Penn State falls to Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. — On Feb. 13, the Penn State Nittany Lions took their talents to Lincoln, Nebraska and lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the road at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 70-54.

Penn State forward Brandon Taylor led his team with 14 points, while center Jordan Dickerson matched a Big-Ten career high plateau with eight points on the evening.

Penn State’s frontcourt played pretty well, as Taylor, Dickerson, and forwards Julian Moore and Payton Banks finished with a combined 30 points.

As a team, Penn State shot a resounding 44.8 percent from the field in the first half, but their field goal percentage tapered off in the second half, at 30.8 percent. The Nittany Lions were 13-29 from the field in the first half, and 8-26 from the field in the second half.

A common theme for Penn State lately has been their dismal play on the road. In their previous road game at Ohio State, they lost by 20 points, 66-46. In this Big Ten game at Nebraska, they were also blown out by 16. They have to do a better job of shooting from the field in the second halves of road games, particularly in their past two road games. The Nittany Lions shot 30 percent from the field in the second half of the Ohio State game (9-30), as opposed to shooting a 36.7 percent field goal clip in the first half of that game (11-30). In essence, Penn State has to simply have more production from their players in the second halves of road games (hence, a better field goal percentage in the second half) if they are going to win those games.

Nebraska guard Andrew White III had a team-high 35 points. He shot 11-17 from the field and 60 percent from 3-point territory.

Overall, Nebraska shot “about even” in terms of field goal percentage in the first and second halves.

The Cornhuskers shot 46.4 percent from the field in the first half (13-28) and shot 46.2 percent from the field in the second half (12-26).

Penn State drops to 3-8 on the road this season with their defeat to Nebraska.