Meet The Opponent: Penn State Showing Signs Of Late Season Revival

After losing 10 of 11 to sink to the bottom of the Big Ten, Penn State has won its last two games.

Penn State Nittany Lions forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser (14) drives the ball to the basket during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When Penn State lost 77-71 to Indiana at Philadelphia’s Palestra in January, no one knew what that defeat portended for the Nittany Lions.

It was the first of four losses in a row. A home win against Rutgers on Jan. 20 offered a brief respite before Penn State lost seven more in a row.

The constant losing put Penn State in a bad spot as far as making the Big Ten Tournament is concerned, but the Nittany Lions haven’t given up.

An 89-72 victory over Nebraska Wednesday stopped the bleeding. Then a 69-60 win at Minnesota on Saturday provided a bit of wind in Penn State’s sails.

Penn State never stopped scoring, but what changed in their wins was stopping power. The Cornhuskers and Golden Gophers averaged 66 points in Penn State’s victories, seven points lower than Penn State’s defensive scoring average.

Indiana has had trouble with Penn State in recent seasons, and a loss to the Nittany Lions would negate a lot of the good done when the Hoosiers defeated Purdue on Sunday.

Here's a further breakdown of the Nittany Lions.

Key players

• G Ace Baldwin: 13.7 ppg, 7.3 apg.
• F Yanic Konan Niederhauser: 12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg.
• G Nicholas Kern: 11.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg.
• F Zach Hicks: 11.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg.
• G Freddie Dilone: 9.3 ppg.
• G De’Marco Dunn: 7.6 ppg.
• C Kachi Nzeh: 2.9 ppg.

2024-25 Schedule (18-7, 9-5)

• W, 108-66, Binghamton, Nov. 4
• W, 103-54, Maryland-Baltimore County, Nov. 8.
• W, 92-62, Saint Francis (Pa.), Nov. 12.
• W, 86-64, Virginia Tech, Nov. 15 – Baltimore.
• W, 102-89, Purdue Fort Wayne, Nov. 20.
• W, 85-66, Fordham, Nov. 25 – Daytona Beach, Fla.
• L, 75-67, Clemson, Nov. 26 - Daytona Beach, Fla.
• W, 87-64, Buffalo, Dec. 1.
• W, 81-70, Purdue, Dec. 5.
• L, 80-76, at Rutgers, Dec. 10.
• W, 99-51, Coppin State, Dec. 14.
• W, 75-64, Drexel, Dec. 21.
• W, 86-66, Penn, Dec. 29.
• W, 84-80, Northwestern, Jan. 2.
• L, 77-71, Indiana, Jan. 5 - Philadelphia.
• L, 91-52, at Illinois, Jan. 8.
• L, 82-81, Oregon, Jan. 12.
• L, 90-85, at Michigan State, Jan. 15.
• W, 80-72, Rutgers, Jan. 20.
• L, 76-75, at Iowa, Jan. 24.
• L, 76-72, at Michigan, Jan. 27.
• L, 83-64, Ohio State, Jan. 30.
• L, 69-61, Minnesota, Feb. 4.
• L, 78-54, at UCLA, Feb. 8.
• L, 92-67, at USC, Feb. 11.
• L, 75-73, Washington, Feb. 15.
• W, 89-72, Nebraska, Feb. 19.
• W, 69-60, at Minnesota, Feb. 22.

Series history

• Indiana leads 44-17. Indiana defeated Penn State 77-71 on Jan. 5 in the previous meeting at the Palestra in Philadelphia. While Indiana has won the last two meetings, Penn State won the previous four, including an 85-71 victory inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall during the 2023-24 season.

Head coach: Mike Rhoades

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades reacts from the bench during the first half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State defeated Nebraska 89-72. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Mike Rhoades is 31-30 in his second season at Penn State. Rhoades was hired from Virginia Commonwealth, where he was 129-61 in six seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to that, Rhoades was 47-52 in three seasons at Rice, but he was 23-12 in his final season at the academically rigorous Houston private school. Rhoades was also head coach at Division III Randolph-Macon with a 197-76 record from 1999-2009. Overall, Rhoades is 404-219 as a head coach.

Before his head coaching career, Rhoades was an assistant at VCU (2009-14) and Randolph-Macon (1996-99).

Strengths

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) works around Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (2) during the second half at Williams Arena. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

One big strength, especially recently, has been the emergence of 6-foot-10 forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser. In Penn State’s recent wins, Niederhauser has averaged 21.5 points. He’s not a 3-point threat, but he converted 16 of 24 from the field in the victories over Nebraska and Minnesota.

A long-term strength has been point guard Ace Baldwin Jr., one of the best in the Big Ten. In conference games, he’s averaged 12.7 points, 6.1 assists and 2.4 steals. He’s a disruptor on both ends of the floor.

In team statistics, Penn State doesn’t have much that stands out. They go to the line a lot as they rank third in Big Ten games with 21.5 attempts per game. Baldwin alone makes Penn State one of the Big Ten’s best teams in steals, and the Nittany Lions will apply pressure off inbounds passes.

Weaknesses

Penn State has not had much stopping power. The Nittany Lions rank 13th in Big Ten games in scoring defense at 77.8 points per game but 16th in field goal defense at 48.3%.

The Nittany Lions are not a good 3-point shooting team as they’ve made just 32.2% in Big Ten games. Penn State takes a Big Ten-low 54.8 shots per game, so they don’t present as many opportunities to score as some other Big Ten teams.

The loss of forward Puff Johnson, who will miss the rest of the season with a hand injury, really hurt Penn State’s depth.

Season and game outlook

For Indiana, Sunday’s win over Purdue was good for the Hoosiers’ resume, but a home loss to a Penn State team floating near the bottom of the Big Ten would do a lot to unravel the good the Hoosiers did in beating the Boilermakers.

For Penn State, they’re fighting to make the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions are 1 ½ games out of 15th place, the final qualifying spot for the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State has zero margin for error if they’re to make it to the tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in March.

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