No. 20 Penn State men’s basketball (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) fell to Wisconsin (10-6, 3-2 Big Ten) 58-49 for its first home loss of the season Saturday afternoon.

Despite 19 points from Lamar Stevens, the Nittany Lions struggled to put the ball in the hoop against a stifling Wisconsin defense. While Pat Chambers’ squad made a few second half runs, they failed to ever take the lead away from the Badgers in the final minutes. Micah Potter led the way for Greg Gard’s team with 24 points and 13 total rebounds.

How It Happened

The first few minutes of this one was, well, not good. Neither team scored until there was 15:16 left in the first half, when Micah Potter nailed a lay up inside for Wisconsin. Potter hit a three shortly after to give the Badgers a 5-0 lead, while the Nittany Lions opened the game by going 0-for-12 from the field.

Potter hit another three and a lay up over the next few minutes to give his squad a 10-0 lead. Penn State finally woke up when Lamar Stevens quickly hit a couple of jumpers to shorten the Badgers’ lead to 10-5.

After an Izaiah Brockington dunk, Wisconsin went on a 6-0 run and took an 18-9 lead. Myreon Jones shut that down with a pretty fadeaway, but Potter responded with another three for his 15th points of the night. The Badgers just kept coming on offense, as Potter hit yet another trey while Brad Davison and Kobe King added some value. Greg Gard’s squad took a 28-17 lead with 3:05 left in the first half, and Pat Chambers took a timeout.

The Nittany Lions closed out the period with a smooth take by Jamari Wheeler and a three by Brockington, and took a 31-22 deficit in to the locker room.

Penn State still looked sluggish on the offensive end to open the second half. Other than a three from Stevens, the Nittany Lions couldn’t score entering the first media timeout. Wisconsin held a 36-25 lead with 15:56 left in the second half.

The Nittany Lions stormed back after the break, as a couple of strong finishes from Stevens and a three from Myreon Jones helped to shorten Wisconsin’s lead. Brockington nailed an and-one lay up which tightened the game to a 41-37 Wisconsin lead with 10:43 remaining.

Lamar Stevens and @PennStateMBB are starting to heat up at the BJC. pic.twitter.com/JxeIFnr0Ei

— Onward State (@OnwardState) January 11, 2020

Chambers’ squad proceeded to miss five consecutive three-point attempts, and the Badgers managed to stretch their lead out as the Nittany Lions went cold. King and Davison both made some clutch, contested shots, and suddenly Wisconsin led 50-39 with less than eight minutes left in this one.

Despite their inability to hit outside shots, the Nittany Lions were kept somewhat alive in this game thanks to solid finishes at the rim from Brockington and Stevens. Still, though, the Badgers continued to find answers of their own and held a 54-45 lead with 3:23 to go.

Wisconsin controlled the game down the stretch. The Badgers were extremely tough to stop inside, and scored baskets at will to close out the game while the Nittany Lions never really found a rhythm. Curtis Jones Jr. fittingly bricked a three to end a game in which the Nittany Lions went 5-for-21 from deep, and the Badgers ran down the clock to win 58-49.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions were unable to play their usual style of basketball throughout Saturday’s game. Wisconsin turned the ball over just nine times, which didn’t allow for Pat Chambers’ squad to score any quick, fast break points that they’ve relied upon so far this season.
• Penn State’s inability to make shots didn’t help its cause in a game that was played at such a slow pace. The Nittany Lions converted on just five of their 21 three-point attempts, and were hitting at 33% overall from the field. The offense struggled to get in any sort of rhythm, and Wisconsin did just enough to outpace Chambers’ squad.
• Mike Watkins struggled to add much value in a game that Wisconsin scored plenty of buckets inside. The senior played just 15 total minutes, scored zero points, and collected just four rebounds by the end of the game. While Saturday was definitely an outlier in what has been an impressive season for Watkins thus far, he’ll need to bounce back quickly as Penn State has several tough Big Ten match ups ahead.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will head north to take on Minnesota on Wednesday, January 15. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and is set to tip off at 9 p.m.