Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 84-65 win over Minnesota
Penn State men’s basketball defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 84-65 at the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night. The conference win pushes the Nittany Lions to 9-13 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
1. Offensive rebounding fuels first-half performance
The Nittany Lions weren’t particularly great from the field in the game’s first 20 minutes — although they did shoot it well from deep — and weren’t turning the Golden Gophers over at a high rate, but they were still able to take a double-digit lead into the half. That happened in large part because they dominated on the offensive boards. They pulled down nine offensive rebounds — only two fewer than Minnesota’s 11 first half defensive rebounds — and gave themselves extra opportunities to build their lead. Unsurprisingly, senior center John Harrar led their efforts with four first half offensive rebounds in what could be his final home game as a Nittany Lion.
He — and the team’s 6-of-15 shooting from 3-point range — helped set the stage for arguably Penn State’s best performance in a half this season.
2. Wheeler and company cause issues from the floor for Carr
Penn State needed to slow down Minnesota’s leading scorer to earn the win Wednesday night and they did enough to get the job done. Marcus Carr scored 22 points in the game but was held to 4-of-13 shooting from the field. Penn State senior guard Jamari Wheeler — who like Harrar may be playing his final game at the Bryce Jordan Center — made life difficult for Carr on numerous occasions. The senior guard kept his feet and hands active to be effective against the star for Minnesota. He stayed close to Carr and didn’t allow him easy scoring opportunities while closing out and contesting shots to prevent him from getting easy open looks.
Wheeler has never been a star in his time as a Nitttany Lion, but his efforts against Carr are a perfect example of how he impacted opponents on the court over the past four seasons.
3. Second-half shooting closes out complete win
It’s been rare to see Penn State put together a complete game of late, but that’s what happened Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions were better than Minnesota for all 40 minutes and their shooting in the second half ended up closing the game out. They made 4-of-10 shots from deep in the half, compared to only five made 3-pointers in the entire game for the Golden Gophers. Junior guard Myreon Jones and senior forward Trent Buttrick were the main contributors from that standpoint. They combined to make 7-of-13 3-point attempts to pace the team.
While it’s late in the season and their NCAA Tournament at-large hopes have been dashed, the Nittany Lions still put together one of their best performances of the season to close out the home careers of multiple senior leaders.
