Heading into Friday night’s game against Northwestern there was an argument to be made – in a sense – that Penn State was better off losing. An NCAA Tournament bid was pretty well secured and a few extra days of rest would be good news for the tired set of legs the Nittany Lions were standing on. If nothing else it seems unlikely that anyone is going to beat Purdue when the conference tournament is all said and done. May as well pack it in and get ready for what’s next.
Nobody ever advocates for losing, but Penn State could have found plenty of good in having a few days off.
But as Penn State beat Northwestern 67-65 in overtime at Chicago’s United Center to advance to Big Ten Tournament semifinals it was a reminder that this program has done so little winning in games that really really matter, that winning anything feels noteworthy.
Of course it wasn’t always pretty, Northwestern looking a bit nervous in the opening stages as a surprise No. 2 seed, Penn State looking like a team that could use a beer and a nap with tired legs and hearts. With 6:08 to go in the half it was a whopping 13-13 tie, neither team doing much well and neither team taking advantage of their opponent’s struggles. By the time halftime rolled around a 26-25 Northwestern lead felt a bit prettier than the half looked but both teams survived 20 minutes of ugly basketball with no real repercussions.
In some respects the second half was more of the same. In total the lead would change 13 times over the course of the game and Northwestern would find a significant part of its offense making the most of Penn State’s mistakes with 23 points off of 15 turnovers. The Nittany Lions in the meanwhile would get 11 points from Andrew Funk in the second half, the only Penn State player to score in double-figures in the final 20 minutes of play. It wan’t always fun to look at, but it was the essence of a March slug-fest. Freshman Kanye Clary continued his run of confident play scoring 11 to give a boost to a team that needed one.
With Penn State trailing by two late in the second half, a three by Seth Lundy [finished with 16 points and seven rebounds] would put the Nittany Lions ahead by one with 5:48 to go, a basket by Jalen Pickett not long after extending the lead to three.
But Northwestern did not falter, going ahead by two with 2:32 to go in regulation. A Pickett layup seconds later [he finished with 15] would tie the game and a Lundy jumper with 37 seconds to go would tie the game again. Northwestern would miss a game-winning chance in the final seconds and Andrew Funk’s winner [he ended the night with 14 points] at the buzzer would miss the net as Penn State made just two shots from the field in the final 4:00 of regulation.
In spite of all the ugly, March is about surviving. And Penn State did just that, outscoring Northwestern 11-9 in the overtime period, never trailing despite a tie game with 2:03 to go in the extra frame. A deep three by Lundy put Penn State ahead by two with 46 seconds to go and the rest was an exercise in free throws. In total Northwestern would make just three baskets from the field in the five minutes of overtime play, in a strange way, not enough as Penn State made just two. All the same a three at the buzzer – which would have given Northwestern the win – hit the iron. In a sense it would have been a quintessential Penn State basketball heartbreak. But not tonight.
The Nittany Lions will face the winner of Maryland/Indiana on Sunday at 3:30. On the one hand they will enter that game tired, on the other hand they will enter that game just two wins from a Big Ten Tournament Title. This group is never going to win a national championship to begin with so it may as well hit the gas for as long as it can. The season a success in its own right, even if it’s not already over.
So to heck with saying losing is a positive. The Nittany Lions are going to throw punches until the wheels, or the legs, fall off. And more power to them.
