Here’s 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 81-78 win over Northwestern
Penn State men’s basketball earned its second win in a row with an 81-78 win over the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The win bumps the Nittany Lions to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten.
Here are three takeaways from the victory.
1. Harrar continues to show his value
Senior center John Harrar has been showered with plenty of praise by interim head coach Jim Ferry and for good reason. The Nittany Lion big man is a crucial piece of the Nittany Lions efforts and helps mitigate their biggest weakness. Harrar is an undersized center at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds but is built like a brick wall to make up for it. He uses his strength to wall off bigs that he can hang with, and does a good job of providing value offensively, even though he’s not adept from the 3-point line.
Harrar sets hard screens and battles for rebounds on both ends of the court. That’s increasingly valuable on a Penn State team that frequently plays three guards and has a size disadvantage more often than no and it led to him pulling down 10 rebounds — including five offensive boards — against the Wildcats. His efforts to tip rebounds to teammates and box out make him invaluable, even if he’s susceptible to getting beat by the league’s most talented centers.
2. Jones stays hot from deep
Junior guard Myreon Jones has been a key part of the Penn State offense for the last two seasons and he only increases that value when he plays like he has of late. Jones entered Saturday’s matchup having made 14-of-29 shots from beyond the arc in the team’s last four games. He kept that effort up against Northwestern and unsurprisingly finished with three made 3-pointers on five attempts to help keep the Nittany Lion offense moving.
The timing of his attempts appear to be changing as well, much to the team’s benefit. Jones is capable of pulling up from deep early in the shot clock, but those types of looks are available to him at any point a possession. His shots have increasingly come within the flow of the offense, whether it’s on a kick-out from inside, or as the ball swings around the perimeter. Jones is showing he can adapt as the team needs and still be the team’s best shooter.
3. Second win is important for Nittany Lions
It can’t be understated how vital the last two wins have been to Penn State’s postseason hopes. The Nittany Lions were 3-6 and winless in four Big Ten games heading into a stretch of two winnable home games. They were able to earn victories in both to help get the team back on track and give it some momentum as it navigates the turbulent waters of the best conference in the country. The team is now one win from getting back to .500 overall and two wins away from getting back to .500 in the Big Ten.
It’s unlikely the Nittany Lions will get back to those marks in short order thanks to their next three matchups. They play No. 7 Michigan at home and then take on No. 10 Wisconsin in back-to-back games, one at the Bryce Jordan Center and one in Madison. Getting one win in those three would have to be considered a positive for a Penn State team that is trying not to let its season fall apart.
