Grading the Lions: Penn State falls to Wisconsin

UNIVERSITY PARK — Despite the fact that Penn State fell short to Wisconsin 66-60 on Thursday night, they still have a respectable overall record of 11-9 on the season.

The Nittany Lions are 7-3 at home, but have lost two of their last three games at the BJC. (They lost 92-65 to Michigan State on January 10th and Thursday suffered a 66-60 loss at the hands of Wisconsin). Four Penn State players reached double figures. They were forwards Brandon Taylor (13 points) and Payton Banks (11 points). Guards Shep Garner and Devin Foster added ten points apiece. Penn State shot 31.3 percent from the field in the first half, going 5-16. In the second half, they shot 11.6 percent better, at a 42.9 percent clip and shot 12-28 from the field. However, points off of turnovers plagued Penn State, as they allowed a grand total of eight for the game. Penn State allowed Wisconsin to score four points off turnovers in the first half, while they gave up four points off turnovers to the Badgers in the second half.

The Nittany Lions scored six points off turnovers for the entire game, putting up three points in the first half and racking up another three points in the second half off of turnovers. Collectively, Penn State had 17 bench points, with 13 of them coming in the second half. Guard Devin Foster was credited with over half (58.8 percent) of Penn State’s 17 bench points; Foster recorded 10 bench points. Forward Donovon Jack added three bench points, while forward Deividas Zemgulis totaled four bench points. Penn State was outscored 24-12 in “Points In The Paint” for the game.

Wisconsin Badger forward Ethan Happ had a team-leading 20 points for the game, shooting 5-11 from the field. Badger forward Nigel Hayes followed suit with 15 points, 2nd-most on the team for the entire game. Hayes shot 5-14 from the field and 1-2 from beyond the arc. Guard Bronson Koenig shot 50 percent from behind the arc, 1-2. Koenig added eight points for the game, shooting 2-6 (4 points) from the field.

Penn State stands at 11th in the Big Ten Conference Standings.