Penn State men’s basketball falls to No. 19 Michigan State on the road, 80-64
Penn State men’s basketball went on the road Saturday afternoon and fell to the Michigan State Spartans, 80-64, in East Lansing. The loss dropped Penn State to 5-5 on the year and 0-2 in the Big Ten to start the season.
The Lions were able to hang around with the Spartans early because they were able to make difficult shots and defend well enough to force Michigan State to take difficult looks of its own.
They were within six points with 4:16 left in the half after senior guard Sam Sessoms made a pull-up jumper to make it 33-27. The Spartans took control from there, however, going on a 9-2 run to end the first half.
The Nittany Lions missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the first half, which made it difficult to keep the game close. It didn’t help that only four players scored in the first half for Penn State, and three of them had the majority of the team’s points. Senior center John Harrar had nine points, while senior guard Jalen Pickett and junior forward Seth Lundy each had eight to combine for 25 of the team’s 29 first half points.
The team’s defense was relatively strong in the half court, but Michigan State was able to get in transition and score 20 fast break points in the first half compared to none from Penn State.
The Lions attempted to get back into the game early in the second half, cutting the lead as close as 10 but the Spartans proved to be too much to handle in the half. They were able to make plenty of shots from beyond the arc, finishing with nine made 3-pointers, to put Penn State away, 80-64.
Redshirt senior forward Greg Lee finished the game with five points in his debut for Penn State but played only 15 minutes in his first game action of the season after suffering an undisclosed injury and missing the team’s first nine games. Lundy led the team with 18 points in the game.
Player of the game
Senior guard Jalen Pickett: The Nittany Lions struggled to get going offensively but Pickett was once again a reliable option for the team when it had the ball. He showed off plenty of the ability he’s shown in previous games as he’s seemingly fully acclimated to playing with the Nittany Lions after beginning his career at Siena. Pickett got into the lane and found shots near the rim for himself with his methodical pace. He kept defenders off balance with how deliberate he is and allowed himself to create space to get those shots off. The senior guard continues to be a bright spot for the Nittany Lions offensively and should be the team’s leader on that end of the court moving forward.
Stat of the game
7: That’s how many unanswered points Michigan State scored to close out the first half. The Breslin Center is one of the toughest arenas to play at in the Big Ten and it becomes even tougher when the Spartans are able to build a big lead. Penn State prevented that from happening for the most part in the first half, but the dam finally broke with under four minutes to play in the half. The Spartans tightened up on defense and didn’t give up many easy looks to the Lions. They were instead forced to take mostly contested shots and were unable to make any of them before the buzzer sounded at the end of the half. Michigan State’s seven points were enough to grow the lead to 13, which proved to be too big of a lead for Penn State to overcome in the second half.
Up next
at VCU: Penn State will go on the road for its next game, as well. The Nittany Lions will play their third true road game of the year against the VCU Rams Saturday afternoon. The Rams entered the weekend as the No. 94 team in Ken Pomeroy’s KenPom efficiency rankings.
They won five of their first nine games, including a 67-55 win over Syracuse. They also have a loss to Wagner, which Penn State defeated by 20 points Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
