In Monday’s Associated Press Poll, Penn State received eight points following a 1-1 week.
The Nittany Lions’ second loss of the season came against Rutgers. The game was shaping up to be a blowout victory for the Scarlet Knights until a late second-half rally by PSU made it competitive.
This decline in vote total follows last week’s poll that ranked Penn State as a top-30 team in the country.
PSU is now 0-1 in Quad 1 play and 1-1 in Quad 2 play, as its win against Purdue (NET 34) is now a Quad 2 victory.
In the Nittany Lions’ most recent win, Ace Baldwin Jr. reached 700 career assists and broke the single-game program record with 16 assists. Baldwin’s playmaking, along with the team’s record-setting 31 assists, helped Penn State extend its home winning streak to 10 since last February.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Overall, Penn State is 9-2 (1-1) on the year, its best start through 11 games in five years. Despite the loss of votes in the Week 7 AP update, Penn State is still a top-30 team in the NCAA’s NET Rankings and is 32nd in the KenPom standings.
In comparison to the rest of the nation, PSU is:
- third in scoring: 89.6
- sixth in scoring margin: 22.2
- seventh in steals per game: 10.5
- eighth in turnovers forced per game: 17.64
- eighth in effective field goal percentage: 58.7
- ninth in assists per game: 19.3
Mike Rhoades’ squad has built its identity on the defensive side of the ball and playing an egalitarian style of offense. Although Baldwin is the leader on both sides of the court, PSU is the only team in the country with five players averaging at least 10 points and one steal, per Stathead.
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Penn State will wrap up its nonconference schedule by the end of December. The Nittany Lions will start the new year with consecutive Big Ten home games against Northwestern and Indiana.
