Penn State men’s basketball (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten) was defeated by Michigan State (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) Wednesday night in its fourth straight loss.

Despite four Nittany Lions scoring in double figures and shooting over 65% from the field in the second half, Penn State was outpaced by Michigan State from start to finish in its fifth conference loss of the year.

How It Happened

After missing the Nittany Lions’ previous game against Oregon due to a back injury, Penn State’s leading scorer Ace Baldwin Jr. returned to the starting lineup alongside Freddie Dilione V, Zach Hicks, Puff Johnson, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

Michigan State won the opening tipoff but missed two straight threes on its first possession. Johnson then missed a triple to get Penn State’s offense started, while Tre Holloman drained one from the right wing for the first bucket of the game for the Spartans.

Shortly after entering the game, Nick Kern Jr. committed a shooting foul on Jeremy Fears Jr., who made both free throws to put Michigan State up 5-0. Driving into the paint, Hicks dropped off a behind-the-back pass for Konan Niederhauser, who threw down a two-handed slam.

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) January 16, 2025

On the ensuing possession, Jaxon Kohler hit a triple, which was answered by a Dilione second-chance layup. However, Jaden Akins made the Spartans’ third three to give his team an 11-4 lead shortly before the game reached its first media timeout.

After the break, Konan Niederhauser skied for an offensive rebound to set himself up for a putback dunk and Johnson hit a corner three, cutting Penn State’s deficit to two. Coen Carr, who is widely regarded as college basketball’s best athlete, then threw down an and-one dunk from the baseline.

Konan Niederhauser answered Carr’s jam with a left-handed layup before committing his first foul on the other end. Carr then dropped in a runner through traffic and Jase Richardson drew a Miles Goodman foul and converted on a three-point play.

After a missed Carr dunk, D’Marco Dunn got on the board with a fastbreak layup, but Michigan State then went up 23-13 after Frankie Fidler scored following the under-12 media timeout. Dunn then made the second three of the night for Penn State from the top of the arc.

A baseline drive and reverse layup by Fidler and a layup by Kachi Nzeh held Michigan State’s lead at seven. After Sparty brought the ball back down the floor, Fears was assessed a technical foul for getting in the face of Baldwin after a Nzeh foul, and Baldwin’s two free throws were pure. Szymon Zapala answered those foul shots with two makes of his own.

On a rebound attempt, Konan Niederhauser picked up his second foul, leading to two more Zapala free throws. Penn State took the ball the other way, but an Akins block and Kohler rebound led to a runout, and Akins laid it in, forcing a Penn State timeout with Michigan State up 31-20 and 8:16 remaining in the first half.

Out of the timeout, Dunn and Baldwin splashed in back-to-back threes to cut the lead to five, but Carson Cooper quickly extended it with a follow-up dunk. However, Dilione responded once more with an and-one, making it a 9-2 Penn State run.

Cooper slammed in another two-handed dunk, while Kohler used footwork to free up space for a layup to make it 38-29. A slew of passes set up Xavier Booker for an open paint jumper to make it an 11-point game once again.

Despite Konan Niederhauser and Kern making free throws, Fears and Carr combined to make it a 12-point advantage before Baldwin and Dunn, who entered double figures, combined for two baskets in a row.

Holloman stepped inside the arc for a long two, and Baldwin missed a three just before halftime, and the teams headed to the locker rooms with the Spartans on top 46-36.

The second half began with Baldwin finishing on a floater, but an awkward landing seemed to flare up his back injury. A Konan Niederhauser and-one and Dunn’s third three then quickly made it a two-point game.

BOOOOOOOOM TWO-POINT GAME IN EAST LANSING #WeAre | : @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/6BwAM4cSSG

— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) January 16, 2025

The 7-0 spurt to begin the second half was ended just over three minutes in by Richardson, but Dunn scored inside off a bounce pass from Baldwin. Two Fears foul shots then made it a 50-46 Michigan State advantage.

Fidler made a layup moments before Dunn and Akins traded three-pointers, which marked a career-high for Dunn with 18 points, and the Spartans took a six-point lead into the first media timeout of the second half.

Kern made his first field goal of the day after the timeout, but Fidler hit a straightaway three before Holloman used a hopstep to separate himself from the defense and score off the glass. Baldwin answered Holloman’s move with a deep two.

After a Dunn turnover, Richardson drove down the baseline for a layup and Holloman then dropped it off for Kohler for a layup to put the Spartans on top 64-55, forcing Penn State to take a timeout. Two straight layups by Kern cut the lead to five after the stoppage.

Michigan State found an answer from a Booker jump shot, but Baldwin got the two points back at the charity stripe before Kern went 1-for-2 there. Booker then cashed in a three-point play that came from a Dunn foul.

The Breslin Center was electrified as Fears fed Akins for a left-wing three, giving Michigan State a 72-62 lead heading into the under-eight media timeout, which was followed by two more Baldwin free throws.

An Akins offensive foul gave Penn State the ball back, and Baldwin zipped a pass inside for Konan Niederhauser for his third dunk of the game. Fidler put in his own dunk as he grabbed an Akins missed three off the rim while being fouled, but missed the free throw.

The lead was extended to 76-66 as Akins took a Baldwin turnover coast to coast for a transition layup before Hicks went on a solo 5-0 run. Fidler then pulled down an offensive rebound and scored, making it a seven-point lead with 3:56 remaining.

Out of the game’s final media timeout, Baldwin made his ninth and tenth free throws of the game and Konan Niederhauser fouled out to set Fears up to go 1-for-2 at the line. Hicks drained a three on the other side to bring the game back within one possession, but Fidler came back with another three-point play.

With just over two minutes left to play, Fidler tipped in a Richardson miss, but Hicks drained his third make from beyond the arc. One Baldwin free throw cut the lead to four, but an Akins and-one with 29 seconds remaining made it a seven-point game and lit up the Michigan State fans.

Hicks became 4-for-4 from distance in the second half when he hit one from the right wing off a Baldwin assist, cutting the lead to four with 22 seconds and the Nittany Lions began intentionally fouling. Holloman went 3-for-4 and Nzeh dropped in a late-game layup, making the final score 90-85.

Takeaways

• The turnover battle was key in this game, as Michigan State scored 27 points off 14 Penn State turnovers, while Michigan State gave up just 10 turnovers.
• A career night for Dunn sparked much of the offense for Penn State, as the senior went for 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including going 4-for-7 from deep.
• Baldwin took several hits and went crashing to the floor on multiple occasions, and was clearly shaken up while battling back spasms. Baldwin will face the Big Ten’s leading scorer in Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper on Monday.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return home for a matchup with Rutgers at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, January 20, at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be streamed on Peacock.