Penn State's Offense Falls Flat in Loss at Nebraska
Penn State men's basketball delivered its weakest offensive performance of the season without its leading scorer, falling at Nebraska 68-49 in a Big Ten game Saturday in Lincoln. The Nittany Lions have lost three straight to negate a three-game February win streak and have five games remaining in the regular season.
Penn State (12-14, 6-9 Big Ten) played without Kanye Clary, who leads the team with 16.7 points per game. Clary did not make the trip, coach Mike Rhoades told reporters after the game in Lincoln, adding, "we'll go from there." Clary missed two games earlier this month with an injury and came off the bench for the Nittany Lions over the past three. He had been averaging above 18 points per game but scored a total of 16 off the bench in Penn State's last three games.
The 49 points represented by far a season low for a team that had averaged 75.8 points per game this season. Prior to Saturday, Penn State's lowest offensive output was 61 points (twice). Penn State shot 33.3 percent against Nebraska, its second-lowest percentage of the season, and a season-low 50 percent from the foul line (8-for-16). The Lions also shot below 25 percent from 3-point range (5-for-23) for the fifth time this season. Penn State had shot above 50-percent from 3-point range in three of its last four games.
"We just didn't have enough juice to get rolling today, and they had a lot to do with it," Rhoades told reporters in Lincoln. "... Our margin of error is small, and today we didn't do enough."
Penn State began the game well defensively, holding the Cornhuskers to 28 first-half points. But the team still trailed by six after shooting 30.8 percent in the first half. Guard Ace Baldwin Jr. had a frustratingly scoreless first half on 0-for-5 shooting. Nebraska took control of the game with a 10-2 to open the second half. Penn State, which trailed by as many as 22 in the second half, cut the deficit to 12 with about 6 minutes remaining. Nebraska closed the game with a 13-6 run.
Zach Hicks led Penn State with 13 points but had a rough game from 3-point range (1-for-7). Baldwin scored 10 points and shot 4-for-11. Keise Tominaga led Nebraska with 17 points.
"We got some really good-looking shots, and you've got to make them on the road," Rhoades said after the game.
Up next
Penn State hosts No. 14 Illinois on Tuesday at Rec Hall, where it will play for the first time since 2015. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
