After 8th Big Ten Loss, Penn State's Mike Rhoades Defends Program's Direction

"It might kill me, but I'm going to figure it out," Rhoades said after the Nittany Lions fell to Wisconsin at Rec Hall.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades communicates with his players from the bench during the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Rec Hall. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | At the halftime buzzer, boos poured down from the Rec Hall crowd. Penn State men’s basketball trailed Wisconsin by 28 points, and the Badgers were on cruise control. Wisconsin went on a 38-9 run in the last 10 minutes of the first half after Penn State momentarily had a 14-13 advantage. 

Penn State has played in Rec Hall for three straight seasons but won only once — that was in coach Mike Rhoades’ first year as the head coach, when fans stormed the court against No. 12 Illinois. Last season the Nittany Lions lost by 19 to Ohio State, and on Thursday night they fell 98-71 to Wisconsin.   

“I appreciate the administration and our physical plan for getting everything ready for us to play in Rec Hall, and it’s a great game,” Rhoades said. “We just didn’t live up to our end of it.” 

Penn State has a young team but at this point in the season, especially when playing against unranked opponents, better results were anticipated. It’s not just that the Nittany Lions are losing; it’s how they’re losing. 

This loss to Wisconsin was the team’s second straight loss by at least 20 points. Penn State has lost six straight games and is 0-8 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions (9-10) are under. 500 for the first time this season. 

Penn State has played more than half its schedule and has just 12 regular-season games remaining. The start of Penn State’s Big Ten schedule was undoubtedly tough, with games against four ranked teams in its first five matchups, but there hasn’t been much improvement. 

Emotions running high

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades communicates with his players from the bench during the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Rec Hall. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Rhoades has denied feeling dejected after past losses this season, but his tone Thursday night suggested otherwise. He used similar cliches to get through questions that James Franklin did before he was fired as Penn State’s football coach in October. 

Rhoades said “I get it” and “It’s on me” five times during his 11-minute press conference, and the frustration felt palpable. The coach bristled when asked whether he still believes that building a successful basketball program is possible after unsuccessful Big Ten stretches.

“I’ll be up all night trying to figure it out and go right back at it, and we have to change some things,” Rhoades said. “... I’ve been at some other places too, and you have some tough years and you got to learn from everything. … Building a program is really hard, but I signed up for it, man, and I believe in me. I believe in how we do things. Some of you guys may not, I don’t really care. I’ve never really cared before, but I’ll figure it out. It might kill me, but I’m going to figure it out.”

Is there any explanation?

Penn State Nittany Lions forward Ivan Juric (3) holds the ball as Wisconsin Badgers guard Zach Kinziger (4) and forward Will Garlock (23) defend during the second half at Rec Hall. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Against ranked opponents, the games felt closer, and Penn State had fighting chances late in the second half. Losses to Michigan and Purdue came down to the final minutes. So what is going wrong in some of these bigger losses?

The Nittany Lions are seemingly at full strength with Kayden Mingo returning in Sunday’s loss to Maryland, and Freddie Dilione V (17 points) didn’t miss time other than the second half of last week’s game against UCLA after spraining his ankle. 

But defensively, Penn State is inconsistent. Wisconsin didn’t have just one shooter carrying the offensive weight. Every Badger got involved, with five scoring in double figures. The Nittany Lions allowed 35 3-pointer attempts, 21 of which came in the first half. Wisconsin (14-5) shot 43 percent from 3-point range.

“We really get behind on defense. It’s frustrating," Rhoades said regarding the number of shots Wisconsin attempted from beyond the arc. “My [past] teams have done [limited threes], and we’re not doing that and we’re getting really behind. And when you get behind, you’re giving good shooters shots, they get going, then they start attacking you, but then you’re also out of position to rebound.”

Meanwhile, Penn State shot 36 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. It couldn’t counter any of Wisconsin’s scoring runs, which made a comeback insurmountable. 

But this isn’t a new reason for why Penn State is losing. Rhoades has cited inconsistent defensive efforts throughout this six-game losing streak. The fix just hasn’t come yet.

“We’re not good enough, I get it, it’s on me, but I’m not a quitter,” Rhoades said. “I hope our fans and our students support these kids, because they’re good kids and they’re working really hard. But you gotta win and gotta put a good product out there to get rolling.”

Up next

Penn State goes on the road next for a two-game road trip at Ohio State on Monday and Northwestern on Thursday.

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