Penn State Stunned in Home Closer

The Nittany Lions suffered a tough loss tonight losing 93-70 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Penn State came into this one after a strong win Friday on Senior Night against Northwestern, beating them by a score of 67-60. However, tonight was a different story as, although the Lions got off to a hot start, Nebraska was always right there to answer.

Cornhuskers’ freshman guard Bryce McGowens led the way for Nebraska scoring 25 points. Seth Lundy led the team in points with 12, but the Nittany Lions struggled, shooting only 34.6% beyond the arch, with Nebraska shooting 65%. Coming into this game, Nebraska did not have a single road win, with only one win in the Big Ten. After suffering a tough loss to Iowa on Friday, Coach Fred Hoilberg knew that his team had the capability to win this one if they played their game. “I just thought we made the right play all game long” Hoilberg stated. Nebraska went on a 19-9 run towards the end of the first half which helped propel them to keep the Nittany Lions out of reach.

The Cornhuskers also came flying out at the start of the second half, having a 58-35 at the first media timeout. Senior guard Myles Dread put it best, “Nebraska played harder than we did.” Dread was not the only one that struggled tonight for Penn State, as the team shot 46.6% as a whole from the field, while the Cornhuskers notched 58.2%. Nittany Lions head coach Micah Shrewsberry blamed the loss on lack of preparation and poor management by the coaching staff. “I did a terrible job of getting these guys ready,” stated Shrewsberry.

Penn State was number one in the Big Ten in scoring defense coming into this game, only allowing 64.6 points per game. However, Penn State was not able to have an answer for Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers out rebounded the Nittany Lions 34-22, not giving Penn State much time with the ball.

This win for Nebraska puts them at 8-21 on the season with just their second win in the Big Ten, while Penn State falls to 12-14 overall, being 7-11 in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers will travel to #22 ranked Ohio State Tuesday and end their regular season at home against #13 Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions will begin their two game road stretch to end the season, starting against #15 Illinois Thursday night and ending against Rutgers on Sunday.