Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions End Losing Streak With Rout of Nebraska

Penn State rolled to a 23-point halftime lead over the Cornhuskers en route to its first Big Ten win of February.

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

Penn State basketball needed a get-right performance after losing seven straight games and delivered one Wednesday against Nebraska. The Nittany Lions jumped on Nebraska quickly, scoring 12 of the game's first 14 points in an 89-72 win that marked just their third win of the calendar year. Penn State had lost 11 of 12 games since a Jan. 2 win over Northwestern and fell to last place in the Big Ten. But with Wednesday's victory, Penn State (14-13) raised some hope to make the Big Ten Tournament.

The Nittany Lions (4-12 Big Ten) shot 61 percent from the field, 93 percent from the foul line and had six players score in double digits. Penn State's 89 points represented its highest scoring output in Big Ten play and came against a team that was allowing 71.3 per game. Penn State had not scored more than 75 points during its seven-game losing streak.

Even voodoo didn't work against the Nittany Lions. Penn State led Nebraska by 23 points at halftime three days after the Cornhuskers rallied from a 20-point, second-half deficit to beat Northwestern. But the Cornhuskers never got closer than 16 in the second half.

Penn State's Yanic Konan Niederhauser played one of his better offensive games of the Big Ten season, scoring 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The Nittany Lions ran their offense largely through Niederhauser, who helped the team score a remarkable 52 points in the paint. Zach Hicks added 19 largely from the wing, making a team-high five 3-pointers, to complement Niederhauser's interior presence. D'Marco Dunn scored 17 points, making seven of nine shots, Freddie Dilione V added 12 and point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. contributed 10. Baldwin also made eight assists and six of Penn State's 11 steals.

Penn State jumped on Nebraska quickly, going on a 12-0 run to take a 14-2 lead just over 5 minutes into the game. The Nittany Lions played a superb first half, scoring 50 points, shooting 66.7 percent from the field and making 10 of their first 14 shots. Penn State led by as many as 23 in the first half, limiting Nebraska to shoot 36 percent from the field, forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Cornhuskers to .75 points per possession. Penn State had 1.5 points per possession in the first half.

The Nittany Lions certainly needed the win, if only for its mental state. Since beating then-No. 8 Purdue 81-70 at Rec Hall on Dec. 8, Penn State had won just two Big Ten games, losing others in frustrating ways. In eight of its last 13 losses, Penn State was within four points with 2 minutes remaining. The Nittany Lions entered Wednesday's game with seven Big Ten losses of six points or less, tied with Northwestern for the most among major conference teams.

"There's been some growth from some guys, but it’s really hard to hang your hat on that stuff when you’re not getting the results you want," Rhoades said before the game. "... We've got to find a way to hang in there when we have some lulls in the games to put ourselves in a position to stay connected and find a way to win."

Up Next

Penn State begins a two-game road trip Saturday at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions visit Indiana on Feb. 26.