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    Indiana at Penn State — Live discussion thread

    Owen GrahamBy IU Basketball 19 Comments

    Game Day Essentials:

    Penn State (13-14, 7-9) vs. Indiana (14-12, 6-9)

    • Tip Time: 12:00 p.m. Eastern, Saturday
    • Location: Bryce Jordan Center (15,261), University Park, Pa.
    • Television: BTN (Jason Horowitz, Shon Morris)
    • Stream: Fox Sports
    • IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
    • Point Spread: Penn State is around a 3.5 point favorite.
    • KenPom Projected Score: No. 103 Indiana 73 – No. 94 Penn State 78
    • Series History: Indiana leads, 42-16 .

    Three keys from last meeting:

    Penn State defeated Indiana 85-71 in Assembly Hall on Feb. 3.

    1. Inability to guard the arc.  Penn State came into the game with an unimpressive resume as a perimeter shooting team.  But without Xavier Johnson, IU struggled to guard the arc.  The Nittany Lions made 12-of-22 from long range.  The 12 makes were a season high.  Meanwhile, the Hoosiers were just 5-of-19 from deep, creating a massive gap from three. The PSU guards moved comfortably with the ball and got downhill as well.  They had 17 assists against just six turnovers.

    2. Guard production lacking. It’s been a recurring theme, and once again Indiana’s backcourt didn’t deliver nearly enough on Saturday afternoon.  IU got 17 points from guards, but six of those came in the final two minutes when the game was well out of hand.  Indiana guards shot just 2-of-10 from three.  As a team, IU had as many turnovers (13) as assists.

    3. Bench delivers nothing.  IU didn’t get a point from the bench until the 2:13 mark of the second half.  They were outscored 18-3 by the Penn State bench. Anthony Leal and Anthony Walker both went scoreless, and C.J. Gunn scored in the game’s final minutes.

    Penn State results and roster

    DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME/RESULT
    11/6/2023 Delaware State University Park, Pa. W 79-45
    11/10/2023 Lehigh University Park, Pa. W 74-65
    11/14/2023 St. Francis (Pa.) University Park, Pa. W 83-53
    11/17/2023 Morehead State University Park, Pa. W 74-51
    11/23/2023 vs. #12 Texas A&M (ESPN Inv.) Kissimmee, Fla. L 77-89
    11/24/2023 vs. Butler (ESPN Inv.) Kissimmee, Fla. L 78-88
    11/26/2023 vs. VCU (ESPN Inv.) Kissimmee, Fla. L 74-86
    12/2/2023 Bucknell University Park, Pa. L 67-76
    12/6/2023 at Maryland College Park, Md. L 75-81 (OT)
    12/9/2023 Ohio State University Park, Pa. W 83-80
    12/16/2023 vs. Georgia Tech New York, N.Y, L 81-82 (OT)
    12/21/2023 Le Moyne University Park, Pa. W 90-63
    12/29/2023 Rider University Park, Pa. W 90-63
    1/4/2024 at Michigan State East Lansing, Mich. L 61-92
    1/7/2024 Michigan Philadelphia, Pa. W 79-73
    1/10/2024 Northwestern University Park, Pa. L 72-76
    1/13/2024 at #1 Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. L 78-95
    1/16/2024 #11 Wisconsin University Park, Pa. W 87-83
    1/20/2024 at Ohio State Columbus, Ohio L 67-79
    1/27/2024 Minnesota University Park, Pa. L 74-83
    1/31/2024 Rutgers Piscataway, N.J. W 61-46
    2/3/2024 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. W 85-71
    2/8/2024 Iowa University Park, Pa. W 89-79
    2/11/2024 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. L 63-68
    2/14/2024 Michigan State University Park, Pa. L 72-80
    2/17/2024 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb. L 49-68
    2/21/2024 at Rutgers University Park, Pa. W 90-89

    Note: Kanye Clary is no longer with the program.

    Penn State’s game notes (via Penn State Athletics)

    COACHES VS. CANCER

    • Saturday’s game will be Penn State’s annual Coaches vs. Cancer game as the Nittany Lions draw awareness to and honor the accomplishments of the Penn State chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer.

    FIRST-YEAR OFFENSE

    • Penn State enters Saturday’s game averaging 75.3 points per game in Mike Rhoades’ debut season.
    • That mark is on track to be Penn State’s best offensive output since the 2000-01 team averaged 76.8 points per game en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.
    • It is also on pace to be Penn State’s best offensive output under a first-year head coach since 1954-55 when the Nittany Lions put up 78.7 ppg under John Egli.

    DO IT ALL

    • Ace Baldwin Jr. has proven to be one of the most dynamic and clutch players in the conference. With Feb. 8’s game against Iowa tied at 71 with 4:07 to play, Baldwin Jr. came up with clutch play after clutch play as the senior scored 13 points in the game’s final 3:48 and finished with 22 points, six assists and four steals.
    • He turned in a 15-point, 10-assist, 5-rebound, 5-steal performance on Jan. 31 in Penn State’s road win at Rutgers. He is the first Big Ten player since at least the 2010-11 season (13 years) to notch a 15/10/5/5 game.
    • He is the first Big Ten player to have a 25+ point game (vs. VCU & Michigan), 13+ assist game (at Purdue) and 8+ steal game (vs. Northwestern) in a single season since Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves during the 1997- 98 season.

    BIG Q

    • Veteran big man Qudus Wahab is having the most efficient season of his five-year collegiate career, shooting a career-best 63.2 percent (96- 152) from the field.
    • He owns career marks of 1,276 points and 938 rebounds. His 938 rebounds rank 18th amongst active Division I players and he is one of just 22 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds.

    KERN COMING ON

    • Nick Kern Jr. has been one of Penn State’s most productive players in conference play, averaging 10.6 points per Big Ten game while shooting 58.9 FG%. He is coming off a career night in Penn State’s comeback win over #12 Illinois as he went off for a career-best 22 points, which included 13-straight Penn State points in a key second-half stretch.

    Penn State’s KenPom notable numbers:

    (out of 362 teams)

    Tempo – No. 57 (Offense No. 56 / Defense No. 265)

    Offensive Efficiency – No. 90

    • Penn State has an effective field goal percentage of 50.8 percent on the season, while shooting 33.0 percent from three (No. 212) and 51.6 percent from two (No. 132).
    • Penn State takes care of the ball reasonably well, with a 15.4 turnover rate so far on the season (No. 71).
    • The Nittany Lions struggle creating some second opportunities for themselves, as they only have a 26 percent rate on offensive rebounds (No. 282).

    Defensive Efficiency – No. 104

    • Opponents have an effective field goal percentage of 50.9 percent against Penn State (No. 205). Teams are shooting 31.1 percent from three (No. 43) and 53.1 percent from two (No. 293).
    • Penn State creates a lot of turnovers on defense. Both their steal percentage (12.4 percent) and overall turnover percentage (21.5 percent) rank in the top 25 of the country (No. 24, No. 21).
    • The Nittany Lions are giving up a lot of offensive rebounds — 33.7 percent, No. 337.

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