Penn State Basketball Delivers Rare Road Win at Indiana
After a season of road struggles, Penn State men's basketball has put together back-to-back dominant road performances for its first Big Ten win streak of the year. Coach Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions rode a blazing second-half shooting performance to down Indiana 85-71 and win at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the first time since 2014. And they did it again without leading scorer Kanye Clary.
Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 22 points with eight assists to lead Penn State to its second straight Big Ten road win. The Hoosiers carried a four-point lead into halftime before going cold from the floor and failing to establish the same interior dominance they had in the first half. Penn State tied a season high with 12 3-pointers, making 54.5 percent from long distance.
Indiana has been the Big Ten's weakest shooting team this season, making just 5.1 3-pointers per game, and continued that trend Saturday. The Hoosiers shot 48 percent from the field and made just 5 3-pointers. Penn State continued its Big Ten-best turnover marks by getting 13 out of the Hoosiers. But more importantly, the Lions tied a season-low by committing just six turnovers, completely controlling the game’s flow once shots started to fall. In a game they trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Lions outscored Indiana by 18 in the second half, when they shot 64 percent. Penn State shot a season-best 57.4 percent from the field.
In a year marked by plenty of growing pains with a new roster, Rhoades' team has won consecutive road games against Rutgers and Indiana. Penn State played some of its best basketball in the two games, which prompted a raucous locker room celebration seen on Jameel Brown’s personal Instagram. This stretch makes it interesting to wonder where the Lions could be if not for a pair of blown double-digit leads at home against Minnesota and Northwestern.
Baldwin at his best again
Baldwin recorded his first double-double at Penn State with 15 points and 10 assists against Rutgers earlier this week and arguably was better offensively against Indiana on Saturday. He scored 22 points and added eight assists with just three turnovers. The VCU transfer also played all 40 minutes for the third straight game.
Baldwin was dominant with the ball in his hands, finding his way for pull-up jumpers often and distributing with ease. He added to his impressive steal total with two more Saturday. With Clary out, Baldwin has been the best version of himself the past two games.
Brown, Hicks lead barrage
Penn State’s shooting was key Saturday after being a bugaboo in some of its biggest losses. Temple transfer Zach Hicks scored a season-high 19 points on 4-for-8 shooting from deep after really struggling to find consistency for a while. Brown, a sophomore, flashed his dominant shooting again with 14 points on 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Brown's four 3s were his second-most this season, behind his six-3 outburst in the season opener.
Penn State's 3-point consistency clearly affected Indiana, which over-committed and left open lanes inside the arc. Penn State turned that into 17 assists on 31 made shots.
Wahab and Ware
Fifth-year big man Qudus Wahab had one of his best games at Penn State while dueling talented 7-footer Kel’el Ware of Indiana. Wahab had 14 points and seven rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting but importantly has improved defensively.
Ware scored 17 points in the first half and finished with a 25-point double-double, but Penn State held Indiana to just 14 points in the paint in the second half.
Notable
Penn State won in Bloomington for the first time since Feb. 12, 2014. It was only the team's fourth road win against Indiana.
Penn State's 14-point margin was its largest on the road vs. Indiana.
The Lions' bench outscored Indiana's 18-3.
Up next
Penn State returns home after a two-game road trip to host Iowa on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Hawkeyes topped Ohio State 79-77 most recently and are 13-9 on the year.
More on Penn State Basketball
Penn State Basketball on SI.com
Without Kanye Clary, Penn State wins on the road at Rutgers
Penn State women's basketball drives toward NCAA Tournament return
Makenna Marisa makes Penn State basketball history
'That's not us,' Penn State says after blowing big lead against Minnesota
Penn State dampens momentum in loss to Ohio State
Penn State scores major upset of No. 11 Wisconsin
Nittany Lions can't contain Zach Edey, Purdue
Penn State scores key win over Michigan at the Palestra
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.
AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network.
