Penn State Basketball Fights Through a 'Ridiculous' January Schedule

Following a four-game losing streak, the Penn State basketball team got a weekend to look itself in the mirror and get back on track. And that’s what the Nittany Lions did Monday by taking down a Rutgers team that boasts a pair of college basketball stars.

Penn State (13-6) continues the Big Ten grind against Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State to finish out January. And with guard Puff Johnson sidelined for the long term, shooting and depth have been, and will continue to be, critical for Mike Rhoades’ team.

Shooting helps snap losing streak

Facing the Scarlet Knights’ duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper has been a daunting challenge for Big Ten teams this season, but the Nittany Lions successfully neutralized one of them Monday. While Bailey missed just two shots en route to a 30-point effort, Harper went 3-for-11 with seven points in an 80-72 Penn State win.

Efficient 3-point shooting was also key for the Nittany Lions, with guard Freddie Dilione V connecting on all four of his shots from deep. After a slow start to the season from beyond the arc, Dilione has turned his shooting ability into an asset.

“He was always a good shooter. He didn't get off to a good start on the year shooting the ball, so his numbers weren't great,” Rhoades said Wednesday. “He’s playing with a clearer mind. He's letting the game come to him instead of him trying to force the game. And I think he's done a really good job of finding his place, his spots on the court.”

Penn State ranks just 11th in the Big Ten in 3-point attempts, making its efficiency more key. As a team, the Nittany Lions are shooting 34.7 percent from 3-point range but went 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) against the Scarlet Knights. Center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who has totaled 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks over his last two games, wants his squad to continue shooting without hesitation.

“What's important is not to lose confidence about a shot. Just keep shooting. The shots [are] gonna fall,” Konan Niederhauser said Wednesday. “Of course, sometimes we’ll have days we're not gonna make the shots we wanted to make. That's why we just got to keep shooting. Because we are a good shooting team.”

Depth becomes crucial in Puff Johnson’s absence

Monday’s win also marked Penn State’s first full game without Johnson, who Rhoades said will be “out for a while.” Dilione started in Johnson’s place, but guard D’Marco Dunn (25 minutes) and forward Kachi Nzeh (seven minutes) are clear candidates to continue seeing increased action as well.

“Puff played a big part of our team and its success. And with him going out, not only do I have to step up, everybody has to step up and make up for the effort and talent that he produced,” Nzeh said Wednesday. “Whether that's learning another position or just being comfortable in different spots.”

One advantage Penn State has this season is offensive depth. In 2023-24, the Nittany Lions had just two players with double-digit scoring averages. So far this season, they have six, which Rhoades finds beneficial so his team doesn’t have to lean on “one guy or two guys every night [getting] you 20.”

However, rebounding could become more of a concern without Johnson, who ranks fourth on the team with 4.4 per game. Rutgers out-rebounded Penn State 34-22, an imbalance that will need improvement.

“We thought early in the game we were rebounding decently, but I thought as the game went on, we gave up way too many. That's number one on the plate,” Rhoades said. “How the other team plays will have a lot to determine [filling Johnson’s minutes], but Nick [Kern Jr.] and Zach [Hicks] did a great job the other day playing that position. If we can rebound like when Puff’s in there, we’re a better defensive rebounding team.”

Preparing for more close games

Last week, Rhoades emphasized that Penn State was “close” in its ability to stack Big Ten wins, but “that doesn’t count when you play college basketball.” Late-game execution was a reason, with Penn State competing at an elite level but coming up short on multiple occasions.

Monday’s win over Rutgers was a step in the right direction. Penn State ended the game on an 11-5 run, although free-throw shooting played a role. The way the Nittany Lions close games out will play a significant part in how their final chunk of the season goes.

“The fun of being in a close game is figuring out how to help your team win and taking pride in that,” Rhoades said. “We've had a lot of close games this year. We won some of them, and there's some ones we're disappointed in that we didn't pull them out. … The rest of the games we play, if we play the right way, we play at a high level, it still might come down to a one-possession game.”

In the midst of what Rhoades called “the craziest schedule” of his coaching career, most of Penn State’s matchups will be back-and-forth contests that are decided in the second half. As the season goes on, the Nittany Lions’ second-year head coach is focused on his players resetting between games.

“The month of January is ridiculous,” Rhoades said. “You want to improve, but you also got to make sure to perform the next game out with fresh bodies and fresh minds. That's number one on my list.”

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Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_ or Instagram @dmadersports.