one of the factors that I listed that was pivotal for Penn State was offensive rebounding. Rutgers had done a poor job at allowing opponents to get offensive rebounds entering the matchup, but they did not let Penn State get many on Tuesday night.
The Nittany Lions finished the game with just three offensive rebounds and Rutgers had 11, while Rutgers outrebounded Penn State 46-32 overall. This also can largely be attributed to Rutgers having 25 free throw attempts to Penn State’s nine, but it was clear which team was attacking the glass more. It’s something that Penn State needs to clean up before conference play picks back up after the New Year.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser has struggled in Penn State’s two conference games
Penn State starting center Yanic Konan Niederhauser only finished with six points and two rebounds in Penn State’s victory over Purdue last week, and tonight he did not improve upon that performance.
Niederhauser finished the game with four points and three rebounds in just 17 minutes. In both games, Niederhauser has picked up two fouls in the first half, which severely limits how many minutes he’s able to play. He looked a bit erratic against Rutgers and seemed uncomfortable on both ends of the floor. Niederhauser has a lot to improve upon as conference play picks back up, but Penn State fans should be optimistic about his progression.
Overall, Penn State fans should not overreact to this loss. They were underdogs in this contest, and the near comeback should give fans even more confidence than before this matchup. In past years, Penn State would’ve folded and not been motivated to mount a comeback from the near 20 point deficit.
Rhoades lit a spark under the team at halftime, and they willed themselves back in the contest late in the second half, nearly coming out victorious. Rutgers is a good basketball team, and Penn State shouldn’t have any shame in losing to them on the road.
Other player and team statistics:
- Penn State: 44% FG, 39% 3PT, 78% FT, 9 steals, 6 turnovers
- Rutgers: 48% FG, 36% 3PT, 56% FT, 7 blocks, 14 turnovers
- Johnson: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 26 minutes
- Dunn: 7 points, 3/8 FG, 18 minutes
- Nzeh: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 12 minutes