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Penn State Basketball Takeaways: What Four Straight Losses Can Show a Team

Penn State Basketball, Freddie Dilione V, Nick Kern Jr., Zach Hicks, Purdue Basketball
From left to right: Zach Hicks, Nick Kern Jr., Freddie Dilione V. (Penn State Athletics)

Penn State entered Monday night on a four-game losing streak. While it is almost customary for every Big Ten team to hit a stretch of games where the odds seem stacked against it, not every team recovers after getting its head kicked in.

“Fight like crazy,” said Mike Rhoades after he was asked what his message was to his team after it ended its four-game skid against Rutgers on Monday.

“Some days you’re going to lose a really tough one and it hurts. And one day you’re going to get your head kicked in and the other day you’re going to find a way to win. It’s just how it goes … I hate losing … We all know that. When it happens multiple times in a row, it crushes you. But I got a lot of fight and I got to show these guys that fight and there’s no excuses. So, you know, I always tell our guys like this is where you learn what type of true character you have, what you’re all about with your culture of your program, that when you get the heck kicked out of you a little bit, what are you about?”

On Monday, Penn State found out that they have a lot of fight left with 12 games of Big Ten play remaining.

โ€œToday taught us that we have it (fight) in us. Doesnโ€™t have to be pretty. We have it in us. We have good enough players โ€ฆ 40-minute game, find a way. We found a way today. Letโ€™s see if we can do that again.โ€

Part of the way for the Nittany Lions to win on Monday was their long-range shooting

PENN STATE BASKETBALL IS DOWNTOWN GROOVING

Freddie Dilione V, Penn State Basketball, Rutgers Basketball

Freddie Dilione V tied a career high with four made 3s in Penn State’s 80-72 win over Rutgers. (Sam Balkansky | Onward State)

After five games of woeful miscues from 3-point territory, Penn State seemingly rediscovered its efficiency from beyond the arc.

Against Oregon and Michigan State โ€“ two games the Nittany Lions lost by a combined six points โ€“ PSUโ€™s 3-point shooting started to perk up, culminating in a near 50% effort against Rutgers on Monday. Over the last three games, Penn State is converting at a 42% clip on 21 3s a game.

In Mondayโ€™s game, Freddie Dilione V already had three 3s by the 11:14 mark. After trailing 9-2 early in the game, PSU took a 37-35 lead into halftime making 7 of 12 from 3. Then, early in the second half, Rutgers used a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead. What happened next? Dilione hit a step-back 3 with the shot clock winding down to make it a one-point game.

Overall, Penn State shot 10-for-21 from beyond the arc (47.6%), its best mark this season. Dilione had his third game of four made 3s, and while his consistency has wavered all season, his performance showed that when the Nittany Lions are creating good looks and knocking them down, they can compete with anyone on any given night.

80 MINUTES IN TWO GAMES

Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State Basketball, Rutgers Basketball, Game Recap

Ace Baldwin Jr. scored a team-high 22 points in Penn State’s 80-72 win over Rutgers. (Penn State Athletics)

Ace Baldwin Jr. made his return to the hardwood after a one-game absence against Michigan State on Wednesday. In a five-point loss to the Spartans, Baldwin played all 40 minutes, tallying 20 points and nine assists. On Monday, in a game Penn State desperately needed to get back on track in the Big Ten, Baldwin once again didnโ€™t leave the court. He scored a team-high 22 points and had eight assists and five steals.

The fifth-year senior missed his first game of the season because of back spasms, but in the two games heโ€™s been back, heโ€™s played all 80 minutes.

“He’s a warrior,” Rhoades said Friday.

“I’ve never coached anyone that deals with injuries or has the pain tolerance of him, and I’ve been around him now for five years. He can play when others would never even give it a try. He can push through some things where other guys couldn’t, and I’ve had a lot of really tough players. He wants to be out there with his teammates.โ€

Baldwin embodies the warriorโ€™s mentality and, akin to Rhoades, he is showing that he has the fight and the will to compete every minute. And Penn State is going to need every last bit Baldwin has if it wants to actualize its tournament hopes.

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