Here’s 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 98-92 overtime loss to Seton Hall
Penn State men’s basketball took its first loss of the season Sunday night to drop to 2-1 when it fell to Seton Hall 98-92 in overtime at the Bryce Jordan Center. Here are three takeaways from Penn State’s loss.
1. Penn State has plenty of shooting
With their lack of size, the Nittany Lions are going to be running the floor this season, and will be looking to attack the rim in transition. However, in the half court, they’ll need to find ways to create offense. That looks like it will come from beyond the arc this season. Penn State was hunting 3-pointers all game — especially early — and taking them at every open opportunity. The Nittany Lions took 34 shots from deep against the Pirates and made 38.2% of them.
Those looks came from seven different Nittany Lions in the game, with all seven making at least one attempt. Penn State will continue to run and gun this season as they try to overcome their size disadvantage. Sunday night was the team’s first test against a massive opponent and — in this instance — they failed.
2. Offense needs to improve in the half court
While the Nittany Lions were taking a plenty of looks from deep in the half court — and ultimately scored 92 points — their offense still looked stagnant at times when the pace slowed. Players were generally active throughout the game for Penn State, but there were still too many possessions when the team stalled out and didn’t have a good response when the speed came to a halt. More off-ball movement with cuts and screens away from the play could solve the issue, but that’s unlikely given how the team has run in recent years.
Instead, one of Myreon Jones or Sam Sessoms should be on the court at all times. Those two guards are Penn State’s best isolation scorers and can be efficient enough to make the half-court offense passable.
3. Lack of rim protection could be a major problem
Penn State’s lack of size was always going to be an issue, it just depended on how big of an issue it was. Offensively that can be hidden with speed and shooting. Defensively, it’s more difficult to mask. The Nittany Lions don’t have the rim protection to prevent opponents from scoring around the hoop. They give up too many easy looks for opponents or are forced to take a foul to stop easy buckets.
There could be an internal option for the team if the issues around the rim prove to be substantial. Freshman big man Abdou Tsimbila has the size, athleticism and defensive ability to be a rim protector in the Big Ten. He’ll need to improve offensively and get his game under more control, but the young big man could have a big impact as the season wears on. He saw very limited action Sunday night with only four minutes on the court.
