2023-2024 Penn State men's basketball Report Card: vs. Northwestern

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s basketball suffered its third conference loss of the season, falling to the Northwestern Wildcats 76-72 Wednesday night.

The Wildcats came back from a 10-point Nittany Lion lead in the second half and scored 44 points in that timeframe en route to their win. After a valiant effort by the Nittany Lions, their performance was not enough to get a big home win against a great Northwestern squad.

Offense: C+

The offense started hot in the first half, scoring 40 points on 55.6% shooting from the floor. Sophomore guard Kanye Clary had another 20-point performance, with 25 points on 7-13 shooting with four rebounds and two assists.

The offense was doing well, especially with junior guard Ace Baldwin Jr. dishing out five assists and having Clary and a few others drive into the lane for contested buckets. But a usual culprit reared its ugly head: the three-point shot.

Penn State went 3-17 from the floor, which equates to 18% on the night, which marks the second game out of the last three that the blue and white has failed to shoot over 20% from beyond the arc. Junior forward Zach Hicks fell silent on the night, going 0-6 from downtown, marking the fifth time he’s not hit a three-pointer.

During the middle stretch of the second half, the Penn State offense fell silent, losing its eight-point lead in a 15-point run. In that stretch, Penn State committed three turnovers and missed three shots.

Defense: B+

Coming into the game, the Wildcats ranked fifth in the country in turnovers per game with 8.8 per game, while the Nittany Lions ranked 14th in turnovers forced per game with 16.67 per game. Something had to give in this matchup.

Penn State’s defense came up big, forcing 18 turnovers on the day, the highest the Wildcats have given up all season. The first half saw Chris Collins’ squad struggle, scoring 32 points and turning the ball over seven times.

The second half saw a switch flip with the Wildcats, shooting over 78% from the floor alone. That led to 44 points and the win for Northwestern.

The defense started to get too aggressive and started to foul more on steal attempts. The rotations seemed late and led to guard Boo Buie finding cutters to the basket for easy points.

Coaching: C+

Early in the season, head coach Mike Rhoades talked about increasing the tempo, which favored guards like Baldwin Jr. and Clary. However, it seems that it can get too fast toward the end of the game when you try to win the ballgame.

With less than a minute left, Baldwin Jr. got a steal down two points. He tried to make a play at the high post but got poked away by Northwestern, which led to the eventual win.

In situations like that, slowing down the pace can be crucial to set up a good shot to either tie the game or win it. Baldwin elected to keep up the tempo to try and get a quick bucket.

Change of pace in this game can make defenses question what the next move will be. It can lead to an eventual win.

Jonathan Draeger is a fourth-year broadcast journalism major. To contact him, email jonathan.r.draeger43@gmail.com or jrd6052@psu.edu.