Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 72-66 Big Ten Tournament win over Nebraska
Penn State men’s basketball advanced to the second round of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 72-66, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. They’ll take on the No. 6 seed Wisconsin Badgers Thursday night.
The win pushes them to 11-13 on the season and still leaves them with hope for their NCAA Tournament chances.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
1. First half struggles create double-digit deficit
Penn State continues to get in its own way in the first half of games and Wednesday night was no different. The Nittany Lions went into the half down 37-23 after a poor display on both ends of the court. The ball was moving offensively, but with no clear destination in mind. It frequently swung around the perimeter until a Nittany Lion decided to hoist up a 3-pointer. While those weren’t the worst looks for them, it played a role in how poorly they shot. The team made only nine of its 32 attempts from the field in the half, including shooting 2-of-15 from 3-point range. It’s hard to expect any positive results when your team can’t make shots, but it’s even worse when the defense doesn’t help.
The Nittany Lions gave up too many easy looks to Nebraska and allowed them to score 12 of their 36 first half points in the paint. The deficit didn’t make it impossible for Penn State to win, but it made it necessary to go on a big run to cut the game close.
2. Penn State run closes the gap
Fortunately for Penn State, that run came right out of the gates in the second half. The team rattled off 10 unanswered points and 15 of the first 17 scored in the half to bring the Nittany Lions right back into the game. The run was fueled by a Penn State defense that turned Nebraska over three times as it closed the lead. Those three turnovers accounted for seven of the 15 points to fuel the Nittany Lions and made it a 39-38 game.
Senior guard Jamari Wheeler scored five of the points — and of his 19 for the game to tie his career high — and provided plenty of the energy for his teammates, frequently pestering Nebraska’s ball handlers and forcing them to make bad decisions. Wheeler has never been a go-to scorer and isn’t the type of player to spark a run with his scoring ability, but his energy shined as he and his teammates helped close the lead and essentially wipe away a poor first half in just over five minutes.
3. NCAA Tournament hopes stay alive
The win was not easy for the Nittany Lions, but it earned them a glimmer of hope when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. They still don’t have an easy path to make the tournament, but an 11-13 record in the toughest conference in the country will give them a chance if they can keep winning. They’ll have to do so Thursday night against Wisconsin if they want to give themselves a real shot to make it since 2011, but the door has now cracked open.
A win over the Badgers would push them to 12-13, and a win over Iowa Friday night — which would be their opponent if they advance again — would make it difficult to leave them out of the field, even with a sub .500 record. At that point, they’d be 13-14 overall with one of the most difficult schedules in the country on their resume.
