The second season of Mike Rhoades’ tenure as Penn State’s head coach featured a number of lowlights, especially over the past two months. But in the program’s final game of the year, the Nittany Lions concluded their rough 2024-25 season on a positive note, completing a 86-75 upset at No. 12 Wisconsin on Saturday.
D’Marco Dunn scored a career-high 25 points on an efficient 10-of-12 shooting in his final collegiate outing. Yanic Konan Niederhauser — expected to be an integral returnee for Penn State next season — also tallied 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to help the Nittany Lions claim their first win in Madison since 1995.
Ace Baldwin Jr., the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a staple of Rhoades’ teams over the past five seasons, scored just five points in the final game of his college career. He dished out nine assists and notched three steals.
The victory marked Rhoades’ fourth over a top-15 opponent since joining the program prior to last season, and second this season. Penn State defeated then-No. 8 Purdue in December, as well as No. 11 Wisconsin No. 12 Illinois last season.
The Nittany Lions concluded their year winning three of their final five games, but will not qualify for the 15-team Big Ten Tournament. What began as a season with NCAA Tournament aspirations quickly shifted on Jan. 5, when Penn State began a run that saw just one win over its next 12 games.
Rhoades will lose five key contributors this offseason: Baldwin, Dunn, Nick Kern Jr., Puff Johnson and Zach Hicks.
