3 takeaways from Penn State basketball’s 75-70 win over Michigan State
Penn State stayed hot Tuesday night in East Lansing on its way to a 75-70 upset victory over the Michigan State Spartans. The win improves the Nittany Lions to 17-5 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten.
Here are three takeaways from their big victory on the road.
1. Penn State can win the Big Ten
The Nittany Lions have quickly gone from a likely NCAA Tournament team to a legitimate contender to win the Big Ten regular season title. The win over the Spartans puts Penn State at 7-4 in the conference, one game behind the conference’s leaders Illinois and Maryland, which are both 8-3. The Nittany Lions don’t have another game against Maryland but will have the chance to play Illinois at home before the season ends, giving themselves control of a potential tiebreaker. They already hold a tiebreaker over Maryland after defeating the Terrapins in December at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State may not have 100% control of its chances to win the Big Ten title, but they have as good of a shot as any team in the conference.
2. The schedule gets easier from here
Michigan State represented Penn State’s toughest test left in the season, and the Nittany Lions aced it. Now it gets easier the rest of the way. The most difficult game remaining is a road matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Feb. 29. The Hawkeyes are a difficult matchup for any team in the conference but Penn State has already proven it can beat them on Jan. 4 at the Palestra. KenPom’s projections currently have the Nittany Lions finishing with a 23-8 record overall and 13-7 in the conference. This team is in excellent shape as it heads into the home stretch of the regular season.
3. Myreon Jones was on fire
Penn State went into the first half with a lead thanks to sophomore guard Myreon Jones, who scored 20 points in the game. The sophomore was making almost everything in the game’s first 20 minutes, specifically from beyond the arc. He made 5-of-6 3-point attempts in the half to total 15 points. The Nittany Lions’ six-point halftime lead was aided by Jones’ shooting and it made a clear difference in the end. The Spartans were forced to stay close to Jones throughout the second half and it opened the floor for Penn State to attack and find open spaces in the defense. His shooting paid obvious dividends in the first half, but it’s contributions in the second half shouldn’t go without mention.
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 11:24 PM.
