Penn State Vs. Indiana: How the Lions Can Score a Rare Win at Assembly Hall
Penn State plays its third consecutive Big Ten road game on Wednesday, a difficult streak born from a postponement and the grueling January schedule. But head coach Micah Shrewsberry is pitching this as an opportunity.
"We have to prepare to go and win," Shrewsberry said of Penn State's visit to Indiana on Wednesday. "If we do it, if we play hard for 40 minutes and focus for 40 minutes, we can do it. We can go there and win on Wednesday, but you have to be better than somebody on the road. You can't just be average. That's what we need to do."
While Penn State is playing its third consecutive road game, Indiana is playing its third straight at home. The quirks of Big Ten scheduling.
Penn State (8-8, 3-5) Vs. Indiana (14-5, 5-4)
- When: 8:30 p.m. EST Wednesday
- Where: Bloomington, Ind.
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Streaming: fuboTV
- Radio: Penn State Sports Network
- Series history: Indiana leads 41-13
- Last meeting: Penn State 61-58 on Jan. 2
About the Lions: Penn State had been surging in January, winning three of four before starting this road swing. Then it lost at Ohio State, had a home game vs. Minnesota postponed and lost at Iowa. Now, the Lions head to Indiana, where they have a 3-22 record. Still, Penn State is looking for its first regular-season sweep of the Hoosiers since 2009 and its first win at Assembly Hall since 2014. Getting its shooting act together, particularly from 3-point range, will be imperative. The Lions average 38.1 percent from 3-point range in their eight wins and 29 percent in their eight losses. Defensively, the Lions have been impressive, holding 10 of their last 13 opponents at least 10 points under their scoring average. Even Iowa, which averaged 83.9 ppg entering the Jan. 22 game, scored just 68. Limiting possessions, outrebounding and timely scoring is how Penn State can beat better rosters.
About the Hoosiers: Indiana is 12-1 at home this season following an 80-62 loss to Michigan on Sunday. But before that, the Hoosiers stunned Purdue behind Rob Phinisee's career outing. Which team will Penn State get? Indiana can be uneven but still has the Big Ten's best scoring defense (63.7 ppg) and ranks second in defensive rebounds. The Hoosiers are comfortable playing low-scoring games, just like Penn State. The Lions will have to figure a way around that.
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