Penn State Basketball Fans Storm the Court After Upset of No. 8 Purdue

Penn State led by as many 27 points in the second half in dominating the Boilermakers, the preseason Big Ten favorites.

Penn State students and fans storm the court after the Penn State Nittany Lions upset the Purdue Boilermakers at Bryce Jordan Center. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State kicked off the 2024 Big Ten basketball season with one of its best performances under second-year coach Mike Rhoades, thumping No. 8 Purdue 81-70 to announce its presence as a conference team to watch. The Nittany Lions (8-1) continued their best start to a season in 10 years, ended an eight-game losing streak to Purdue and beat a top-10 team for the first time since 2019.

So two weeks days after Rhoades implored Penn State basketball fans to "sweat with us," the coach watched as students stormed the floor at the Bryce Jordan Center. He did so proudly.

"That was an awesome college basketball crowd," Rhoades told reporters in State College after the game. "I challenged everybody to show up and be loud and sweat with us, and they sure did. … And today was one of those days, our basketball program made some memories for our students and everybody involved in what we're trying to do. And from the bottom of my heart, from everybody that was pushing this and getting everybody there, the students were just, I'm going to say it, freaking awesome. They showed up, they were loud, they were on their feet, they know how to storm a court."

full video: Penn State fans storm the court after tonight’s 81-70 win over No. 8 Purdue. pic.twitter.com/6eKk5DhDRd

— Daniel Gallen (@danieljtgallen) December 6, 2024

Purdue has owned its series against Penn State recently, winning eight straight games since 2020 and 16 of the last 17. But on Thursday night, the Nittany Lions never let Purdue into the game, doing so largely through defense. Penn State held Purdue to 24 first-half points, boxed them into shooting 2-for-9 from 3-point range, forced 14 turnovers and completely cooled the Boilermakers' top players.

Rhoades called it "the best half of defense we've played since I've been here." Through that, Penn State went on an 11-0 run in the first half, built out its lead to 16 at halftime and unloaded on the Boilermakers in the second half.

"If we were on the front line of a war just now, we’d all be dead," Purdue coach Matt Painter told reporters in State College after the game. "Our fight wasn’t even close to Penn State’s fight. It wasn’t even close, remotely close. They played good. They played great defensively, but they were just OK offensively. They've had way better games than this right here."

Penn State stretched its lead to 27 points, suppressing Purdue with a full-court defense that forced 24 turnovers and spreading its scoring across the lineup. Five Nittany Lions scored in double digits, with guard Ace Baldwin Jr. leading the team with 17 points and six assists. Freddie Dilione played one of his best games of the season, producing 14 points and three rebounds. Puff Johnson had 14 points and five rebounds, and Nick Kern had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Penn State shot 49 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range and bullied Purdue with 32 points off turnovers. Baldwin in particular tormented Purdue defensively, pacing a team that led for more than 32 minutes of the first half. Penn State held Purdue's Braden Smith, the conference's preseason player of the year, to just six points and five shots.

"We had to set the tone with our defense and our disruption, because if we didn't, they will set the pace of the game, and they're really good at that," Rhoades said.

Penn State began the season as a Big Ten afterthought. The conference's media ranked the Nittany Lions 17th among 18 teams in its preseason poll, above only Minnesota. Purdue, meanwhile, was the Big Ten's preseason favorite. Penn State beat Purdue for just the third time since 2014, a span of 20 games. Penn State has a long Big Ten season ahead but kicked it off right Thursday with a win over an AP top-10 team for the first time since beating No. 4 Maryland on Dec. 10, 2019.

"I just thought it was an unbelievable team and program effort of getting ready to play one of the flagship programs in not just in the Big 10 but in college basketball," Rhoades said. "... That's where we want to get to someday, and today was a good step in that direction."

Up Next

Penn State plays its first Big Ten road game Tuesday at Rutgers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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