On Monday’s update to the Associated Press Poll, Penn State didn’t receive any votes.
The Nittany Lions’ fallout in voting follows a 1-1 week in Big Ten play, with a recent loss to Indiana at the Palestra on Sunday.
Penn State Basketball Takeaways: Sputtering Nittany Lions Seem to be Consistently Inconsistent
In Sunday’s loss, Penn State’s struggles from 3 continued, as it went 3-for-21 (14.3 percent) from deep. PSU trailed by as many as 16 in the second half but pulled to within two after Nick Kern Jr.’s 15-point half and a late Zach Hicks 3. Kern led the Nittany Lions with 21 total points, followed by Ace Baldwin Jr.’s 12 and Freddie Dilione V’s 11.
Over the last four games, Penn State has been shooting 14-for-68 from 3, something that will need to perk up as Big Ten play continues.
Great stat here from @returntorec
Here are PSU’s volume 3-point shooters (on the season) during that same stretch:
– Zach Hicks: 5/19 (26.3%)
– Ace Baldwin Jr.: 2/18 (11.1%)
– Freddie Dilione V: 2/9 (22.2%)
– Puff Johnson: 2/9 (22.2%)
– D’Marco Dunn: 1/8 (12.5%) https://t.co/AQvver9tLp— Brennan Valladares (@Valladares7B) January 6, 2025
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The Nittany Lions are now 2-2 in conference play and will head into a three-game stretch against top-25 opponents. In such a competitive league, head coach Mike Rhoades knows that his team will not only have to shoot better but also play with more urgency.
“We didn’t trust enough of what we do and how we do it with enough urgency,” Rhoades said postgame on Sunday.
“When you’re ready to get blown out, it’s amazing how the urgency meter gets turned up … Thought in the first 26 minutes, 30 minutes of the game, we were very, not going to say lackadaisical — I think our guys play hard, we play with decent pace — but just not the pop we’ve had most of the year. And when you play good teams and teams in the Big Ten, and you don’t have that urgency, that’s what happens. Then you’re playing from behind.”
Following the loss, Penn State is now 39th in the KenPom rankings and 48th (10 spots lower) in the NCAA’s NET Rankings. In Quad 1 games, PSU is 1-1 (Purdue win and Clemson loss) and 1-2 in Quad 2 games (win against Northwestern, losses against Rutgers and Indiana).
The Nittany Lions will travel to Champaign, Illinois to take on the No. 13 Fighting Illini on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.
