Here’s 3 takeaways from Penn State basketball’s 87-85 overtime loss to Indiana
Penn State men’s basketball still hasn’t notched a win in the Big Ten this season. The Nittany Lions fell to the Indiana Hoosiers Wednesday night in Bloomington, 87-85, in overtime to drop to 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. The Nittany Lions can’t stop teams inside
Penn State continues to allow teams to beat them inside. Wednesday it was Indiana sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis who did the damage around the rim. The athletic big man scored whenever he wanted with his strength at the rim and it gave the Nittany Lions trouble all night. He finished the game with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Indiana finished with 50 points in the paint as a team, showing the ability to score in the post with Jackson-Davis and get to the rim with perimeter penetration. The Hoosier guards knifed through the lane and attacked the rim for easy layups and dunks on numerous occasions.
The Nittany Lions have been unable to stop that kind of offense this season, and they haven’t given much of a reason to believe they will any time soon.
2. Myreon Jones was on fire
Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, junior guard Myreon Jones was scorching hot throughout the game. Jones finished with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He made several important shots when the game started to get away from Penn State, especially from long range. He made an important 3-pointer when the team was down 77-70 to cut the lead to four and give them a chance down the stretch.
Jones has been up and down this season, but he elevates the team in a big way when he’s on. He’s one of the best shooters in the Big Ten and difficult for a defense to stop when he’s at his best. The sophomore guard showed why that’s the case against the Hoosiers.
3. Sam Sessoms needs more minutes
It’s hard to argue how important junior guard Sam Sessoms has been this season. He’s the only Nittany Lion to score double digit points in every game this season and continued that streak against Indiana. Sessoms can score from beyond the arc and at the hoop and did so Wednesday night. He attacked the rim, using the glass to finish around much larger defenders and he pulled up from deep, launching 3-pointers to catch his opponents off guard.
He has been a consistent source of scoring and offense for a team that has relied on a by-committee approach for most of the season. That should continue to be the case, but Sessoms should be an even greater part of the game plan. He earned all 31 of his minutes Wednesday night — including 30 coming in regulation — eclipsing the 30-minute mark for the first time this season. That should continue to be the case for the talented junior guard.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 11:07 PM.
