Penn State secures Big Ten Tournament semifinals berth, tops Northwestern in OT

Penn State needed overtime to beat Northwestern in Evanston on March 1 in a critical boost to its postseason chances. Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions did it again.

A replay of the night prior, when Penn State topped Illinois to virtually assure an NCAA Tournament bid, head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s postgame sentiment proved prescient.

“Just a lot of trust in each other. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Shrewsberry said Thursday night in Chicago. “We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through a lot this year. Highs and lows throughout, and not just like a season, in games. But there’s a belief. There’s a belief in each other that no matter what happens we’re going to stay together and fight. We’re undersized. We battle. 

“But when the game’s on the line and things aren’t going well, this group is really, really tough at the end of the day. Really tough. We just continue to fight, we continue to fight, we continue to fight until the tide starts turning our way.”

Led by a gritty defensive effort and crucial shots, Penn State epitomized the notion with a 67-65 overtime win over Northwestern. Unable to reproduce the same offensive efficiency, and suffering an uncharacteristic bout of struggles from the free throw line, the Nittany Lions instead relied on stops and rising to the moment against the 2-seeded Wildcats.

Seth Lundy heroics lift Penn State

Seth Lundy was at the center of the effort. Losing a 7-point advantage in regulation with less than 10 minutes to play, the Nittany Lions found themselves in another back-and-forth with the Wildcats.

Flustered by Brooks Barnhizer, who finished with 15 points for Northwestern to complement Boo Buie’s 16, Penn State’s lead transformed into a 2-point deficit in less than four minutes. But with Lundy rising to the rescue, a deep 3-pointer late in the shot clock at the 5:48 mark steadied the Nittany Lions and recaptured a 48-47 advantage.

Trading free throws and buckets with the Wildcats, with both teams in the bonus in the final minutes, the Nittany Lions faced another 2-point deficit off a Ty Berry 3-pointer with 2:32 to play. And though Jalen Pickett would tie the game at 54-54 with 2:17 to play, a subsequent trip to the free throw line went without a conversion on two attempts.

Instead, Robbie Beran knocked down an easy layup, leaving Lundy to hit an off-balance bucket in the key with 37 seconds to play. Buie couldn’t hit on the other end from beyond the arc, setting up a transition 3-point attempt for Andrew Funk that rattled out at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Heading to OT

In the overtime period, a 3-pointer from Pickett opened the scoring between the two teams, following it with another 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line off a Northwestern miss. But, unable to knock down a field goal for nearly four minutes, Lundy’s shotmaking was again crucial in facing another deficit. This time, trailing 62-61, Lundy again lifted for a critical contested 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to create a 2-point cushion the Nittany Lions wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

Bolstered by two made Pickett free throws to end a streak of six misses in their last seven attempts spanning regulation and the overtime period, the Nittany Lions fouled off a Lundy free throw miss with 7 seconds to play, sending Buie back to the line at 67-64. Making the first, Buie intentionally missed the second, freeing a final look from deep for Chase Audige at the buzzer that rattled out.

Next steps

The win further improves Penn State’s projection as an NCAA Tournament team, ending a 12-year drought for the program. The program is now 21-12 overall on the season with a 12-10 mark against Big Ten competition. The Nittany Lions will face the winner of 3-seed Indiana and 6-seed Maryland on Saturday afternoon with an opportunity to advance to the Big Ten Tournament final.

Penn State again saw double-digit scoring throughout its starting lineup. Propelled by a huge 3-pointer from Seth Lundy, the senior forward led Penn State with 16 points. Penn State’s other high scorers included 14 from Andrew Funk, 15 from Jalen Pickett, and 11 from Kanye Clary off the bench.