Penn State, Michigan seek rebound following latest losses
Before Penn State had taken to the hardwood at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday evening, Michigan’s fate had already been sealed. Entering a Top 25 tilt at Purdue leading into the Nittany Lions’ late tip, the Wolverines were thoroughly demolished in a 91-64 decision.
Within two hours after that outcome, Penn State found itself experiencing the same frustrations. Also on the wrong end of the win/loss column, though, the Nittany Lions wound up there in a considerably different manner.
Fighting to a 76-75 finish against the Hawkeyes, Penn State battled through a deficit that ballooned to as many as 10 points in the second half. Closing that gap to a point with a 7-0 run in the final minutes, the Nittany Lions were unable to ever completely get over the hump. The missed opportunity didn’t come without a realistic chance to come away with the much-needed win, though, prompting head coach Mike Rhoades to share his frustrations.
“We played some defense there the last seven minutes and got ourselves back into it. Our fight down the stretch was great, guys competed,” Rhoades said. “We missed some free throws late and we had that one turnover, missed a layup. Just a little bit better clock management at the end there. We gave ourselves a chance to win on the road and we didn’t do it.”
Monday evening, the Nittany Lions will attempt to reverse course.
Falling to 3-6 in Big Ten play with the outcome in Iowa, including a 1-5 record over their last six, the Nittany Lions will face a Michigan team in Ann Arbor (6:30 p.m., BTN) that has proven itself as one of the nation’s best under new head coach Dusty May. The Wolverines enter the matchup boasting a 6-2 record in the conference with a 14-5 overall mark and the nation’s No. 20 spot in the updated NCAA NET rankings.
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Despite the setback to the Boilermakers, Michigan has been among the country’s most efficient offenses. Right in line with Penn State’s 83.8 points per game, the Wolverines are only one spot back in the rankings at No. 19 with 83.5 points per outing and the nation’s No. 6-ranked effective FG rate (58.1 percent).
An ongoing challenge for Penn State, the Wolverines are also among the country’s top rebounding teams. Now +6.9 rebounds per game, Michigan is 28th nationally against Penn State’s No. 187-ranked +1.3 margin per game. In conference only games, Penn State is 16th in rebounding to the Wolverines’ mark of third-best.
In the wake of Michigan’s season-low 64 points in West Lafayette, Ind., though, Penn State will search out an opportunity to prolong the Wolverines’ scoring drought from one game into two.
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