Penn State Blows 23-Point Lead in Big Ten Loss to Minnesota
Penn State has lost some big leads this season, but none like Saturday's at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions led by 23 points with 5 minutes remaining in the first half, then watched the Gophers reel them back in for a 75-70 Big Ten victory. The loss curdled what could have been a compelling finish to the regular season, and Penn State coach Mike Rhoades assessed it bluntly.
"Credit to Minnesota. We got that lead and all that stuff, but they didn't falter," Rhoades told reporters after the game in Minneapolis. "We just had a second-half meltdown."
Penn State took a 41-18 lead with 5:04 left in the first half on a Qudus Wahab hook shot but withered thereafter. The Gophers closed the first half with a 12-1 run, then wore down the Nittany Lions in the second half. Minnesota claimed the lead 4:41 remaining, gave it back with 3 minutes left and then capitalized on three Penn State turnovers in the final 2 minutes. The Lions, who rank second in the Big Ten in turnover margin, lost 10 of their 17 turnovers in the second half. Minnesota scored 20 of its 26 points off Penn State turnovers in the second half.
"I know how bad we want to win," Rhoades said. "I know how bad these guys want to do it. They have freedom to go make plays, but with freedom comes great responsibility. And that responsibility is not to turn the ball over."
Penn State (14-16, 8-11 Big Ten) shot a remarkable 69.2 percent from 3-point range in the first half, making its first six attempts and nine of 13 for the half. Puff Johnson (season-high 19 points) went 4-for-4 in the first half, and Ace Baldwin Jr. was 2-for-2.
But Rhoades said that gave the Lions a "false sense of security." In the second half, Rhoades grew frustrated as the Lions couldn't get their offense in rhythm. Penn State shot 20 percent from 3-point range in the second half and 37.9 percent from the field overall. He called the second-half offense "just really stagnant."
"We just stood around the whole second half, and that made it really hard," Rhoades said. "... What didn't go well in the second half, I thought we had no pace at all: had no pace getting the ball inbound, had no pace getting it up the court, had no pace getting into our offense."
Penn State also got into foul trouble, getting called for 23 to Minnesota's 15. The Gophers went 24-for-27 from the foul line. Penn State was 9-for-11.
The Nittany Lions get a week off before concluding the Big Ten regular season at home against Maryland on Sunday. After that, Penn State returns to Minneapolis for the Big Ten tournament.
"The one thing is, everybody thought they'd be kicking us up and down the street this year with this new staff, new team and all that. That's not the case," Rhoades said. "We've got to play better down the stretch here for whatever we've got left, but I know people don't want to play us, either."
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