Mike Rhoades revealed a new term to Penn State basketball fans before the Nittany Lions dismantled Purdue in December: “spurt-ability”.
“We used to use the term spurt-ability,” Rhoades said.
“We have some spurt-ability where you know, we can go score 20 points, 20-25 points in a quick period of time because we have guys that can make shots. And you know, we also can draw fouls.”
This season, PSU has shown it can string together stops and score in bunches, living up to its “spurt-able” reputation. But while the defense has been stalwart, the offense has been too reliant on these spurts of production, leading to holes too deep to dig out of.
Sunday’s loss to Indiana was just another example of a team struggling to find an offensive rhythm, with too few buckets sprinkled in between long droughts with no points. Like a car sputtering on its way to get fired up, Penn State had too many stop-and-go’s against the Hoosiers.
PENN STATE MADE A LIVING IN THE PAINT, UNTIL IT WASN’T ENOUGH
Nick Kern Jr. attacks the basket against Indiana at the Palestra. Photo via Penn State Athletics.
In the first half against Indiana, Penn State scored 26 of its 29 points in the paint. For the game, 52 of PSU’s 71 points came within that area, a 72 percent share.
PSU was having success at attacking the basket with Oumar Ballo’s frontcourt mate Malik Reneau out with a knee injury. By the 9:53 mark of the first half, Penn State was 0-for-3 from downtown but was 11-15 in the paint as the Nittany Lions grabbed an early 22-18 lead.
Then, the water was shut off.
Over the final 9:06, Penn State hit a cold streak, going 2-for-11. This problem was only exacerbated once Ace Baldwin Jr. went to the bench in foul trouble with 7:24 left.
Just when it couldn’t possibly get worse, it did, as Penn State wouldn’t make a field goal from the 6:29 mark in the first until almost three and a half minutes into the second (nearly ten minutes of no made shots!).
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.By the time Indiana had grabbed its 16-point lead, the Hoosiers were outscoring the Nittany Lions 32-16 in the second, with the latter shooting 7-for-18 over that stretch.
But, thankfully (sense the sarcasm?) Penn State had one more spurt in the form of Nick Kern Jr.
NICK KERN JR. ALMOST GOT IT DONE
With 5:50 left in regulation, Kern caught the ball on the right wing off a kick out from Zach Hicks. Kern squared up with no hesitation, drilling the shot to make it a four-point game.
BOOK IT!! Nick Kern Jr. for THREE 🔥@PennStateMBB pic.twitter.com/39VCbqdVTW
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 5, 2025
That shot— Kern’s second 3 this season— was part of a 16-4 run for Penn State and Kern’s 12th point of the second half. He would score 15 total in the second and 21 for the game.
During that run, the senior from St. Louis, Missouri scored half of PSU’s points, proving Rhoades’ point that he has “guys that can make shots.”
But even with Kern’s late-game heroics, the damage was already done. Penn State never gained the lead after its 27-26 advantage in the first half. Too many empty possessions and not enough stops buried the Nittany Lions even before the final buzzer.
So, yes, Mike Rhoades’ team has some spurt-ability.
But while it surely isn’t by design, this team seems to be relying on those moments to pull it from the depths it dared to explore. In an unrelenting Big Ten, Penn State will have to figure out ways to be more consistent on offense if it hopes to make it out on the other end and into the NCAA Tournament.
