Penn State Vs. Indiana Basketball Preview: A Lions Win Streak?
Mike Rhoades and his Penn State men's basketball accomplished a feat of sorts at Rutgers on Wednesday: recording the first true road win of Rhoades’ Penn State career. Now, can they make it two road wins? The Nittany Lions travel to Bloomington to face a significantly tougher Indiana team Saturday.
Should Penn State win, it would be the first two-game win streak since facing Le Moyne and Rider in late December. And this would be a rare road win. Penn State hasn't won in Bloomington since February 2014. Rhoades will try to buck the road woes without leading scorer Kanye Clary, who is out for the second straight game after getting injured against Minnesota. The Penn State-Indiana preview:
Penn State (10-11, 4-6 Big Ten) vs. Indiana (13-8, 5-5)
When: Noon ET Saturday
Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: FOX Sports 1
Streaming: FuboTV (start your free trial)
Last meeting: Penn State 77-73 in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament
Series history: Indiana leads 42-15
KenPom rankings: Penn State is No. 101; Indiana is No. 89
NCAA NET rankings: Penn State is 114; Indiana is 94
About the Nittany Lions: To start the improbable road win streak, Penn State will have to rely on turning Indiana over and causing havoc on defense. The Nittany Lions are 7-4 when forcing 15 or more turnovers. With Rhoades often bringing a full-court press, Big Ten opponents have become wary of Penn State’s conference-best 15.9 forced turnovers per game, led by guard Ace Baldwin Jr.’s impressive 2.9 steals per game. Penn State forced 20 turnovers and had Rutgers out of whack to pick up that first road win in New Jersey, while Baldwin stepped up in Clary’s absence with his first double-double at Penn State (15 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals). With Clary out, Penn State might struggle in a shootout and will need stifling defense to top the Hoosiers. Keep an eye on D’Marco Dunn, who started in Clary’s place and provided 14 points on Wednesday, including a pair of 3-pointers.
About the Hoosiers: Indiana has struggled on both sides of the ball after entering the season with some fairly lofty expectations. The Hoosiers rank near the bottom of the Big Ten in scoring and opponent scoring, and their 3-point shooting — or lack thereof — is a big reason. They convert at an average rate around 33 percent but shoot the fewest 3s per game in the Big Ten (5.1). Indiana staved off a second-half comeback attempt from Iowa to snap a three-game losing streak this week. Forward Malik Reneau is a budding scorer at 16 points per game, while 7-footer Kel’el Ware averages a near double-double and will challenge Penn State's undersized lineup. Indiana will need to protect the ball (12 turnovers per game) and make a few 3s to keep a scrappy Penn State team from the road upset.
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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.
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