Coming off Penn State’s (PSU) third straight 4-0 start, its KenPom positioning has shifted to the top 40.
After wins against Saint Francis Tuesday and Virginia Tech Friday night, PSU is now 33rd in kenpom.com‘s net ratings.
Penn State Did Not Disappoint in Ace Baldwin’s Homecoming | Takeaways
Friday’s 86-64 win over the Hokies was the Nittany Lions’ first Power Conference win of the season. In his homecoming, Ace Baldwin Jr. totaled a 19-point double-double and had three steals. Zach Hicks contributed 19 points while netting a season-high five 3’s.
Hicks (15.5 points/game) and Baldwin (14.3 points/game) lead a quintet of double-figure scorers for Penn State. Baldwin ranks fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game (7.0) and second in steals per game (2.8). Hicks, meanwhile, is one of the league’s most accurate shooters, connecting on 48.3 percent of his threes.
As a team, Penn State leads the Big Ten in pace and steals and is tied for fourth in effective field goal percentage (efficiency rating that accounts for threes being worth more than two).
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.PSU’s defense has been a game-altering so far this season. When adjusting for opponent quality, the Nittany Lions are ranked as having the 25th-best defense in the nation.
And the tape backs up the numbers.
In both of Penn State’s last games, its opponents were slowly worn down after keeping the game within single digits in the first half. The Nittany Lions’ full-court press and aggressive ball screen coverage force teams into compounding mistakes over 40 minutes. So far, PSU’s depth has run teams out of the gym.
Penn State will get a matchup against the top team in the Horizon League, Purdue Fort Wayne, on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center.
