Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 62-61 loss to Nebraska
Penn State took a difficult loss Sunday afternoon at home against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Nittany Lions fell to the Huskers, 62-61, to drop to 7-10 overall and 4-9 in the Big Ten.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1. First half struggles continue
The Nittany Lions were taking on the worst team in the conference, but even that couldn’t help them get away from their first-half issues. They weren’t nearly as bad offensively as they were against Maryland and Michigan State, but going into the half tied against a bad Nebraska team magnified the issues they dealt with in those games.
Myles Dread, Myreon Jones and Seth Lundy helped keep the team afloat by combining to shoot 7-of-14 from 3-point range in the game’s first 20 minutes but nearly everyone else struggled to score for Penn State. Defensively, they let Nebraska slip to the rim and earn easy shots from in close on several occasions, leading to 16 points in the paint, nearly half of the team’s 35 total first half points.
The team generated plenty of open looks and had the opportunities to capitalize and potentially build a double digit lead in the half. Instead, more cold shooting and poor pick-and-roll defense plagued most of the roster and allowed the Huskers to go into the second half with added confidence.
2. Lack of creation dooms offense
Penn State created open looks in the first half but that stopped happening in the second half and the Nittany Lions had nowhere to go when they had the ball. Jones is the team’s best offensive creator but he struggled from the field for most of the half, leaving them without many options. Izaiah Brockington was hesitant when he wasn’t attacking off a pass and Sam Sessoms looked to kick the ball out when he drove to the hoop. Without those two showing a willingness to create their own shots around the rim, there wasn’t anywhere for Penn State to go when they needed to score.
The Nittany Lions moved the ball well, but without someone willing to make something happen on their own, it was often fruitless. They would make correct passes and get the ball where it needed to go, but too often the player that needed to take the shot would make another pass and allow the defense to reset. That led to a paltry 26 points in the second half for Penn State in a game that should’ve allowed the team to get confidence on that end of the court.
3. NCAA Tournament hopes are all but gone
This loss will all but eliminate Penn State from NCAA Tournament contention. The Nittany Lions were firmly on the bubble and needed to work their way to .500 to give themselves a real chance to reach the postseason. Now, with five games left and two needing to be made up, they must go 5-2 to have any hope. Even then they might not make it because this loss so severely hurts their resume.
If it isn’t the end — and Penn State still has a chance in the eyes of the committee — the Nittany Lions must defeat Ohio State, Iowa or win their eventual make-up game against Michigan to have any hope of making the tournament. All three of those teams are in the AP Top 25 with the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the top five. In a season that started as poorly as possible for them with the resignation of former coach Pat Chambers, the Nittany Lions may end it just as poorly.
