Penn State basketball sweeps Indiana for the first time in 15 years

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State basketball has clawed its way back to .500, taking down Indiana 83-74 Saturday afternoon. Coming off an emotional comeback against No. 12 Illinois at Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions were able to keep the momentum from the final minutes of Wednesday’s upset going after making the cross-campus trip back to the Bryce Jordan Center. Ace Baldwin has come into his own, leading the way in what was another hot shooting performance from deep for the Nittany Lions. Mike Rhoades made a little Penn State basketball history with the win, sweeping Indiana for the first time since 2009.

Penn State basketball lights it up from deep, sweeps Indiana for first time in 15 years

Both Penn State and Indiana had slow starts to the first half,  picking up many fouls along the way. The Nittany Lions found themselves up 40-33, and seemed to be taking over as the teams headed to break. The beginning of the second half was similar, with Penn State basketball extending its lead to 47-35 around the 16-minute mark.

The Hoosiers made their eventual push, collecting a few old-fashioned three-point plays and shrinking the large Nittany Lion lead to 56-54 with 10:04 to go in the game. But Penn State responded with the three ball to quickly extend the lead back up towards the double-digit mark seen early in the second half.

Indiana continued to stay within striking distance in part because of a persistence in attacking the basket and the ability to draw fouls. The lead was once again trimmed to five, as Mike Rhoades and Penn State basketball found themselves leading just 68-63 with four minutes remaining in the game. But that was as close as Indiana would get, and the Nittany Lions ultimately pulled away for an 83-74 win.

This game ultimately was decided from behind the arc and at the line. Penn State basketball finished 9-21 from three and 26-30 from the charity stripe. Conversely, Indiana went 2-15 from deep and 14-25 from the line.

Ace in the hole

It was a balanced attack for the Nittany Lions, with all five starters reaching double figures.

Ace Baldwin seems to be settling into his role without Kanye Clary more and more each game, finishing with 23 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals. Saturday was the seventh time in the last 10 outings that Ace Baldwin has scored at least 15 points, and his third time over the 20-point mark.

Zach Hicks appears to have finally found his stroke as well, adding 17 with a 4-8 performance from three.

Mike Rhoades getting his program-building wins

Now at 14-14 (8-9 Big Ten), the postseason is most likely out of the picture for Penn State basketball unless a miracle conference tournament run is in the cards.

But these are the types of games that Mike Rhoades needs to win at the end of his first year. Penn State and Indiana are similar teams within the Big Ten standings and winning these games can certainly be program builders for next season.

“I just thought we did a good job the last two days,” Mike Rhoades said after the game. “We were just very focused. We didn’t practice long yesterday, but we were very focused. I said let’s build on Wednesday [and the win over Illinois]. Let’s not let Wednesday hurt us today. So, the guys did a good job.”

Penn State basketball will head back on the road for a Tuesday night clash in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes. The game will tip off at 9:00 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.

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