Penn State fell to 4-3 on the year under new head coach Mike Rhoades on Sunday afternoon, coming out of the three-game stretch at the ESPN Events Invitational without any wins to show for it. Not the end of the world for a team that wasn’t ever going to be national title hunting, but plenty to learn about this group after three games. Here are five takeaways from Penn State’s 86-74 loss VCU.
Kanye Clary Injury: Kanye Clary picked up a hand injury through just nine minutes of action on Sunday and did not return to the game. Penn State has gotten regular and needed production from Clary this season and the Nittany Lions are likely unprepared to really make up for the loss – especially unexpectedly. That turned out to be true over the course of the afternoon as VCU controlled the majority of the offensive flow throughout the game. If Clary is out for any length of time this season it will be tougher sledding on the offensive end. Ace Baldwin scored 27 in the losing effort but it might be unreasonable to expect him to do that on a regular basis. Only Qudus Wahab could get to double-figures on Sunday, not a good sign with Clary out. Puff Johnson could be a candidate to help carry the load but seven points on Sunday didn’t help that theory much.
A Bit Better: Penn State was dominated on the offensive glass against Texas A&M which isn’t a huge shock considering how good the Aggies are in that area, that being said Penn State having a weakness on the boards isn’t something that is going to go away. The Nittany Lions did a better job on Sunday, holding serve with A&M’s seven offensive board with seven of their own while surrounding just six second-chance points. Penn State ended up going -7 on the boards but that’s a more manageable margin all things considered.
Ace In The Hole: Ace Baldwin has been good at just about everything while at Penn State but hasn’t scored in bulk like he did on Sunday topping out at 27 points. Baldwin will need to find his offensive game in Big Ten play and have moments where he carries the load, this will be particularly true if Clary is out for any length of time. Sunday was a good step in that direction, especially as he still managed to get others involved with a team-high five rebounds. Baldwin still hasn’t quite found his stroke from range but a 2-for-7 effort isn’t awful in the long run. 8-for-19 overall isn’t awful either but both could afford a boost, and both likely will if he can get some help and keep defenses from keying in on just him.
Free Ones: Penn State struggled from the foul line on Sunday going 23-for-35 from the line. That’s a bad clip by any measure, but if the Nittany Lions are going to struggle to find the basket during the run of play and get 35 chances from the line they’ll need to be a much better moving forward. Credit for getting to the line but that’s only half the battle. Baldwin was 9-for-13 on the charity stripe for the most total misses among Penn State’s roster but plenty of others chipped in a miss here or there. By Sunday’s conclusion seven different players had shot a free throw.
Security: Penn State has had some issues coughing up the ball this season but had just 11 turnovers on Sunday for the third game in nearly as many days. Anything near single-digits is a good day of ball security all things considered, so while Sunday wasn’t a day to remember for Penn State, it was a step in the right direction and a good sign that even on the tail end of a long week the Nittany Lions can maintain some base line focus. If you’re struggling to score at times nothing will shoot you in the foot quite like a turnover. Empty possessions will kill you. Penn State made just five baskets in the final 12 minutes of regulation, so giving the ball away for free doesn’t help matters any.
