Penn State's Nagging Question: What Happened to the Offense?
Jim Ferry wants Penn State to learn from all these stinging losses. And he wants to believe enough time remains to apply those lessons to a postseason run.
But it's getting cold out there for the Lions, who began and ended Tuesday night with a cold at Michigan State. It ended with that shot, an open 3-pointer from long range, that swirled the rim and chose not to fall.
As a result, Penn State fell 60-58 to Michigan State, leaving the Breslin Center knowing it had blown an opportunity to generate further headwind in the race to March.
"It was executed to perfection," Ferry, Penn State's interim head coach, said of Myles Dread's 3-point attempt with 11 seconds remaining. "Couldn't get a better shot. That would have won the game. But it was in and out."
These enervating close calls to which Penn State has been prone this season have sourced endless frustration. Ferry has referenced the overtime loss to Seton Hall, the overtime loss to Indiana and the four-point loss at Ohio State as defining points on his team's upward learning curve.
The coach did so again Tuesday from East Lansing, sitting in front of a black curtain in a nondescript room at the Breslin Center. This was a game Penn State could have, and should have, won. Even though it made one of its first 13 shots from 3-point range and didn't score a point in the game's last 3:16.
The Lions (7-9) outhustled the Spartans, surprisingly outrebounded them (37-36) and clung to another determined performance from John Harrar. The forward had 17 points and 14 rebounds, leading Penn State in scoring for the first time this season and in rebounding for the 13th.
He also contributed to a Michigan State turnover (with Izaiah Brockington) with 24 seconds remaining that set up Dread's potential go-ahead shot.
Ferry said the sequence had multiple options, including Myreon Jones on a lane drive and Brockington on a baseline cut. But when Dread circled a screen from Harrar to find open space, he took the shot. And agonized over the roll.
"Myles has made some big shots for us," Ferry said. "He's crying in the locker room right now. It's not his fault. You can't control that stuff. We got a good shot, and he took it."
The loss dropped Penn State to 0-7 in Big Ten road games this season and dealt a gut-punch to its NCAA tournament resume.
The Lions (7-9) needed this win. They have traded on their strength-of-schedule and NCAA NET ranking for more than a month. But they also have to get to .500 by the Big Ten tournament to substantiate that ranking.
And that means winning road games, particularly against a struggling Michigan State team that entered Tuesday with a 3-7 Big Ten record. Penn State has at least two road games remaining, with a postponed visit to Nebraska has yet to be rescheduled.
Further, that .500 mark gets more difficult to reach with games against four ranked teams (Ohio State, Iowa, Purdue and Michigan) forthcoming. That's why Ferry holds out hope that time remains.
"This is going to help us later in the season, whether it's the Big Ten tournament or late in the year," the coach said. "It's going to help us because we've been in so many close games."
This game didn't have to be so close. Penn State scored in the 50s for the third consecutive outing in part because of another offensively challenged first half. The Lions shot 32.3 percent (1-for-10 from 3-point range) in a meager 24-point half.
The start continued the theme of recent games against Wisconsin and Maryland, in which Penn State's offense idled and its shooters were erratic.
Seth Lundy, who is averaging 11 points per game, went a scoreless 0-4 against Michigan State. Brockington (4 points) was 1-for-8. Dread (8 points) was 3-for-12.
Aside from Harrar and Jones, who were a combined 11 for 20, Penn State shot 24 percent (9 for 38).
"I am a little concerned now, having three games in a row where we haven't gotten to 60," Ferry said. "But again, it's not from a lack of working hard. It's not from a lack of trying. I think we just have to keep instilling confidence in these guys offensively."
Penn State returns home Sunday to face Nebraska. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
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