Penn State’s bubble likely burst after Thursday night’s 92-82 loss to No. 4 Ohio State
It was the same old story, just a different day.
Penn State had a chance to take down yet another highly-ranked opponent and couldn’t get the job done. The Nittany Lions (7-11, 4-10) led No. 4 Ohio State by eight points in the early minutes of the second half but failed to find the bottom of the net for a large stretch to fall to the Buckeyes (18-4, 12-4), 92-82, on Thursday night in the Bryce Jordan Center.
One must of course take into consideration the fact that Penn State has the toughest strength of schedule in the nation when examining its body of work. This loss still likely all but killed any hope of the Nittany Lions (No. 38 in the NCAA’s NET rankings) making the NCAA Tournament, though.
“If we would’ve won this game tonight, we would’ve been right back on it,” interim head coach Jim Ferry said. “So, we still have opportunities ahead of us. And that’s what we’re gonna focus on.”
But with just five games left until the Big Ten Tournament, those opportunities are running out.
And, when looking at how this season has gone so far for Penn State, it’s hard to find reasons to be optimistic that the Nittany Lions can pad their resume enough to get on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.
Penn State fell by four points on the road to now-No. 3 Michigan in December and lost to the Buckeyes on the road by four points in the two teams’ first meeting late last month.
“We’ve had opportunities,” Ferry said, “but each game’s different.”
The chances that lie ahead are: No. 11 Iowa on Sunday, Big Ten-worst Nebraska in late February, Purdue in late February, Minnesota in early March and a regular-season finale against Maryland in early March. Out of those five teams, only Iowa and Purdue have a better-than-.500 conference record.
One could reasonably argue that the Nittany Lions don’t have much left to play for. But players — senior forward John Harrar, in particular — would disagree.
“I love this university,” said Harrar, who finished with nine points and five rebounds on Thursday. “And that’s what I play for. I play for the people in the locker room, the staff. I love this place. I love everything that comes with it. I loved my four years here. That’s why I play this game — all the love I have for my teammates and this place.”
Despite the numerous close losses — six by less than five points, to be exact — Harrar believes that Penn State “can beat any team.”
“That’s how I wake up,” he said. “That’s how I attack the day. I try to win every day.”
Now, that mentality must translate to success on the court. Ferry said it’s his job to find a way to get his team over the hump to be able beat — and not just hang with — quality opponents.
He isn’t sure exactly why the Nittany Lions have continued to whiff on chances to secure statement victories.
And as the clock continues to tick for Penn State to save its all-but-lost season, he certainly can’t spend any amount of time trying to understand what’s gone wrong in the past, either.
“When the year’s over, I’ll look back on the season and then I’ll figure it out,” Ferry said. “Right now, I’m just staying present and trying to just get better every day.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 8:57 AM.
