Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Penn State Basketball

Penn State Basketball Injury Report: Puff Johnson and Hudson Ward Listed as Out

Puff Johnson, Penn State Basketball, Rutgers Basketball
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA โ€“ FEBRUARY 21: Puff Johnson #4 of the Penn State Nittany Lions takes a foul shot during a college basketball game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Rec Hall on February 21, 2024 in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Penn State fifth-year senior Puff Johnson and freshman Hudson Ward are listed as out ahead of Monday’s game against Rutgers, per the Big Ten Availability Report.

Johnson — who was averaging a career-high 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds — exited the first half of Wednesday’s game against No. 12 Michigan State with a right hand injury. Head coach Mike Rhoades told the media on Friday that Johnson is โ€œstill being evaluated by the doctors, but heโ€™ll definitely be out for a while.โ€

In his absence during the Nittany Lions’ loss to the Spartans, senior guard D’Marco Dunn played extended minutes and scored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Nick Kern Jr. will most likely start in the place of Johnson for the foreseeable future. Kern is averaging a career-high in points (12.4), rebounds (5.0) and assists (2.3). In his two starts this year, the former VCU Ram has averaged 16 points, 6.5 rebounds and three assists.

Ward has appeared in six games so far this season for Penn State, playing a total of 17 minutes. He has been out the last five games.

Penn State will look to end its four-game losing streak against Rutgers on Monday night. The last time these two teams played, it came down to the final moments as the Nittany Lions came back from down 17 to make it a two-point game with under two minutes left.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday. The game will be streaming on Peacock.

Get NSN in your Inbox

Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts by email.

More from Nittany Sports Now

Penn State Basketball

0 The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday that Penn State graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. was named to the 15-person watch list for the...

Penn State Basketball

0 With January in the rearview mirror, Penn State hoped to distance itself from the 2-7 version of this team by defending the Bryce...

Penn State Basketball

0 Dawson Garcia (19 points and 14 rebounds) led three double-digit scorers as Minnesota (12-11, 4-8) used a strong second half to surge past...

Penn State Basketball

0 Penn State junior transfer Yanic Konan Niederhauser was listed as questionable ahead of Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, but he has now been ruled...