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A Lack of Consistency Could Cost Penn State Basketball Its Postseason Goals

โ€œSweat With Usโ€ has become the rallying cry of Penn State menโ€™s basketball
After a 12-2 start to the season, Penn State has gone 1-7. (Penn State Athletics)

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 Rhoadesโ€™ second season at the helm included the teamโ€™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.

โ€œThat game [against Purdue] was the standard,โ€ Rhoades said, โ€œwhere we really dictated the game. We put our mark, our stamp on the game, without a doubt.

โ€œAnd, 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 โ€ฆ We’ve used some really good basketball throughout the year โ€“ even some really good basketball and moments during January โ€“ 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.โ€

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:

  • Dec. 21-Jan. 8: 42.5% field goal, 20% 3-point
  • Jan. 12-Jan. 30: 48.5% field goal, 37.9% 3-point
    Sports Reference

When asked what gives him confidence his team can close out the season strong, Rhoades said, โ€œI think we’ve shown signs even in January where we had some tough stretches โ€ฆ 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.

โ€œThat part, we all see that โ€ฆ 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 โ€ฆ Weโ€™re just not sustaining it to a level where youโ€™re winning Big Ten games at a consistent level, and thatโ€™s what really hurt us in January.โ€

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 Stateโ€™s postseason dreams could evade them.

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