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Penn State Men’s Basketball: Nittany Lions Fall Late 67-58 to Michigan State on Cold Shooting Night

Penn State men’s basketball fell 67-58 on Wednesday night against Michigan State in a game that boiled down the complexities of basketball into the simplicities of the game’s most basic principles.

If you make shots, you win; if you miss shots, you tend to lose.

While the Nittany Lions’ 19-for-55 shooting from the field (8-for-27 from beyond the arc) was not anything historically interesting, it did exemplify the challenges of trying to win a basketball game without making the majority of the timely shots required to do so. To Penn State’s credit, a first half of fairly stout defense turned a cold shooting evening into a 35-35 tie game at halftime. For all the things that wouldn’t fall for Penn State, the Nittany Lions did the best they could to ensure that Michigan State didn’t have things any easier. The result was a half of basketball that featured both the weaknesses of cold shooting and the strengths of defense, rebounding and a timely three. For all the misses, Penn State still managed to have seven of its 11 first half makes come from beyond the arc.

But for a team that is built to live and die by the three-point shot, the Nittany Lions didn’t do much in the way of making those threes in the final 20 minutes. In fact, in the second half Penn State made just one shot from beyond the arc on eight attempts as it relied on guard Jalen Pickett to employ his handful of interior moves to make up for cold long range shooting. Pickett for his efforts would fall two assists shy of a triple-double (which would have been his second of the year and third in program history) finishing with 13 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists. Even in that otherwise productive night, Pickett’s own 5-for-14 shooting displayed the limitations that come with turning a guard into a big man, the fatal flaw of this team being the lack of any real interior presence.

In turn, Pickett’s skillset in the paint has turned him into an undersized big man relying on fadeaway shooting to make up for his lack of size. The equation has worked for the most part this year and will likely work in the future, but as Myles Dread continued his cold streak from deep and Cam Wynter and Seth Lundy managed 26 combined points to be Penn State’s only other double-digit scorers, it showcased that the Nittany Lions will truly win and lose by the three. If nothing else, it showcased what was already apparent: this team won’t win if the threes don’t fall. The Nittany Lions are now 0-2 in their last two games, going a combined 17-50 from beyond the arc.

Penn State made just three baskets in the final 9:32 of regulation, hanging around by virtue of Michigan State’s own lukewarm shooting night and stout defense to keep the score within reach. If the Nittany Lions can take any solace in Wednesday night’s performance, it’s that the shots were there to be made and that on one of the worst shooting nights of the year they still found themselves within two points with 2:47 to go. A slightly better shot-making night and the tide turns in their favor.

Then again, as Penn State fell to 6-3 on the year an 0-1 in Big Ten play, it was a reminder that “simply making shots” is easier said than done.