Takeaways From Penn State's Bitter Loss to Georgia Tech

Beyond the controversial foul call, the Nittany Lions had other issues against the Yellow Jackets.

The vicious Penn State basketball cycle has hit full stride in Mike Rhoades’ first season at the helm. The Nittany Lions fell in heartbreaking fashion Saturday at Madison Square Garden after officials made a foul call, with 2 seconds remaining in overtime, that should have never happened. Georgia Tech overcame Penn State’s one-point lead with a pair of free throws, and Ace Baldwin Jr. was off the mark from half court to end an 82-81 Yellow Jackets victory.

This all, of course, happened after the Lions turned an 18-point, second-half deficit into a win over a talented Ohio State team one week prior. Penn State once again fell behind by double digits (10 points) in the second half Saturday but came all the way back with a chance to win in regulation. But Baldwin rushed a 3-pointer and missed again.

Penn State’s season through 11 games is confusing to say the least. The Nittany Lions (5-6) have the quality win over Ohio State, played close with No. 12 Texas A&M and should have beaten a Georgia Tech team that boasts wins over No. 7 Duke and No. 21 Mississippi State. Then again, Penn State has yet to win away from the Bryce Jordan Center and dropped an embarrassing game to Bucknell. At the least, some typical trends have started to rear their heads.

Something’s gotta give down low

Georgia Tech scored 42 points in the paint to Penn State’s 28 and outrebounded the Nittany Lions 54-32 with 20 offensive rebounds. It was even worse at halftime, with Georgia Tech leading 26-8 on the glass.

Penn State’s biggest paint presence, Qudus Wahab, had 10 rebounds but only four points in 34 minutes. Kanye Clary (5-11) was second on the team with seven rebounds. The Lions are still badly missing the presence of 6-11 forward Favour Aire as he rehabs from a hand injury. Demetrius Lilley has played only sparingly as the second big man off the bench, while Rhoades has opted to play small ball with wing Leo O’Boyle at the five often.

Rhoades more than once has addressed the concerns down low, but Penn State was exposed again Saturday. The Yellow Jackets also shot 45.1 percent from the field, their second-best performance of the season. The Big Ten schedule intensifies at the turn of the New Year, when Penn State will be tested continually by teams that are strong inside.

When the shots aren’t falling...

... Penn State struggles. The Lions fell under 40 percent from the field over the course of Saturday’s game, the third time they’ve done so this season. They were hovering around 45 percent in the first half and really caught fire while overcoming the 10-point deficit in the second half. But with the chance to close things out, Penn State’s shot selection and conversion rate plummeted down the stretch.

It’s more than a trend at this point. Prior to the Ohio State win, Penn State had gone eight straight games with a sub-33 percent shooting performance from 3-point range. It did surpass that mark against Georgia Tech, but inconsistency elsewhere hindered things. Rhoades has said his team shoots it better in practice than in games, but there’s plenty of concern about this team’s potential from the floor.

Penn State’s defense is keeping it in games. It forced 17 Georgia Tech turnovers and scored 27 points off them, compared to the Yellow Jackets’ nine. That's been Penn State's most successful area this season, but it’s time to start backing it up with consistent offense.

Time for a lineup change?

Team captain and North Carolina transfer Puff Johnson began the season with an injury and took some time to return but has been a staple in the starting lineup since. But he has struggled mightily to score. After going scoreless in the first half Saturday, Johnson hit a second-half 3-pointer for his first points in three games. He ended with 15, including some big triples down the stretch, but was just 6-for-16 and 3-for-12 from deep.

Johnson undoubtedly is a leader leader, but his on-court performance has been uneven. He was also in foul trouble Saturday. Meanwhile, reserve guard D’Marco Dunn has turned himself into a bona fide sixth man and maybe more.

Dunn scored 17 against Georgia Tech, his third double-digit performance of the season. Saturday was just his second time playing 20-plus minutes this season, and it might be time for more. Dunn is another capable ball handler behind Clary and Baldwin with a really smooth jump shot. As Johnson has struggled, Dunn has provided a spark. Rhoades potentially could look at adjusting minutes distribution in order to get this team back on track after a 5-6 start to the year.

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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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