Seeking winning streak, Penn State takes aim at Michigan

When Penn State and Indiana met at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 11, the two teams were streaking. The Nittany Lions had sustained back-to-back losses to Michigan and Purdue while the Hoosiers dropped decisions to Iowa and Northwestern.

Framed as a backs-against-the-wall moment for both teams, Penn State emerged with a dominant, 85-66 win. Recalling the situation earlier this week, though, Nittany Lion head coach Micah Shrewsberry put context to the difficulty of this year’s Big Ten slate. 

While the Hoosiers faced harsh questions and a gut check in the immediate aftermath, they’ve since responded. Rebounding from a 1-4 start to the conference schedule, Indiana has won four straight and sits firmly in the logjam of the Big Ten standings.

“This league is so fleeting and up and down. Indiana can come in here and people can leave them for dead. And then they just reel off a bunch of wins in a row,” Shrewsberry said. “They’re playing well. They get confidence and the confidence now starts to build from one to the next. So, I think if you can get on a streak like that, it can really help you.”

Penn State setback

Coming off a 65-45 loss at Rutgers on Tuesday night, that streak has yet to materialize for the Nittany Lions this season.

Sitting at 13-7 overall on the season and 4-5 in conference play, Penn State is a team with a few scalps. Ninth in the Big Ten standings, the Nittany Lions have notched wins against Illinois (5-4), Indiana (5-4), Iowa (4-5), and Nebraska (3-7). Losses have come to the top half of the league in Purdue (9-1), Rutgers (9-3), Michigan State (6-4), Michigan (5-4), and Wisconsin (4-5).

What hasn’t happened, however, is anything resembling a run of success from which to build momentum. Technically winning back-to-back Big Ten games against Illinois and Iowa, they were separated by 21 days. They also bookended a five-game winning streak that included the worst opponents on the nonconference schedule. 

But, without having strung wins together, the Nittany Lions have neither the results nor the performances to build on.

“You have to be playing well to put together a string of games. That’s what we’re trying to progress towards,” Shrewsberry said. “We want to be consistent, we want to play well on offense and defense, and we want to be clicking at the right time.”

Next steps

Penn State’s shot at producing a Big Ten winning streak will begin again Sunday afternoon when the Nittany Lions welcome Michigan for the rubber match at the BJC (noon, BTN). 

The first outing for Penn State, venturing to Ann Arbor on Jan. 4, was a 79-69 loss. However, a deficit that had grown to double-digits in the second half was reduced to just a possession in the final minutes. Only a scoring drought and late free throws created the ultimate 10-point differential. 

Aiming to avenge the result, and the disappointing performance in the loss to the Scarlet Knights earlier this week, Penn State will again also try to find what has eluded it this season. In a league with every team scratching and clawing nightly, it’s a message Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions are working to make the run needed to distinguish themselves. 

“There’s not a lot of separation right now. There is at the top. Purdue is separating from everybody else. But two through the rest is really bunched up,” Shrewsberry said. “Now it’s about who can string together a few wins in a row and now they move away from the pack that little bit. So, you got opportunities every single day, every single week to take advantage of it.”

Sunday, the Nittany Lions will get their next chance at it.