Penn State's Shooting 'Swag' Fizzles Vs. Northwestern

The Lions gave up a 10-point lead, and coach Mike Rhoades challenged the officiating.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | There were a lot of moments Wednesday night that seemed to indicate Penn State was starting to turn a corner for coach Mike Rhoades. Hosting one of the Big Ten’s leading teams in Northwestern, the Nittany Lions carried a 10-point lead in the second half. Rhoades walked way out onto the court at one point to wave his arms wildly, prompting the Bryce Jordan Center crowd to its loudest level of the season. But then came a nearly four-minute, 15-0 Northwestern run before an exciting rally was too little, too late.

Northwestern defeated Penn State 76-72 on Wednesday, keyed by 61.4 percent shooting (7-for-12 from 3-point range) compared to Penn State’s 17.6 percent (3-for-17) from the arc. Penn State (8-2, 2-3 Big Ten) dictated the pace against the traditionally slow Wildcats, forcing 18 total Northwestern turnovers on 14 steals. Northwestern (12-3, 3-1) ended a five-game losing streak against Penn State.

Both Rhoades and Northwestern coach Chris Collins received technical fouls, and both sides took groan-worthy calls. Northwestern’s long run came right on the back of Rhoades’ technical. He gave one official a point and death stare after calling a quick timeout. 

“Everybody has responsibility when you're in a game. Everybody. Coaches, people that are running the event, the referees. Everybody has a job to do. So do your job. That's all I'm asking,” Rhoades said after the game. "It doesn't have to be perfect. We're all human, but obvious is obvious. I don't have many technicals in my 28 years. I really don't.”

Brooks Barnhizer led Northwestern with 23 points, while Boo Buie and Ty Berry (4-5 from deep) poured in 17 and 16, respectively. Kanye Clary led all scorers again with 25 points for Penn State. And another abysmal Penn State shooting night, even on mostly good looks, doomed what seemed like a promising performance at home.

“You gotta get in the gym and shoot," Rhoades said. "You gotta get a coach and you got to get a manager to rebound for you. You gotta watch it go in, and you got to get a swag about it. Say, 'Man, I'm not going through this again. I'm gonna make shots.' Woe is me doesn't work, man, shooting the ball. 'Give me the ball back. I've been working on this. I'm gonna make the next one. Watch this.' … That's the swag mentality you gotta have when you want to make shots, especially at this level.

“It's hurt us this year. I thought we'd be a better shooting team. I really did. We don't have enough swag shooting the ball.”

The backbreaker for Penn State (8-8, 2-3 Big Ten) came on its next-to-last possession, as Nick Kern Jr. intentionally missed a free throw down three points but was called for a questionable lane violation. He drew the foul after a couple of missed layups from Penn State in favor of a 3-point attempt with under one minute to play while trailing by three.

“Well, it wasn't a lane violation. You can watch the video. It hit the rim and then Nick stepped in. I mean, it was obvious,” Rhoades said, adding they call the play “quickie.” As for the decision to drive the lane, he said, “If you have an open three, bang it, but it's not like we were making a ton of them. But because we have some fast guys, get downhill and score as fast as you can.”

Rhoades aptly called the loss a tale of two halves. Penn State had a 40-32 lead at the break and its full-court press was suffocating. Collins mentioned how Rhoades’ defensive style is unique in the Big Ten and caused problems for the Wildcats. Penn State kept the ball away from Buie for a while before he broke through.

Then Penn State crumbled in a second period that featured nine turnovers and 37 percent shooting. Despite forcing 14 steals, Penn State scored just 19 points off of 18 turnovers. The ball became stagnant down the stretch as Northwestern figured out how to beat Penn State’s press and get the ball to its scorers.

Wednesday night was another chapter in the book of a team that has been close but not close enough. Important players stepped up with big games, like Clary with 25 points, Ace Baldwin Jr.'s program-record-tying eight steals and Qudus Wahab’s double-double down low. Penn State won on the glass and at the foulline. But it still lost in the one stat that matters.

“There's no consolation prizes. There's been times we're close,” Rhoades said. “You play good teams, you can't beat yourself.”

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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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