Entering Thursday’s game against Northwestern, Penn State basketball star Ace Baldwin Jr. needed 10 points and two steals to join the 1,500 points/700 assists/300 steals club.
Baldwin registering a steal is, in the words of Charles Barkley, “GUARANTEED!”, as the fifth-year senior nabbed his second of the game with 1:06 left in the first half.
The points, on the other hand, would have eluded him another game had he not been the free-throw lines’ most frequent visitor, going 15-for-16 in the four-point win over Northwestern. Baldwin finished the game with one made field goal for 17 points, seven assists and five steals. One of nine players everย in Division I to reach 1,500 points, 700 assists and 300 steals, Baldwin continues to build his Player of the Year resume right before our eyes.
THE PLAYER OF THE YEAR CASE FOR ACE BALDWIN
Ace Baldwin Jr. set a new program record with 16 assists on Sunday against Coppin State. (AP Photo/Gary M. Baranec)
In October, Baldwin was named to the Naismith Player of the Year Watchlist.
Ace Baldwin Jr. Lands on Watchlist for Naismith Player of the Year
His blistering start to the season — 47 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from 3 — made it seem likely that he would be one of the top candidates for the award. But over the last eight games, heโs struggled, going 34 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point territory.
Yet, Penn State basketball is 12-2 overall, its best start through 14 games since the 2019-20 season, and one would be hard-pressed to find a Penn State player with more of a hand in the team’s success than Baldwin.
He may not be producing points but heโs been one of the nation’s best at creating opportunities for others.
He ranks second in the Big Ten in total assists (119) and averaged assists (8.5), and Thursday, he had arguably the play of the game, finding Nick Kern Jr. on an alley-oop to give PSU a late four-point lead.
Nick Kern SLAMS it down for @PennStateMBB โผ๏ธ๐จ#B1GMBBall on Peacock ๐ป pic.twitter.com/vjDCRu6SZ6
โ Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 3, 2025
In addition to his elite playmaking, Baldwin is one of the most disruptive defenders in college basketball. He tallied five steals against Northwestern, with three of them coming in the second half.
Compared to the other 50 candidates for Player of the Year (not including Thursday’s games), Baldwin is:
- tied for 2nd in total assists (112)
- tied for 2nd in assists per game (8.6)
- 3rd in free throw percentage (.945)
- tied for 4th in total steals (27)
- tied for 6th in steals per game (2.1)
- 14th in win shares (2.3, an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player due to their offense and defense)
Stats courtesy of Sports Reference
Baldwin’s game isn’t sexy or trendy but itโs effective and leads to winning results. Even if his counting numbers can get glossed over, his stats make Penn State 5.6 points better per 100 when he is on the floor.
As coach Mike Rhoades has said, it’s about the name on the front of the jersey, and Baldwin has been the poster child of this philosophy.
MILES GOODMAN DEBUTS
Miles Goodman played almost 10 minutes in his college debut against Northwestern. Photo via Instagram @_moneymiles_
It was starting to look inevitable that Miles Goodmanโ the highly touted freshman from the class of 2024โ would redshirt this year after missing the first 13 games of the season.
But Rhoades was adamant that Goodman would play soon.
“Miles is playing,” Rhoades said in early December, and had it not been for a stomach bug, Goodman could’ve been on the floor against Penn Sunday.
But Penn State basketball wasn’t so lucky, until it was.
Before Thursday’s game, Kachi Nzeh was listed as out, dramatically thinning Penn State’s frontcourt depth. It was reported that Goodman was still questionable, but from what Rhoades had said after Sunday’s win, it seemed likely that the former four-star recruit would make his debut.
And at the 15:55 mark, Goodman checked in for his first collegiate minutes, and although he didn’t score or grab many rebounds, his activity was promising for a building block of this program.
He was lively in ball screen coverages, upholding the integrity of Rhoades’ aggressive pick-and-roll defense. His fluidity and quickness were like a wing, with no pause or sluggishness when flipping his hips to retreat to the roll man.
While Rhoades had said this level of energy and motor were to be expected, it was arguably undersold.
Though Goodman is similar in height to starting big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser, it was obvious that the former’s rolls after setting a screen were much faster and deliberate, even causing Baldwin to miss him at the basket.
All Rhoades wants from his star freshman is to “impact winning” because “thatโs what freshmen could do more than anything, is impact winning.” And so far, Miles Goodman seems to have the intangibles to do just that.
AN UNDEFEATED HOME RECORD, COURTESY OF THE FOUL SHOT
Mike Rhoades on the sideline during Penn State’s 75-64 win over Drexel. Photo via Penn State Athletics
Heading into Thursday’s game, Northwestern’s season high for opponent free throw attempts was 33.
Penn State basketball nearly had that in the second half alone, shooting 23-of-28 and in totality, 36-for-45.
While some were frustrated with the officiating, Northwestern didn’t help itself by applying ball pressure 40 feet from the basket while PSU was in the double bonus.
“I said this yesterday to the team, I said, I really think we can get to the foul line a lot today,” Rhoades said postgame.
“I didn’t know we’d get to the foul line 45 times, but I thought we could just because we’re quicker, I think we can get some edges on them … I thought in the second half we got the pace going a little bit more and we got fouled a lot away from the basket because we got some edges.”
Rhoades had a clear game plan, and it followed a similar pattern to the rest of this season. Penn State is one of the best teams in the country at getting to the foul line, ranking in the 78th percentile in free throw attempts per game.ย In that second half, PSU had 12 more free throws than it did field goals.
While a disparity this chasmic isn’t going to be frequent, it displays Penn State’s ability to find ways to win. On Thursday, it was charity that guided the Nittany Lions to their 12th straight home win, dating back to last year.
