Penn State men’s basketball (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) dominated Purdue (7-2, 0-1 Big Ten) 81-70 in the Big Ten season opener in front of a rowdy Bryce Jordan Center crowd.

Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way for the Nittany Lions with 17 points and six assists. Freddie Dilione V added 14 points as five Nittany Lions reached double figures. The defense was the difference maker as Purdue struggled to get anything going all game long.

How It Happened

Mike Rhoades rolled out the same five players that have started every game this season. The Boilermakers won the opening tip but the Nittany Lions got their first stop of the evening on defense. Fletcher Loyer nailed the first field goal of the game on a deep three-pointer and Puff Johnson couldn’t answer on a triple on the other end of the court.

Kachi Nzeh checked into the game after a quick foul from Yanic Konan Niederhauser. Nzeh picked up two fouls of his own in just a minute of action and Konan Niederhauser returned to the court. Johnson finally made the first bucket of the evening for Penn State off an offensive rebound with over three minutes gone. Dilione kept the momentum rolling with a dunk in transition.

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— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 5, 2024

Dilione was called for a foul out of the first media timeout and Loyer knocked down two free-throws for Purdue. Zach Hicks nailed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie it at seven. Baldwin used his body in the paint to draw a foul and hit both shots at the line.

Nick Kern Jr. got into the action a few possessions later, drawing a foul on Braden Smith. Kern hit both shots to give Penn State an 11-9 advantage. The fouls continued to add up for each team, with Johnson shooting two more shots at the charity stripe after the under-twelve timeout. Dominick Stewart committed his first foul of the half shortly after checking into the game, but Purdue couldn’t capitalize on the one-and-one.

D’Marco Dunn earned a steal and then was fouled in transition with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half. Dunn hit one of two from the line and the Nittany Lions returned to their full-court press. Smith fouled Baldwin to put Penn State at the line for the rest of the half and blue and white’s point guard hit both free throw shots.

Hicks brought the Nittany Lion fans to their feet with his second triple of the game but Myles Colvin responded with a bank in three of his own. Jahvin Cater and Dilione went back-to-back on layups and Penn State’s lead reached double-digits. Loyer and Purdue answered with a tough bucket in the paint. Trey Kaufman-Renn finally got going for the Boilermakers with an easy floater right before the under-eight media timeout.

Penn State led 25-18 out of the timeout and Konan Niederhauser scored his first two buckets of the game. The Nittany Lions’ big man couldn’t capitalize on the and-one at the line. Hicks kept the momentum rolling with a step-back mid-range jumper and Matt Painter was forced to call a timeout down 31-18.

Gicarri Harris was called for an offensive foul out of the timeout but Hicks was called for a loose ball foul a few seconds later to give the ball right back to Purdue. The fouls continued from there as the referees tightened up the calls in the final minutes of the opening half. Kaufman-Renn committed his second foul of the half going for an offensive rebound on the next possession.

Dilione and Kern went back-to-back on layups and Penn State led 37-22 with a 1:10 to play. Smith cut into the lead in transition but Dilione had the answer once again with a deep three-pointer. The Nittany Lions headed into the locker room with a 40-24 lead.

Kaufman-Renn started things off for Purdue in the second half with an and-one layup. Smith picked up his third foul on Penn State’s first possession of the half, with Hicks hitting both free throws to follow. Dilione brought the Bryce Jordan Center crowd to its feet with another step-in three to make it a 45-31 ballgame.

Kaufman-Renn used his force to dominate inside with Konan Niederhauser on the bench, slowly cutting into the Penn State lead. Johnson hit a three in front of the Nittany Lion bench right before the first media timeout as Penn State led 50-32. A technical foul was called on the Purdue bench out of the break and Baldwin nailed both free throws to make it a 20-point advantage.

Caleb Furst stopped the bleeding with an easy layup on one end of the floor but Johnson took the points right back with a two-point floater. Kern took the roof off the building with a baseline dunk to extend the lead to 58-34. Furst committed a hard foul on Hicks much to the displeasure of the Penn State fans right before the under-twelve timeout.

SLAM

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— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 6, 2024

Kern kept the scoring going with an easy lay-in from a Baldiwn assist out of the timeout. Loyer got the points back at the charity stripe after a Hicks personal foul. Baldwin drilled a three-pointer but was called for a technical foul for the celebration much to the anger of Rhoades, who let the officials hear it. Dilione continued to stay hot with a mid-range jumper a few possessions later.

Konan Niederhauser began to take over on both ends of the floor with Baldwin on the bench with four fouls. Kaufman-Renn did his best to will the Boilermakers back into the game with a triple from the top of the arc. Dunn responded with a corner three-pointer of his own and the lead was 70-46 at the second-to-last media break.

After the timeout, CJ Cox hit a tough jumper for the Boilermakers. Cox turned defense into offense and added two more in transition off the steal. Cox went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to only 17 before a timeout was called on the floor. Baldwin hit two free throws out of the final break to stop the Boilermakers run.

The final minutes were non-competitive as Penn State had the upset in the bag. Cox hit a few more three-pointers in the final minutes and Hicks added a couple more at the line. Penn State sealed the win with an 81-70 upset victory.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s defense was deafening in the first half, forcing 14 Purdue turnovers in the opening frame. The Nittany Lions’ defense was the difference maker in the win, causing fits for Braden Smith and the Boilermakers for 40-straight minutes.
• Freddie Dilione V had himself a career day in his Big Ten debut on the offensive end. The Tennessee transfer finished with 14 points on 6-11 tough shot-making.
• Mike Rhoades called and the Bryce Jordan Center answered. Rhoades and Penn State pleaded with the home fans to show up and show out for its ranked matchup with Purdue. Although there is still progress to be made, the crowd showed up on a Thursday night and made an impact in the upset win.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions are back on the hardwood at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10 against Rutgers. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.