Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 81-71 upset win over No. 14 Wisconsin
Penn State men’s basketball pulled off the upset victory over the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers to get back on track Saturday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. The 81-71 win pushes the Nittany Lions to 6-7 on the year and 3-6 in the Big Ten.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
1. The Badgers made Harrar a focal point
It says a lot about senior center John Harrar’s impact that Wisconsin had all eyes on him when shots went up. Harrar has been dominant on the boards this season and the Badgers were making a concerted effort to keep him from hauling in rebounds on both ends of the floor. They often put at least two bodies on him to ensure he couldn’t get positioning and pull down boards. The result in the first half was the senior putting up a goose egg on the stat sheet and a 21-17 rebound advantage for Wisconsin.
The Badgers employed the strategy less frequently in the second half and the result was a predictable one. Harrar grabbed eight second half rebounds and helped the Nittany Lions tie the battle on the glass in the half at 18. While he doesn’t have the size or athleticism to battle with some of the Big Ten’s best, Harrar’s value as a rebounder and physical presence continues to show night in and night out for Penn State and resulted in his 17-point performance against Wisconsin.
2. Nittany Lions bottle up Trice
Penn State needed to slow down senior guard D’Mitrik Trice if they wanted to earn the upset Saturday afternoon, and the Nittany Lions did even better than could be expected. Trice was limited to four points on four field goal attempts from the first half and didn’t make a shot from beyond the arc in the game’s first 20 minutes. He saw several of the Nittany Lions’ guards — including senior Jamari Wheeler and junior Izaiah Brockington — who used their quickness to prevent him from penetrating off the dribble. Penn State stayed close enough to Trice throughout the game that he couldn’t get space to shoot whether he had the ball or not.
The team’s efforts to shut down Trice — who finished with a mere six points — went a long way in earning the upset win.
3. Brockington and Jones carry the load on offense
The Nitany Lions couldn’t get shots to consistently fall from beyond the arc and didn’t have great performances from a few key contributors but it didn’t matter much for them because two guards saved the day. Brockington and Myreon Jones lit up Wisconsin from all three levels and were red hot from the field and put the team on their backs Saturday afternoon. The duo combined for 38 points on 16-of-27 shooting from the field, including three made 3-pointers from Jones on three attempts. They were able to get to their spots and hit difficult shots against a good Wisconsin defense.
Without their performances, the game wouldn’t have been close. Instead, the Nittany Lions earned the victory over the No. 14 team in the country at a crucial time in the season as they continue to navigate the toughest conference in the country.
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 5:13 PM.
