UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Indiana fell to Penn State on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 83-74.
Indiana dropped to 14-13 on the season, 6-10 in conference play and 11th in the Big Ten standings. IU dropped both regular season games against the Nittany Lions for the first time since 2008-09.
Up next, Indiana hosts Wisconsin for its penultimate home game of the campaign. That game is set for a 7pm tipoff in Bloomington.
Here's how it happened Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center:
Indiana plays a strong first half, but still trails by multiple possessions at the break
Last time out, there’s no two ways around it: versus Nebraska, the Hoosiers rolled over in the first 20 minutes, fought for 10, and rolled over again for the final 10.
There was clear intention throughout the first half of IU’s contest with Penn State to not let that effort, or lack thereof, be replicated. Indiana played with hardened intensity, and although hampered by fouls, looked to be playing a strong enough first stint to enjoy some of the fruits that labor would bring. Before the game, head coach Mike Woodson told Big Ten Network that his team would need to play with urgency in everything they did on Saturday. To its credit, Indiana did that despite a slower start on the offensive end for both sides.
However, Woodson also acknowledged that his team has only played well in spurts this season, that competing on a consistent basis requires being more reliable in the carrying out of those processes. It once again reared its ugly head on Saturday.
The game tied at 32-all with 2:55 to play before the intermission, the Hoosiers didn’t convert on another field goal attempt before the halftime buzzer sounded. Penn State scored eight of the last nine points to end the first 20 minutes, carrying a seven-point advantage at the break.
In this lies the root of frustration for this Indiana team – to be able to play some of its hardest basketball of late, not see the benefit of it and then be burned by a small sample of play. Some of Indiana’s greatest consistency lies in its inconsistency, and this season will be forgotten not long from its conclusion, in part, because of that.
Hoosiers decide they will win in own fashion or die trying, and die trying
It’s not exposing any secrets to suggest Indiana struggles to shoot the three or stretch the floor on offense.
Indiana already had a game this season where it didn’t make a single three throughout the contest, and through the first 30 minutes of the Hoosiers’ trip to State College was flirting with that same fate. The first time of asking, it proved to not be a winning formula. But as Indiana chipped away in making up its deficit out of the half, the Hoosiers continued to play their way – pounding the ball into the paint and putting an emphasis on getting to the free throw line.
At the under-12 timeout in the second half, 47 of the Hoosiers’ 49 points came from either the paint or the free throw line, but IU’s deficit was only five and, at one moment, was down to just three. The same trend continued into the next stint, where IU’s 65-56 deficit was aided by outside shooting for the Nittany Lions and offensive rebounds.
Ultimately, 64 of Indiana’s 74 points on the afternoon came from the painted area or free throw line, and IU made just two threes on 15 attempts.
Indiana died trying.
Hoosiers waste monumental day from Malik Reneau
When Indiana did make its clawback attempt in the second half, it came on the fatigued back of Malik Reneau. In one of his best games to date as a Hoosier, Reneau fought through clear indications that he was tiring to keep the Hoosiers in the game.
Finishing the day with 27 points on 9-of-14 from the field, his second half input of 17 points was one of the only sources of offense that could be counted on.
Yet, poor free throw shooting and a large discrepancy in outside shooting in favor of the Nittany Lions (PSU outscored IU 27-3 from beyond the arc) prevented Indiana from winning in a building it hasn’t done so in since 2018.
This was the first time Indiana has been swept in the home-and-away series versus PSU since 2008-09.
Full Box Score
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