STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — 11 points on the final scoreboard doesn’t seem like a blowout victory for Penn State basketball.
Well, that’s because it isn’t when you stay above the surface.
In the case of Penn State’s 11-point win over No. 8 Purdue though, a little digging uncovers the truth about the wire-to-wire dominance by the Penn State.
“A win like that is a statement win,” Freddie Dilione V, who had 14 points, said postgame.
“I just think that it’s going to put everybody on notice. We’re not a ‘walkover’ team, you know. We’re always going to be the underdogs, and that’s our mentality. You just got to come in every game and just punch everyone in the mouth.”
Punch might be an understatement of how Penn State manhandled Purdue.
The scoreboard read “67-40” with 9:49 left. That’s a disparity that gets lost by the final box score, which ignores the fact that Penn State’s best player, Ace Baldwin Jr. sat from 11:03-5:06 in the second half after receiving a technical foul.
Ace Baldwin DRAINS the 3 🥶 👌 then gets called for the technical pic.twitter.com/rwo99brrSr
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 6, 2024
Penn State led for more than 32 minutes and forced Purdue into a season-high 24 turnovers, which led to 32 points. While Purdue finished with positive efficiency, it was at one point shooting 12-for-30 (40%).
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.But even with a “statement” win like Thursday night’s, coach Mike Rhoades knows that these wins are hard to come by in the Big Ten.
“(I’m) proud of our guys,” Rhoades said postgame.
“But it doesn’t matter if it was a win or a loss. Our job tomorrow as a staff, as a program… (is to) get better in all facets of what we do… A win is a win. They’re hard to get in college, in this league. (This win) gives our guys confidence that our style of play can beat the best teams in the league, but it doesn’t guarantee you the next game.”
Penn State basketball will appreciate this monumental moment, but when the sun is up tomorrow, the only goal is to get better.
Watch the full post-game press conferences below:
