Penn State entered Rec Hall on Thursday with NCAA Tournament hopes still intact. The month of January was rough, sure. But a win in front of a packed crowd inside the program’s former arena could’ve served as a potential booster into the second half of the conference schedule.
The bleachers, packed at the start with fans in white, ultimately cleared out with minutes remaining in regulation. Yanic Konan Niederhauser’s 21 points, highlighted by a pair of monstrous posterizing dunks, weren’t enough for a team that was out-rebounded 41-23. Final score: Ohio State 83, Penn State 64.
“We know how hard it was for everyone to get this to work this week. We really appreciate it,” Mike Rhoades said postgame. “But we didn’t hold up our end of the bargain, and that was a disappointing game of basketball for us. I put my name on it, I stamp it. Just not good enough.”
Over the course of four weeks, Rhoades’ road to March transitioned from probable, with just two losses and a win over No. 8 Purdue, to highly unlikely. Penn State has now lost seven of its last eight games. Four of those losses have been determined by five points or fewer. And Thursday’s blowout moved the needle of the Nittany Lions’ fate even further to the floor.
There’s now not only an unlikely NCAA Tournament bid at stake. Penn State is fighting to keep itself from the bottom of the Big Ten. It currently sits No. 16 in the conference standings. That means, if the season ended on Thursday, the Nittany Lions would not qualify for the 15-team conference tournament.
Rhoades could only say so much in the locker room following the defeat. What began with a stretch of just a few losses to competitive programs early in the month, necessary adversity for a team attempting to fit in with a loaded conference, has dragged on farther than Rhoades or his program could’ve anticipated.
“Nobody feels sorry for us. Nobody feels sorry for you. Nobody’s coming to save us. So figure it out,” Rhoades said. “You got to fight like crazy. I hate to say it, but I’ve been in programs before where we were in this place, and the only way you get out of it, the only way you get out of a hole is together. But you gotta fight like crazy and can’t make excuses and you can’t listen to the noise.”
Niederhauser’s performance was promising. He scored through contact with ease. He looked the part of a viable Big Ten center. But Niederhauser is not the center of Penn State’s offense. The game plan has always surrounded point guard Ace Baldwin Jr., the team’s leading scorer and last year’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
But since a back injury at Illinois on Jan. 8, Baldwin hasn’t looked the same on either end of the court. Baldwin was visibly frustrated on Thursday, a day in which he missed open layups, made questionable passing decisions and in shot attempts around the rim. He finished the night with just 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Nittany Lions, or most teams for that matter, will have a hard time playing their style efficiently if the core of their system isn’t producing at a high-enough level. And over the past month, Baldwin has not been, whether due to injury or otherwise.
“He competes, but he’s frustrated, just like we all are. When you’re frustrated, it’s harder to play, it’s harder to see the game cleaner. And he knows better,” Rhoades said. “The one thing about him is he takes a loss really hard. He takes it to heart, he takes it personal. And you’ll see him come back. He’s just been banged up, and he’s been in some tough stretches and he’s on the top of the scouting report for other teams.”
That frustration has impacted just about everyone from Baldwin to his teammates to Rhoades and the coaching staff all the way over to the fans. This was a season that began with ambitions that were backed up by results. But just as it appeared all of those subjects were bought in, all hope faded away.
Rhoades said the effort has “got to be better” than what was put on display against the Buckeyes. As the energy died out in the second half, with the starters still on the court and Rhoades hoping to mount an improbable comeback, fans began to leave the arena. With athletic director Pat Kraft in attendance, the Nittany Lions continued their plunge.
The realistic goals have suddenly shifted for this year’s group. It’s now become a battle with the standings and just how low this team can plummet.
“This is part of building a program. This is part of going through tough times. You’ve got to find out who’s with you and who’s going to compete. That’s No. 1 on the list,” Rhoades said. “And when you have a lot of adversity, you find out who’s all in, and you got to compete. You get frustrated. Just because you want to win really bad doesn’t mean you’re gonna win. And we’re going through a stretch right now we’re not winning, and we gotta fight.”
