Penn State returned to its old stomping grounds inside Rec Hall for the annual “Return to Rec” game against Wisconsin on Thursday night. The Nittany Lions had beaten ranked Badger squads in each of the last two meetings, but that wasn’t the case on a cold night in State College.
It wasn’t Penn State’s usual court, but it was a usual result for the Nittany Lions, who dropped their eighth consecutive Big Ten game to remain winless in conference play and fall below .500 for the first time this season.
The Badgers dominated from start to finish in a 98-71 rout, including scoring streaks of 14 and 13 points in the first half alone, in an ugly outing for head coach Mike Rhoades’ squad.
“We were making the defensive end so hard, and it was impacting our offense,” Rhoades said after the game. “It’s on me. I got to continue to help these guys. I got to fix this. And we have to have a level of urgency in the program to move forward.”
How it happened
Kayden Mingo, donning a black mask while recovering from a broken nose, was responsible for the first four points of the game with a tough layup and a jumper from near three-point range.
After a slow start, Wisconsin battled back to take a 7-4 lead before some back-and-forth action ensued. The Nittany Lions got their first triple from Eli Rice but went into the under-12 timeout trailing 12-11 after an airball from Saša Ciani.
Melih Tunca checked in and quickly snuck behind the defense for a layup, but the Badgers then went on a 13-point run, including four points from the line.
Josh Reed snapped the skid with a three-pointer, giving him half of Penn State’s 16 points before the under-eight timeout. Out of the break he hit one of two free throws to give him more points than the rest of the team combined.
Riding an extensive losing streak, the Nittany Lions appeared to lack aggression on both ends of the court, passing out after driving into the paint and giving up space defensively. Open looks clanged out of the rim, if they made it that far.
After a particularly embarrassing stretch which included seven missed shots in a row, Rhoades called a timeout with his squad trailing 35-17 — it didn’t help, as the team missed four more shots out of the break and fell into a deeper deficit.
“The biggest thing is, our lack of consistent stops on defense, leads to bad offense, where you give up a three and we come down,” Rhoades said. “We take one pass or four dribbles and we chuck a shot.”
Dom Stewart snapped a 14-point Wisconsin run (separate from the earlier 13-0 run) with a mid-range jumper, and Eli Rice followed up with a free throw on the next possession to get his first point, cutting it to a 42-20 game. After the smoke cleared on an ugly first half, Penn State sat in a 50-22 deficit.
Reed and Freddie Dilione V pieced together four free throws early in the second half, tying the team’s longest scoring streak of the game, but Penn State was outscored 10-6 overall in the opening minutes.
A Mason Blackwood jumper allowed the Nittany Lions to reach half of Wisconsin’s score, trailing 60-30 going into Wisconsin timeout.
“This right now sucks,” Rhoades said. “My staff and I will give every piece of every fiber we have to try to right this ship and do this right. I know what I’m doing, but we’re behind the eight ball. We’re not good enough. I get it.”
Needing a spark, Mingo recorded his first bucket since the opening two minutes to spark a mini 9-4 rally and give the remainder of the Legion of Blue some life. The Badgers responded with seven points in succession.
With the game already out of reach, shots started to fall more frequently for the Nittany Lions, with Dilione and Reed — who set a season-high — doing most of the heavy lifting.
The pace of play sped up, with both teams firing on the first look instead of waiting for plays to develop, allowing the Badgers to eclipse 90 points — the fourth team to do so against the Nittany Lions this season.
Blackwood, seeing extended time, quietly climbed to a career-best 14 points after sinking a pair of free throws and a three-pointer in the final minute.
“We all came here for a reason. We all committed to Penn State to play basketball,” Blackwood said. “It’s basketball, so there’s no better way to go through it than together. The season’s not over. You got to keep a high head. Just keep pushing toward our goal.”
Team leaders
Points: Josh Reed, 18
Assists: Kayden Mingo, 5
Rebounds: Ivan Jurić, 12
Up next: Penn State’s Big Ten gauntlet continues with a trip to Ohio State, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Monday at Value City Arena
