What We Learned From Penn State Basketball's First Big Ten Win of the Season

Kayden Mingo's buzzer-beating layup lifted the Nittany Lions over Minnesota in a wild finish.

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Kayden Mingo (4) drives toward the basket to make the winning shot against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State’s Kayden Mingo was guarded closely by Minnesota’s Jaylen Crocker-Johnson with four seconds left in the game. The Golden Gophers had clawed back from a 13-point deficit to tie the score at 75 31 seconds left, leading to Mingo’s moment. 

The freshman guard Mingo put an unbalanced shot up while spinning into the edge of the paint. The basket fell, sending Nittany Lions fans to their feet at the Bryce Jordan Center.

“Coach drew up a play for me, and that was all she wrote from there,” Mingo said. 

As the buzzer sounded, Josh Reed heaved the ball into the rafters, touching off a celebration at the baseline. Penn State defeated Minnesota 77-75 to win its first Big Ten game of the season, snap an eight-game losing streak and get its first victory since Dec. 29.

“We had stretches of good basketball against good teams, but not big enough, not experienced enough, not good enough to win,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “And so today was just enough to win. I’m just happy for the guys because we don’t have any BS. Our guys are acting the right way.”

Kayden Mingo with the game-winner for @PennStateMBB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fNv0HGIABv

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 1, 2026

While the game got close down the stretch, and Penn State had several scoring droughts that made for a nail-biter finish, the Nittany Lions played with smiles. The team had life, and the crowd of 6,820 was surely into it.

It was one of the biggest sports weekends at Penn State, with the hockey teams playing in Beaver Stadium and the No. 1 wrestling team defeating No. 6 Nebraska in its second BJC dual of the season. But it’s been a long road for the youngest men’s basketball team in the Big Ten, which lost its first 10 conference games before winning Sunday. 

“In my 30 years as a coach, we celebrate victories, no matter if we’re first in the league or last in the league. Like, we’re going to enjoy a win,” Rhoades said. “Even if it’s an ugly one, two-pointer that we were trying to give away, let’s celebrate it. Now, there is some relief, don’t get me wrong.”

Here’s what we learned as the Nittany Lions (10-11) moved back into the win column and extended Minnesota’s losing streak to seven.

Mingo was a facilitator before the points started falling

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Kayden Mingo (4) is congratulated by teammates after scoring the winning basket to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Mingo (14 points) was an important facilitator before the points started falling for the freshman guard in the second half. He started the game 1-10 from the field but got the ball in the hands of Freddie Dilione V and Josh Reed, who had explosive first-half performances.

Reed was 4-4 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished the game with 18 points, scoring 16 in the first half. Reed’s early buckets helped take pressure off long-distance shooting, and Penn State finished shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. 

Dilione matched his career-high with 25 points, shooting 11-17 from the field and making two free throws. 

“Just had a bad couple stretches of the past few games, but finally found it again,” Dilione said. “It was really no plan to it, just mental stuff I’ve been doing, so shout out to this guy [pointing at Mingo next to him during the press conference], he got me the ball.”

Mingo scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a long-distance 3-pointer and other pivotal shots when he had to drive up the middle and score. Even though Dilione led the team in scoring, Mingo’s ability to get downhill was why he had the ball in his hands at the end of the game.

“It had to be a downhill game for us today, and so we weren’t going to change that,” Rhoades said, explaining that final play call.

Consistent rebounds translate to new-look offense

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Freddie Dilione V drives the ball to the basket during the first half vs. the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

During Penn State’s losing streak, rebounding consistently was a struggle. The Nittany Lions had allowed opponents too many offensive rebounds and gave up too many second-chance points. Against Minnesota, Penn State performed much better on the glass. Early defensive rebounds helped it reach an early lead and prevent many second-chance opportunities. 

“If we don't get some clean rebounds to set the tone in the game and we can’t fight on the glass, I told our guys, then we’re going to be in trouble,” Rhoades said.

While the Nittany Lions outrebounded the Golden Gophers 29-28, their strong start on the glass was pivotal in this matchup. It was certainly a start in the right direction not to get down early in the game. 

“We had some rebounds that our guards were on the backside trying to box out a big guy and we did a good job of helping each other,” Rhoades said. 

Missing in action

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades talks with guard Freddie Dilione V (5) during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State faced a tricky depth situation with several key players out for the game. Rhoades said that 7-foot forward Ivan Juric had a 103-degree fever this morning and was out. Tibor Mirtic and Sasa Cianni also were inactive Sunday. Mirtic missed his seventh straight game.

“Tibor came back from his knee, and in practice hurt his shoulder his first day back. Sasha hurt his ankle,” Rhoades said without specifying any timeline for their return. “So I mean, you just don’t panic. As much as it stinks, it is what it is. We’re not canceling this game.”

Eli Rice also missed most of the second half after colliding heads with a Minnesota player. 

“In today’s world, there’s all the protocols and that stuff,” Rhoades said. “I haven’t talked to the docs yet, but they told me he was out [during the game]. But he was with us in the locker room.”

It was a next-man-up mentality once again for Penn State, which dealt with several injuries earlier this month. It wasn’t a new challenge, but without having its starting big man on the court, Penn State had to find different ways to score.

“Everybody had to step up even if they’ve been playing well before,” Mingo said. “We knew we just had to settle in for what we would be missing.”

The Nittany Lions succeeded in getting downhill against Minnesota, which helped. But there was definitely fatigue down the stretch that allowed the Gophers to come back and tie the game in the final minute. 

Not out of the woods yet

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Dominick Stewart (7) passes the ball as Minnesota Golden Gophers guard/forward Cade Tyson (10) defends during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

There is still plenty Penn State needs to improve on after this win. The Nittany Lions nearly let the Golden Gophers complete the comeback despite being up by double digits several times in the second half. 

The team is eager to win, but Dilione said they can’t let that stop them from executing the little things during the game.

“Like sometimes we forget what coaches tell us, you know, like … force them left or just box out on rebounds, finish plays,” Dilione said. “We’re so eager to win that sometimes slip-ups occur at the end, so we just have to clean up those things.”

Penn State has several challenges left on its schedule, starting with Thursday’s trip to face No. 2 Michigan for the second time this season. The Nittany Lions nearly defeated the Wolverines a month ago at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State also has a February road trip to face Washington and Oregon.

What happens next for Penn State? Stay on top of all the Nittany Lions news by subscribing to the Penn State on SI Daily Digest. The newsletter is your free daily window into Penn State sports.