After a 39-point loss on the road to No. 13 Illinois, Penn State is predicted to miss the NCAA Tournament, per Joe Lunardi.
On Tuesday, PSU was on the Bubble but was listed as one of the last four in, but after consecutive losses in Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions have fallen out of favor with ESPN’s resident “Bracketologist.”
Penn State Basketball Takeaways: Nittany Lions Fall in Rankings as Shooting Struggles Persist
Penn State is now 2-3 in the Big Ten and amid a tough three-game stretch. On Sunday, the Nittany Lions will face the No. 15 Oregon Ducks at the Bryce Jordan Center, where PSU hasn’t lost since Feb. 14, 2024 (9-1 home record this season is accounting for loss at the Palestra).
Oregon — currently 19th in NET — will be Penn State’s fourth Quad 1 opponent this season. In those matchups, Penn State is 1-2, with its lone win coming against No. 20 Purdue. However, the availability of key starters Ace Baldwin Jr. and Puff Johnson is unknown, which could make things more difficult on Sunday for PSU.
Johnson did not travel with the team to Champaign, Illinois on Wednesday. Baldwin, meanwhile, exited Wednesday’s game at the 4:42 mark with a back injury.
When asked on Thursday if he expected to have Johnson and Baldwin in the starting lineup on Sunday, Rhoades said, “I don’t know that.
When I’m done here, I’m going to meet with our trainer and our doc. One’s being evaluated as we’re speaking here, so, I do not know that. Their health and wellness is number one, so, when I know something, you guys will know it.”
The SEC (13) and the Big Ten (11) remain the top two projected tournament-bid earners come March. Here are the updated seedings for the Big Ten:
- 3rd seed Illinois
- 3rd seed Oregon
- 4th seed Michigan
- 4th seed Michigan State
- 5th seed Purdue
- 6th seed UCLA
- 6th seed Wisconsin
- 8th seed Nebraska
- 9th seed Maryland
- 10th seed Ohio State
- 11th seed Indiana (last four in)
