Penn State Men’s Basketball Starts Slow, Can’t Catch Up To Cornhuskers In 82-66 Road Loss
Penn State (14-13, 6-8 Big Ten) struggled to get it going early on the court in Lincoln on Tuesday night and weren’t able to recover as it was handled easily by Nebraska 82-66. This was Penn State’s sixth conference road loss out of the eight that they’ve played on the 2016-17 slate.
Nebraska (11-14, 5-8 Big Ten) never trailed the Nittany Lions as sophomores Jack McVeigh and Glynn Watson Jr. led the Cornhuskers with 15 points each in the win.
How It Happened
Nebraska managed to end its three-game losing skid that they brought into the Valentine’s Day matchup behind what may have been the Huskers’ best shooting night since their 93-90 win in double overtime on Jan. 5 against Iowa.
After a difficult start to the first half, the Nittany Lions went on a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to five with eight seconds left. A phenomenal half-court shot by Nebraska’s Jack McVeigh found nylon at the buzzer and the Cornhuskers took an eight-point lead into the break, never looking back.
Jack McVeigh has range. #JackMcTreigh #JackMcFarAway pic.twitter.com/I4QDdEsan7
— Kevin Sjuts (@kevinsjuts) February 15, 2017
Nebraska, who have been just 1-5 in games decided by single digits since that Iowa game, have been much better than its record depicts, and is one of the farthest trips that the Nittany Lions have to make over the course of the B1G grind.
The hot shooting night for the Huskers saw them make an astonishing 55.4% of their shots, while also knocking down 15 of their 20 free throw attempts.
Forwards Ed Morrow and Isaiah Roby recorded two highlight-level dunks to officially bang the nails into the coffin, as Penn State struggled to contain the size and scoring ability of Nebraska’s big men. McVeigh, Morrow, and Ruby, all 6’7 or taller, combined for 27 points off the bench for head coach Tim Miles’ team.
Meanwhile, Penn State saw many of their most vital contributors struggle from the field. Veteran forward Payton Banks went a subpar 2-10 from the field, and star guard Shep Garner and freshman wingman Lamar Stevens combined to make only eight of their 26 attempts from the field.
Despite 15 points and seven rebounds for point guard Tony Carr, the Nittany Lions were battered on the boards with the Huskers recording a 40-29 rebounding advantage. The lead maxed out at 23 at the four-minute mark media timeout with Nebraska taking a 82-66 win.
Player Of The Game
Tony Carr | Freshman | Point Guard
The young floor general racked up 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting — which isn’t bad considering most of his teammates were struggling to hit anything from the field. The game marked Carr’s seventh straight double-digit performance.
What’s Next
The Nittany Lions’ loss is certainly disappointing following back-to-back impressive wins over No. 21 Maryland at home and on the road at Illinois. However, Pat Chambers’ crew has seven days to recuperate before their next game: a matchup in the Bryce Jordan Center against No. 15 Purdue at 6 p.m.
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