Penn State improved to 2-2 in Big Ten play and 8-7 overall with a comeback 79-73 victory on Sunday over Michigan at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and were behind by 10 at the break before largely dominating the second half. Penn State led by as many as 11 with 5:03 to go behind a balanced scoring attack led by Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin Jr. Penn State will next host Northwestern on Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center before traveling to take on No. 1 Purdue next Saturday.
Stick To It: This Penn State team might have its flaws but it seems willing to play both good and bad basketball with plenty of confidence. There is something to be said for that and in turn this group was unconcerned by a 10-point halftime deficit. It’s not a huge surprise a team full of players who have seen their fair share of college basketball before coming to Penn State aren’t overwhelmed by the lows in a game, but it’s a credit to their collective mentality that being down by 14 early on didn’t completely derail the afternoon. Penn State got beat badly last time out and seemed en route to another such loss on Sunday. Things changed in the second half and that comes with not giving up, a skill not every team has. The difference – 30% shooting in the first half, 55% in the second and 52 points in the final 20 minutes to show for it.
Get In Deep: Penn State did well in the second half to find an effective wrinkle getting the ball in deep to Qudus Wahab and letting him work. Wahab might not be the biggest or most athletic forward/center Penn State has ever had but he does possess a lot of veteran savvy and understanding of the game. He had a big eight points on a perfect four-for-four shooting second half and never really got off his game picking up just two fouls all afternoon – none of them coming in the second half. This offense is never going to run through Wahab first, but the more confidence he has scoring the ball the more balanced this team will be. Credit for Mike Rhoades for calling Wahab’s number, credit to Wahab for answering the call.
Uncomfortable Pressure: This Nittany Lion team is not very good at a slower paced, more traditional half court defense but if Penn State can get its opponents in uncomfortable situations it can generate plenty of offense and momentum out of it. The Nittany Lions entered the day 16th in the nation in turnovers forced per game and saw Michigan cough the ball up 19 times on Sunday. Penn State produced 23 points off of turnovers while turning the ball up just seven times in its own right, a single turnover in the second half the only blemish on the Nittany Lions’ ball security scorecard in the final 20 minutes.
Ace The Test: Ace Baldwin has been good at a lot of things this season but his second-high scoring total of the year (25 points, scoring 27 against VCU) came at the right moment. Baldwin was a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe and in the second half and went 8-for-13 overall from the field through 37 minutes of action. Baldwin added four assists and three steals to his box score. Kanye Clary is probably going to be Penn State’s leading scorer on a more consistent basis, but if Baldwin can sit around an efficient 15 ppg average the rest of the way that’ll help Penn State plenty. That’s about two more points per game than what he’s doing right now.
Supporting Cast: Clary and Baldwin can do a lot of the heavy lifting for this team but the Nittany Lions will only win if they can get more help. D’Marco Dunn poured in 13 while Zach Hicks, Wahab and Puff Johnson added a combined 19 points to Penn State’s total. The Nittany Lions got 17 points off the bench on Sunday with Dunn picking up 10 of those off the bench in the second half. This team can struggle to score at times, but the more people it can depend on for a basket here or there, the less it will need any given player to bring their A-game on a regular basis. Honorable mention to Nick Kern and a team-high eight rebounds.
