Penn State's Unbeaten, but Mike Rhoades Isn't Comfortable

The Nittany Lions coach looks for the right combinations before the schedule gets tougher.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | It was all Penn State, to say the least, at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions ran Saint Francis (Pa.) off the floor, storming to a 46-18 halftime lead before cruising to the finish line for an 83-53 victory

Penn State is now 3-0 to start the Mike Rhoades era, with little difficulty in the opening stretch. It picked up a 79-45 win over Delaware State in last Monday’s opener, while Lehigh kept it a bit closer Friday before Penn State won 74-65. In the KenPom rankings Saint Francis ranked No. 359 of 362, Lehigh No. 249 and Delaware State No. 331. But it’s three wins for No. 81 Penn State nonetheless.

“I wish I could say I'm comfortable, I'll never be comfortable or satisfied. I think we can get a lot better. I really do. I think we still are trying to figure out who plays best with who,” Rhoades said Tuesday after the win. “I made this comment to our staff last week. I don't think these guys realize how good they can be now, but they're still feeling things out, too.”

Let’s take inventory on the Lions after Tuesday’s win.

Cleaned up and locked down

After averaging 18 turnovers per game coming into the night, Penn State turned over the ball just eight times, a point of emphasis for Rhoades through the past week.

“I told our guys, 'If you want to be able to beat really good teams, you can't give them the ball. And it doesn't matter who you play, that's gotta be your standard,’” Rhoades said. “I thought Saint Francis tried to blitz us a couple of times, trap us, try to get up on the ball and deny some passes, and we were just more aware of not throwing 50-50 balls.”

On the other side, Penn State’s defense was suffocating, a continued trend against easier competition to start the season. Saint Francis’ turnovers were the story, as it racked up 20 that led to 28 Penn State points. Defensive prowess will be a hallmark of Rhoades’ team, which came into the night 25th in the country in opponent shooting percentage and fourth in opposing 3-point shooting.

If there’s an area for concern, a much smaller Saint Francis lineup held even rebounding with Penn State, 40-40. The Lions had only a one-rebound advantage over Lehigh as well.

“We gotta rebound better," Rhoades said. "We gotta start hitting people and getting clean rebounds. We can't give up so many offensive rebounds. That's huge as we move up a weight class here, we got to make sure we clean up the glass.”

Spread the love

Penn State has shown through these three games its offense will come from a handful of players. Four Nittany Lions hit double figures Tuesday, and eight different scorers have put up at least eight points in a single game this season. It’s all part of Rhoades’ plan to “build an army” offensively.

“In an army, you got the guy to your left, the guy to the right, you got everybody's back. That's important,” Rhoades said. “Our style of play allows so many people to contribute because of the pace, because of the defense. We're always going to be like that. I want to get to a point where we're 10 deep and our second team is just as good as our first team. That's our goal, man. And it's a fun way to play.”

Kanye Clary put up back-to-back 20-point outings to start the season, including his career high 22 in the opener. He led the team again with 14 Tuesday and has become the clear focal point of the group.

Zach Hicks has offered the most consistent option from deep, while big man Qudus Wahab has a double-double on the young season. Wahab had a career-high 18 rebounds against Lehigh and poured in 12 points against Saint Francis with a significant height advantage.

Second-year guard Jameel Brown, the breakout star of the opener with 20 points, cooled off and did not score Tuesday. His shooting has been lights out, though, with an 80-percent mark from distance, providing a changeup offensively.

The star VCU transfer, Ace Baldwin Jr., is the key cog. He hasn’t been awe-inspiring as a scorer but has done a lot to facilitate action. Baldwin leads all Lions with 11 assists this season, tacking on four more Tuesday to go with his 11 points. He was able to create space off the bounce often.

Rotational big man Demetrius Lilley deserves some respect for a career-high eight points Tuesday, scoring with hustle plays in the second half. Rhoades sat Wahab in need of a spark, and Lilley capitalized. His scoring isn’t expected by any means, but Tuesday could serve as an important confidence boost for the young forward. Lilley shed 42 pounds since Rhoades’ arrival and has played noticeably faster. Rhoades joked that Lilley “lost half of himself” at home in Philadelphia.

“I just said to him when he went home for summer break, I said, 'Meech, if you want to get on the court and help us in our style of play, you gotta get in the best shape of your life. Or you're just not going to play. You might, but it's going to be really, really hard,’” Rhoades said. “Now it’s time to keep taking the next step, but today was in the right direction for sure.”

Introducing Puff Johnson

Forward Puff Johnson, one of two North Carolina transfers on the roster, made his long-awaited debut after dealing with an undisclosed injury. He looked good in limited action, scoring six points in 16 minutes. He hustled for three offensive rebounds, too.

“He's a high-IQ guy, he plays really hard, he's physical, he's always around the ball, but he also can shoot it, put it on the floor a little bit,” Rhoades said. “He's a vet. He's been through it. And he's a high-IQ guy. He's gonna make us better. He already has.”

Rhoades added they’ll be able to get Johnson back to full speed soon. He dealt with some soreness this week, getting his body back to being used to full contact.

Injury Report

Forward Favour Aire was the lone Nittany Lion ruled out Tuesday. He’s dealing with a break in his right hand, which is expected to hold him out for roughly a month.

Up Next

Penn State has one more home tune-up game against Morehead State on Friday before it heads to Florida to play in the ESPN Events Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend. That will include an NCAA Tournament rematch with Texas A&M. Rhoades called it “moving up a weight class.”

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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