Penn State Nittany Lions basketball drops third straight game, losing to Minnesota 76-70
Penn State men’s basketball dropped a third close game in a row Saturday night when it lost to Minnesota on the road in Minneapolis, 76-70.
The .Nittany Lions leaned on their most important senior leader early on in center John Harrar. Harrar made his first three buckets, scoring six of the team’s first eight points and pushing Penn State to an 8-2 lead.
Minnesota pushed back with a 7-0 run that included three jumpers to make it a 9-8 game. The Gophers continued to pull close whenever Penn State took a lead, making another quick 7-0 run after the Nittany Lions went up 18-11 to tie the game at 18-18.
Senior guard Sam Sessoms helped get another lead for the Lions, scoring eight of their next 13 points to go up 31-26. Sessoms diced up the Minnesota defense, using his quickness and savvy to get into the middle of the defense before using his touch to finish around the rim. The senior guard has been a crucial piece of the Penn State offense when it’s humming, and he can help turn the game in his team’s favor whenever he starts getting to his favorite spots on the court.
The Gophers responded with yet another run when Penn State went up 34-29, once again scoring seven straight points to take a 36-34 lead before Penn State senior guard Jalen Pickett was able to respond and knotted it up at 36-36 heading into the half.
Minnesota starting center Eric Curry led the Gophers with 12 points in the half, while Sessoms led the Lions with 10 points.
Curry continued his strong showing in the second half, making several shots from the mid-range and even a 3-pointer after not having made any this season entering the game. He helped the Gophers get a seven-point lead at 60-53 and contributed to Harrar getting in foul trouble, with four, with just under 10 minutes left in the second half.
Curry’s contributions kept the Lions at bay for the next five minutes, but two consecutive makes from Sessoms knotted the score up at 65-65, and a third gave them the lead.
Minnesota went on a 5-0 run to go up 70-67 with time winding down, and Penn State was unable to pull itself all the way back. The Gophers were led by Curry’s 22 points, while Penn State was led by Sessoms’ 18 points.
The Lions are now 9-12 on the season and 4-9 in the Big Ten.
Player of the game
Minnesota center Eric Curry: The Nittany Lions did well against Minnesota’s leading scorer Jamison Battle, but a strong showing from Curry made life difficult for Penn State. Curry made several jumpers in the game, which isn’t a strong suit for him. The game plan to give him those shots didn’t pay off, but it’s difficult to argue with the strategy given Curry’s strength near the rim and his weakness as a shooter. Those shots that normally don’t fall for the Minnesota big man did on Saturday night and gave the Golden Gophers the spark they needed. His 22 points led the team, and he did so in only 28 minutes of game action.
Stat of the game
2: That’s how many points Minnesota averaged per possession on Penn State’s 13 turnovers. Yes, that’s 26 points off 13 turnovers, equating to a made shot off every single Penn State turnover. The Lions were handing the ball over to the Gophers possession after possession Saturday night, and Minnesota continued to make them pay for their mistakes. That type of efficiency off turnovers is uncommon for any team, especially with the volume of them. Penn State’s inability to maintain possession was problematic enough as the team tried to win on the road, but Minnesota’s ability to capitalize on every mistake allowed the Gophers to earn the win over the Nittany Lions.
Quotable
Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry on his team’s defensive performance against Curry:
“He played great and he made those shots that we were willing to give him. The way our defense is set up, you try to give up twos, and you try to give up long twos. ... Eric played great. On the glass, the way he rebounded, those shots that he made, scoring in the post, he did a little bit of everything. Hats off to him. We’ve got a quick turnaround, and we’ve gotta make a decision of how we guard him the next time we play him.”
Up next
vs. Michigan State: The Nittany Lions will head back home for a game Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. They’ll take on the Michigan State Spartans in the first of back-to-back homes games. The Spartans beat Penn State in the middle of December, prior to Penn State’s COVID-19 issues that sidelined the team for a stretch.
Michigan State is the No. 23 team in the KenPom rankings after defeating Indiana at home Saturday. The Spartans are 18-6 this season and 9-4 in Big Ten play, including a 4-2 conference road record.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 11:08 PM.
