After a nine-game stretch in January that saw the Penn State basketball go 2-7, head coach Mike Rhoades emphasized one theme during his media availability Monday: consistency.
To start the year, the Nittany Lions had gotten off to their best start in five years through 14 games with a 12-2 record. That start to Rhoades’ second season at the helm included the team’s best win against then-No. 8 Purdue. Since then, though, they have gone 1-7 and are currently on a three-game losing streak.
“That game [against Purdue] was the standard,” Rhoades said, “where we really dictated the game. We put our mark, our stamp on the game, without a doubt.
“And, we’ve had moments like that throughout January, but not enough to sustain it to win consistently. And that’s, as a coach and players, that’s the frustrating part … We’ve used some really good basketball throughout the year – even some really good basketball and moments during January – to say this is what we’re capable of. But you got to do it at a consistent level to win in this conference and we’re not.”
In that game against the Boilermakers, Penn State forced Purdue into a season-high 22 turnovers while shooting 48.9% from the field and 38.9% from 3. That performance followed a similar pattern set in the opening 11 games of the season, as PSU was shooting 51.6% overall, connecting on 37.5% of its 3s, and forcing 16.9 turnovers per game. In the subsequent half of the season, however, those numbers have dropped to 45.6% field-goal shooting, 30.9% 3-point efficiency, and 11.6 takeaways. Even halving the past 11 games demonstrates a microcosm of the larger inconsistencies:
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.- Dec. 21-Jan. 8: 42.5% field goal, 20% 3-point
- Jan. 12-Jan. 30: 48.5% field goal, 37.9% 3-point
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When asked what gives him confidence his team can close out the season strong, Rhoades said, “I think we’ve shown signs even in January where we had some tough stretches … Even when we weren’t playing great, the fight we had and our style of play gave us opportunities to stay connected to the game and have a chance to win it.
“That part, we all see that … We were playing very efficiently early on and even the Purdue game is an example and all that and then we hit January. All seasons are up and down … We’re just not sustaining it to a level where you’re winning Big Ten games at a consistent level, and that’s what really hurt us in January.”
Finding some level of consistent play on both sides of the ball will be key for the Nittany Lions to close out Big Ten play strong and have a chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament. If the pendulum continues to swing in such drastic ways, though, Penn State’s postseason dreams could evade them.
