Three big takeaways from Penn State’s Sunshine Slam runner-up finish and first loss

Penn State flew down to Daytona Beach, Florida with a 5-0 record and aspirations of a feast week championship. The Nittany Lions toppled Fordham by 19 points on Monday afternoon, advancing to the final of the Sunshine Slam, but couldn't get it done against Clemson on Tuesday.

In the game against Fordham, Nick Kern led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 9/12 from the floor. A total of five Nittany Lions were in double figures, including Puff Johnson’s 15 points and Ace Baldwin’s 12 points. 

It was a wire-to-wire win for the Nittany Lions, as they cruised past the Rams in the stress-free win. The team shot 52.6% from the floor and 35.7% from three. They forced 14 Fordham turnovers and held the Rams to 22.2% from three in the contest.

Clemson defeated San Francisco 70-55 in the other semifinal of the Sunshine Slam. Clemson came into the game against Penn State as the slight favorite, and the game was expected to be very close, which happened to be the case on Tuesday afternoon.

After a razor thin margin separated the two teams for the duration of the game, Clemson came out on top, taking down Penn State 75-67.

Clemson shot an impressive 47.4% from three and 43.9% from the field. Standout senior Ian Schieffelin did it all for the Tigers, stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. 

Baldwin led the way for Penn State with 20 points and 11 assists, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser played a season-high 32 minutes, finishing the game with 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks. The team shot 46.4% from the floor yet just a mere 22.2% from three.

Here are three takeaways to recap the tournament:

Welcome to the Nick Kern show

Nick Kern had himself a fantastic tournament in Daytona Beach. Between the two games, Kern averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on 13/20 shooting from the field. His efficient connection with Baldwin has been on full display this season, and they excelled together throughout the Sunshine Slam.

Kern excelled most in transition, running the floor with Baldwin and converting numerous contested layups. He was fantastic on the glass, including six offensive rebounds over the two games. Offensive rebounding was something Penn State mightily struggled with last season. Penn State is now top 70 in the country in offensive rebound percentage, and last season they were outside the top 250.

Penn State struggled stealing the ball

Against Fordham on Monday afternoon, Penn State only had five steals and the same can be said for their game against Clemson on Tuesday. Clearly, with a step up in competition their steal numbers would dwindle, but surely fans did not expect it to play a non-factor in both games this week. 

Look, Penn State’s identity is to create turnovers and play fast. And this was somewhat the case in the tournament, as they did force 25 turnovers between the two contests. But most of them resulted in dead balls, as in throwing the ball away. This did not create transition opportunities for Penn State, an aspect of the game where the Nittany Lions thrive. I’m not concerned about this trend, but it’s something worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses.

Aside from Zach Hicks, three point shooting woes occurred

To put it bluntly, Penn State did not shoot the three well. The Nittany Lions went 9/32 beyond the arc in the tournament, which is good for about 28%, and among those nine, Zach Hicks was responsible for four of them. So aside from Hicks, the team made five threes in two games. This was something that fans had concern over in the offseason. 

The team is still 37.5% from three on the season, ranking 55th in the country out of 364 teams, which is great compared to 33.4% last season. It’s another thing to keep an eye on for Penn State basketball fans, and hope that other players such as Baldwin, Puff Johnson, and Freddie Dilione V can periodically get hot from deep throughout the season.

In all, do not be worried about Penn State this season. There is clearly hope and promise for this team. Clemson is currently a top 25 team in KenPom, and I’d say Penn State lost the game more than Clemson won it. They struggled shooting the ball and getting steals against the Tigers, yet the game still came down to the final minute. 

Mike Rhoades is a terrific coach, Ace Baldwin is a fantastic star player, and the Nittany Lions should have NCAA tournament aspirations at this point in the season.