Penn State Basketball: A Good Week, a Great Win, and a Better Loss

By Kevin Wesley

The Nittany Lion basketball team wasn’t supposed to win any of its past three games, and the fact that they won two of them gives Penn State fans reason to be hopeful about the next two months. If those fans are paying attention, they’ll know that the one game Penn State didn’t win is the one that should have them feeling most optimistic.

We wrote last week about Penn State’s upset of then No. 18 Michigan State

On paper, the record will show that Ohio State did as expected, holding court for a 69-66 win. But for Penn State, the game meant so much more than the final score showed.

We can start by reviewing how the Lions’ wins over the Spartans and Illini look with a bit of hindsight. Michigan State has won two straight since, but both were overtime wins at home, implying this Spartan team might be more vulnerable than most people think. And the Illini, who haven’t had an easy time against the Nittany Lions in recent years, followed their loss in Happy Valley last week with a 10-point defeat at Wisconsin. The point here isn’t to diminish the quality of those Penn State wins (well, maybe a little…) as much as it is to point out that Saturday’s loss to Ohio State might’ve been the better barometer of where this Nittany Lion team really is.

Understand, this isn’t about a moral victory, a concept Penn State coach Ed DeChellis wouldn’t be interested in hearing about anyway. This is about looking at what this Nittany Lion team is capable of in the toughest of circumstances: a road game against a team as talented as any in the nation, coming at a time when the Lions’ recent wins meant the Buckeyes wouldn’t dare overlook them. Ohio State coach Thad Matta said after the game that his team didn’t play as well as it could have, but statistically, the Buckeyes weren’t bad at all, hitting 49 percent from the field (including 10 of 20 on three-pointers; more on that in a minute) and committing just five turnovers. Ohio State played awfully well on Saturday. The Lions almost pulled off the upset because they played awfully well, too. They lost because the other guys had maybe the nation’s best player on their side.

Freshman forward Jared Sullinger was the difference for Ohio State at the end, twice connecting on three-point plays in the final minute to seal the win. A composed, versatile big man, Sullinger is a sure-fire All-American this season, and the Nittany Lions had no answer for him. DeChellis understandably sent help defenders toward Sullinger most of the afternoon, and those gambles helped the Buckeye shooters get countless open looks from outside; had the overmatched Penn State forwards tried to guard Sullinger one-on-one, he might’ve gone for 40 points instead of 19. He’s just that good. Other factors — notably the Lions’ 14 turnovers, compared to just five by the Buckeyes — contributed to Penn State losing this game, but star power is ultimately what lifted Ohio State to the win.

The point? If not for the presence of a likely 2011 NBA lottery pick, Penn State wins this game. Talor Battle had arguably his worst game of the season, taking 17 shots to get his 15 points and going just 1 of 10 from three-point range. The Nittany Lions shot a stellar 56 percent as a team; take away Battle’s errant afternoon and the rest of the Penn State lineup shot a remarkable 71 percent from the floor. For the third straight game, the Lions outrebounded a bigger opponent, and they hit 12 of 13 free throws, making them 26 of 27 from the line in the last two games.

Even on a terrible night for its star player, Penn State shot, defended and rebounded well enough on the road to nearly beat what might be the nation’s best team. If the Nittany Lions play as well the rest of the season as they did Saturday, they could win 10 more games before the start of the Big Ten tournament. That’s too much to ask, of course, but they’ve shown the potential is there. That alone could make things interesting over the next eight weeks.

Earlier coverage

• Penn State Basketball: Illini Fall to Nittany Lions at Jordan Center (Jan. 12, 2011)

• Penn State Basketball: Seniors’ Moment Gives the Nittany Lions a Signature Win (Jan. 10, 2011)