Here are 3 takeaways from Penn State’s 66-57 win over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament
Penn State took part in the first day of the Big Ten Tournament and came out with a win to advance to the second round. The No. 11 seed Nittany Lions defeated the No. 14 seed Michigan Wolverines, 66-57, Wednesday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
With the win, they’ll move on to take on No. 6 seed Indiana Thursday night. Penn State went 2-0 this year against the Hoosiers during the regular season.
Here are three takeaways from the team’s first round victory.
Hot shooting start leads the way
Penn State went into halftime with an 11-point lead in large part because Zach Hicks was hitting shots from beyond the arc. Hicks made four of his six 3-point attempts in the game’s first 20 minutes to account for 12 of the team’s 33 first-half points. He’s been a crucial part of the offense when the Nittany Lions are rolling this year, in large part because of what his shooting does for his teammates. When Hicks gets going, defenses contort to stay close to him, giving the rest of the Nittany Lions space to operate. That opens up driving lanes for lead guard Ace Baldwin Jr., allowing him to attack the rim and finish or to kick out passes to open teammates.
That was the case Wednesday night, with the Wolverines bending and Penn State taking advantage — and Hicks finishing with 20 points and six made 3-point attempts, while Baldwin added 17 points and six assists.
Pressure cracks Michigan offense
This isn’t all too surprising because of how effective Penn State’s defense has been at times this season, but the team’s ball pressure made life difficult for Michigan Wednesday night. The Wolverines turned the ball over 15 times in the game and all of those extra possessions turned into 17 points off turnovers for Penn State. Baldwin was, once again, the leader of the team’s press and consistently disrupted the timing of Michigan’s ball handlers. He was active on and off the ball, earning three steals to lead the team and help prove why he won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award this season.
While Baldwin was the engine that helped the defense go, the entire team was able to be disruptive enough to earn the win.
A run to the weekend is possible
Penn State has all of the characteristics of a team that can create chaos during a conference tournament. The full court press it employs is unique compared to the rest of the Big Ten, causing stylistic challenges for opponents on short notice. The offense has enough streaky shooters to get hot and earn a victory that the team otherwise wouldn’t. But most importantly it has an ideal path to Saturday. The aforementioned wins over the Hoosiers should give the Nittany Lions confidence heading into Thursday night, and a win there would lead to a matchup with Nebraska on Friday. While Penn State would be an underdog in that game, it would still only be one victory away from making it to the semifinals.
That doesn’t mean that a run is probable, but the team’s chances are higher than you would expect for one that is the No. 11 seed and played on the first day of the tournament.
