Penn State basketball looking for answers after three-game skid

After a 4-0 start to the season, Penn State basketball has hit a rough patch, losing all three games at the ESPN Events Invitational over the weekend. The first losses of the Mike Rhoades era, the 4-3 Nittany Lions now look to pick up the pieces this weekend ahead of a short interlude into Big Ten play.

Penn State basketball strikes out at ESPN Events Invitational

It wasn’t the best of holiday breaks for the Penn State basketball team. The Nittany Lions traveled to Orlando last week with an opportunity to make a statement in the ESPN Events Invitational.

However, Penn State ultimately fell flat. The Nittany Lions opened play on Thanksgiving with an opportunity to get a top-15 win against Texas A&M. Penn State hung tough with the Aggies, pulling within three several times in the second half. But it wasn’t enough, as the Nittany Lions fell 89-77.

A loss to the highly-ranked Aggies may have been expected, but more disappointing were the follow-up performances over the weekend. Penn State basketball was swept in the tournament, losing to Butler 88-78 on Saturday and to VCU – the former stomping grounds of new head coach Mike Rhoades – 86-74 on Sunday.

“I think it [the loss to Texas A&M] carried over a little bit,” Penn State guard Kayne Clary said this week of the tournament. “We have never experienced a loss together.” Clary had 19 and 28 points against Texas A&M and Butler, respectively, before missing most of the VCU game with what Mike Rhoades called a “stinger.”

Rhoades and the Nittany Lions look to rebound after difficult weekend

Now, Penn State basketball looks to pick up the pieces. To do that, Mike Rhoades believes the work starts on the defensive side of the ball.

“It was a tough trip to Florida,” Rhoades said. “Our defense failed us game after game down there… I’m disappointed that we got exposed this much. We didn’t stick to the foundations of our defense.”

The Nittany Lions had sub-50% shooting performances from the field against Butler and VCU. However, Rhoades expressed that he likes the direction the offense is heading early in the season. “I thought our offense improved over the last three weeks tremendously,” he said. “We just have to shoot the ball better.”

Penn State basketball returns to action Saturday against Bucknell, a game the Nittany Lions hope will be a rebound performance versus a 2-6 team. Rhoades and the Nittany Lions then enter a brief two-game interlude into Big Ten action. Conference play starts Wednesday on the road at Maryland, with the Big Ten home opener against Ohio State on December 9.

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