Penn State men’s basketball (6-7, 3-6 Big Ten) upset No. 14 Wisconsin (13-5, 7-4 Big Ten) 81-71 Saturday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. It’s the Nittany Lions’ first win over the Badgers since 2011.

Myreon Jones led the team with 20 points, while Izaiah Brockington added 18 points and John Harrar had 17 points. After being out with an ankle injury in the loss to Ohio State, Sam Sessoms came back and contributed eight points off of the bench.

How It Happened

Myreon Jones got the scoring started for Penn State with a wide-open three. He then added a nice layup after a steal and assist from Seth Lundy. Though the Nittany Lions allowed a wide-open three on the defensive end, John Harrar answered with a nice cut and layup.

Izaiah Brockington was able to get his afternoon rolling with a good look in the paint. After Wisconsin retook the lead with a layup of its own, Myles Dread hit a three-point shot. The Badgers quickly responded with a three of their own.

The scoring went back and forth, both teams trading blows in the paint. The good thing for Penn State to that point was the number of personal fouls it had, which was zero.

Harrar drew a foul and then made one-of-two free throws. On the next offensive possession, Brockington had a fast break. Even though Wisconsin responded, Jamari Wheeler hit a three that tied the game.

The back-and-forth continued as Wisconsin scored in the paint and Sam Sessoms responded with a three. Wisconsin scored, then Brockington responded. That was the theme of the first half.

After a three-minute scoring drought, Sessoms hit a big three to bring the lead to one. Wisconsin ended up hitting a three as a response, but then Jones made one to cut that lead right back down to one.

Wisconsin drew a foul with three seconds left in the first half. The team made both free throws, and Penn State went into halftime trailing 34-31.

Wheeler got the scoring started in the second half with a three-pointer from the corner. On the next possession, Jones hit a midrange shot, and Penn State took the lead. Wisconsin quickly responded with a three and took the lead right back.

The Nittany Lions exploited the paint in consecutive possessions, with Jones, Brockington, and Harrar all getting baskets down low. Brockington’s basket was a massive slam dunk that ignited the bench.

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— Onward State (@OnwardState) January 30, 2021

The Badgers were not going away, though. Every time it felt like the Nittany Lions could continue to build their lead, Wisconsin kept scoring and keeping the game close.

Brockington and Harrar scored on consecutive buckets on the offensive side, but Wisconsin hit a three to slow the momentum. That didn’t phase Jones, however, as he drew a foul and made the basket, while also knocking down the free throw.

After a bit of a scoreless drought, Jones hit a wide-open three at the top of the arc. Harrar would get to the free throw line on the following offensive possession, but he would miss both of the free throws.

Lundy got his first basket of the game with a little over six minutes left in the second half. He tried to capitalize on that on the next possession but he missed the three.

Even though Wisconsin was keeping it close, Penn State would stay one step ahead. When the Badgers had a wide-open slam dunk, Brockington was able to respond with a fadeaway shot as the shot clock expired.

On the defensive end, Wheeler got the steal and Harrar was able to convert that into a made layup and a made free throw. Dread got himself to the free throw line on the next offensive possession and he made both.

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— Onward State (@OnwardState) January 30, 2021

Penn State got key defensive stops down the stretch in the last two minutes and capitalized on going to the free-throw line. Wisconsin made an effort to stay in the game, even as the lead continued to grow. However, it was not enough to overcome a second-half surge and Penn State won 81-71.

Takeaways

• Sam Sessoms being healthy is huge for Penn State. It was unclear how serious his ankle injury was when he sat out against Ohio State, but the fact that he is back and is able to provide that spark off the bench is huge. It was a noticeable difference with Sessoms back, and it absolutely helped this team pull off the upset.
• Seth Lundy can’t go scoreless in a basketball game. He is too good to be shut down by the opposing defense. The fact that not only he only scored two points, but wasn’t until three-quarters of the way through the game is not a good sign. If this team wants to get on any sort of winning streak, Lundy has to be a part of the offense and he has to contribute to scoring.
• The game today shows how good Penn State can be when it doesn’t constantly foul. The Nittany Lions stood their ground when they needed to and they caused turnovers. It feels like the Nittany Lions are in their groove when they don’t foul as often.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions have a chance to keep up the momentum as they take on the Badgers again, this time in Madison. That game tips off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 2, and will air on FS1.