Penn State Hoops Comes Up Short In 76-72 Loss To Michigan

Penn State men’s basketball (13-8, 3-7 Big Ten) lost to Michigan (15-5, 7-2 Big Ten) 76-72 Monday night. The Nittany Lions had a 72-67 lead with two minutes remaining until the Wolverines went on a 9-0 run for the win.
Nick Kern Jr. and Ace Baldwin Jr. lead Penn State in scoring. Kern had 16 points while going 50% from the field while Baldwin finished with 15 points.
How It Happened
Michigan started the game with a 5-0 lead off of a jumper by Tre Donaldson and a three from Danny Wolf. Freddie Dilione V was the first to score for Penn State with two made free throws and Baldwin tied the game with a three-pointer.
Roddy Gayle Jr. made a layup for the Wolverines and Yanic Konan Niederhauser was fouled and made both free throws for the Nittany Lions. Michigan then went on another 5-0 run into the first media timeout with a three from Will Tschetter and a layup by Gayle.
However, the Nittany Lions went on a 4-0 run after the timeout with Kern and Baldwin making layups off Michigan turnovers. But Michigan responded with a three from Donaldson and a dunk by Nimari Burnett for the 17-11 lead.
D’Marco Dunn shortened the lead with a three-pointer off the bench and Kachi Nzeh followed with a made layup. A steal by Kern led to him drawing a shooting foul where he went 1-for-2 from the line to tie that game at 17-17.
The Wolverines ended the Nittany Lions’ 6-0 run with a three from Burnett but Dunn answered with a layup at the other end. Justin Pippen then hit Michigan’s fifth three of the contest for the 23-19 lead.
Kern made a layup and Niederhauser made an inside layup to tie the game again but it didn’t last long as Tschetter made a layup moments later. Zach Hicks made his first bucket with a short jumper and Wolf countered with a layup.
Penn State took a 28-27 lead off a three from Dunn until Wolf tied the game with a made free throw off a foul by Dunn. Rubin Jones drained a three for the Wolverines, Kern made a layup, and Vladislav Goldin made it a three-point game with a dunk.
Kern was fouled and went 1-for-2 from the stripe again as Gayle scored on an alley-oop on Michigan’s next possession. Hicks then made a layup to shrink the Michigan lead. Kern was fouled again and made both foul shots this time to tie the game at halftime 35-35.
Niederhauser started the second half scoring with a layup nearly 20 seconds into the half. Burnett started the scoring for Michigan with a layup. Both teams then exchanged corner threes from Dilione and Donaldson.
Donaldson scored again moments later on a layup and so did Goldin for a 7-0 Michigan run. Wolf extended the run with a three until Penn State finally retaliated with a fast-break layup by Nzeh.
Donaldson and Kern exchanged field goals and Burnett and Baldwin did the same with three-pointers to make it 52-47 Michigan as Mike Rhoades used a timeout. Jones then hit a three out of the break to extend the lead to eight points.
Kern made his fifth field goal of the contest on Penn State’s next possession but Tschetter made a jumper at the other end. Kern made another bucket in the paint and Baldwin made his third three of the game after recording a steal.
Wolf and Sam Walters scored inside for Michigan and Niederhauser did the same for Penn State state. Niederhauser then drew a foul on Wolf but made just one free throw. Walters then hit a three to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 64-57.
Dunn was fouled while attempting a layup and made both free throws and Baldwin scored moments later to cut the lead to three. Gayle was fouled and went 1-for-2 from the line as Dunn sunk a three at the other end to make it 65-64.
Baldwin’s steal lead to a Hicks three to make it a 10-1 Penn State run until Donaldson answered with a jumper. Dilione then drilled a three to make it give the Nittany Lions a three-point lead as Michigan used a timeout with 3:05 remaining.
Gayle missed a dunk and Baldwin was fouled on the next possession as he made both free throws. Michigan called a timeout with 1:50 remaining in regulation and Gayle made a dunk after the break.
Baldwin turned it over and Michigan capitalized with a Donaldson jumper to cut Penn State’s lead to one. Kern’s shot was blocked and Donaldson nailed a three to take the 74-72 lead. Baldwin missed a three and Hicks was forced to foul Donaldson where he made both free throws as Penn State came up short, again, 76-72.
Takeaways
- It’s been rough for the Nittany Lions in Big Ten play in 2025. Penn State has now lost six of its last eight Big Ten games. Five of those losses have come by six points or less.
- Turnovers, turnovers, and more turnovers. Michigan averages the most turnovers per game in the Big Ten and finished with nine in this one as Penn State finished with a season-high 18 turnovers.
- Donaldson was the difference maker for Michigan. He had 21 points, seven assists, and zero turnovers in the win.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will face Ohio State in this year’s White Out game in Rec Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 30. The game will air on FS1.
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