How to watch Penn State basketball vs. No. 6 Wisconsin: Live stream, players to watch & key matchups
Penn State men’s basketball will try to halt its three-game skid when it plays its fourth Big Ten game. The Nittany Lions will take on No. 6 Wisconsin Sunday afternoon at home.
Here’s everything you need to know about the home matchup with the Badgers.
Player to watch
Sam Sessoms: Penn State has one player on the roster who has scored in double figures in all seven games this season. Sessoms — who averaged nearly 20 points per game before transferring from Binghamton to Penn State — is that player. He’s taken control of the offense when he’s on the court and has deserved the ball in his hands whenever he’s out there. The next step for Sessoms will be consistently generating open shots for his teammates. That’s not to say he doesn’t, because the junior guard has proven to be capable of finding the open man, but now he will need to find them more frequently as teams focus on stopping him from scoring.
His ascension to being the team’s best isolation scorer should lead to opponents trying to stop him and force the ball out of his hands by bringing extra defenders from the wing when he drives to the hoop. It will be imperative for Sessoms to see those defenders coming and find the open shooter they’ve left behind.
Key matchup
Penn State’s perimeter defense vs. Wisconsin’s shooters: Senior center John Harrar has been the focal point for Penn State for the last few games because of the team’s struggles with rim protection, but that changes with this game. The Badgers can score at the rim but do most of their damage from the perimeter. The team doesn’t turn the ball over and it rains in shots from beyond the arc. That will put the onus on the team’s perimeter defense in this one.
Wisconsin is fourth in Division I with only 12.2% of their possessions ending in a turnovers and ninth in Division I 3-point percentage at 41.5%. Penn State will have to pressure the Badgers on the perimeter to prevent easy shots, while being careful not to allow cuts to the rim against a team that is excellent at making the right pass to earn an open shot while exercising enough caution to retain position. If the Nittany Lions aren’t able to pressure the 3-point line, Wisconsin will hit shots from deep, but if they over-pressure the Badgers, they’ll give up open looks at the rim that they don’t have the rim protection to deter. Sunday’s test won’t provide the same kind of physical challenge as the one Big Ten’s dominant big men have through three games, but it may be the most difficult one the Nittany Lions face all season.
How to watch
Who: No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers (9-2) at Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4)
When: Noon, Sunday, Jan. 3 | Where: Bryce Jordan Center
TV: Big Ten Network
Live stream: FoxSportsGo
Online radio stream: GoPSUSports (university-run)
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This story was originally published January 2, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
