PSU Hoops drops Big Ten matchup against Michigan State, falls to 5-5
Penn State traveled to East Lansing on Saturday to face off against its third ranked team in its last two weeks of play.
The Michigan State Spartans proved to be as good as their ranking, though, slowly pulling further away from the Nittany Lions as the game went on.
Both teams went back and forth through the first few minutes of action, and Penn State looked like it had a chance to control the game after playing at its tempo for a while.
Michigan State’s ability to get out and run dashed that thought quickly, though.
The Spartans held a 15-4 run in the last five minutes of the first half to carry a 13-point lead into the break.
The momentum stayed with Michigan State in the second half, too, building as much as a 19-point lead at one point.
Penn State couldn’t get much of anything going in the second half, and a decent offensive showing overall for the Nittany Lions went to waste in a dominant performance from Michigan State.
Micah Shrewsberry’s group fell 80-64 to make the team 5-5 on the year.
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Transition Defense
Michigan State’s speed was on full display against Penn State on Saturday for all 40 minutes of play.
The Spartans absolutely dominated in transition. They scored 33 points on the fast break compared to the Nittany Lions’ 1.
Even off of Penn State made shots, Michigan State was back on the other end in a hurry. Penn State didn’t have an answer, and it showed up in the final score big time.
It translated to the rest of Michigan State’s offense, too, as everything just seemed to open up and get easier for the Spartans as the game wore on.
They shot 53% from the floor, dominating inside with a rebounding advantage and even shooting it well from beyond the arc at 43%.
Penn State wins turnover battle
What seems to have plagued Penn State all season actually wasn’t much of a factor in the blowout loss to Michigan State.
The Nittany Lions turned the ball over just seven times throughout the contest, well below their average of 13.7 per game. Meanwhile, Michigan State actually coughed it up 11 times.
Penn State’s offensive sets actually looked pretty good throughout the day, it simply struggled to put the ball through the basket on many occasions.
The blue and white’s offense was controlled and had the right tempo for it to succeed, but once again the Spartans were just too strong in transition.
Outside shooting struggles
While the offensive sets were good for the most part on Saturday, Penn State really struggled to put the ball through the basket, especially from deep.
The Nittany Lions didn’t make their first 3-pointer until midway through the second half, finishing 5-for-20. Seth Lundy overcame a slow start to shoot a respectable 3-for-5 from the arc with 18 points, but he was largely the only production from deep.
John Harrar was a bright spot inside, corralling yet another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Lee returns
Greg Lee made his much anticipated return to the court Saturday after dealing with a foot injury through the beginning of the season.
He played 15 minutes in his Penn State debut, scoring five points with two rebounds.
He’ll take some time to get up to speed, but it’s a good sign for the Nittany Lions that he’s back on the floor.
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