Penn State men’s basketball (13-10, 3-9 Big Ten) fell to Minnesota (12-11, 4-8 Big Ten) 69-61 in the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions are on a four-game losing streak and have won just two of its last 10 Big Ten games.

Scoring was at a premium as the game started at a snail’s pace and ended with a big scoring run for Minnesota. D’Marco Dunn was the only consistent scorer for Penn State in the win. He scored 18 points and shot 6-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from three.

How It Happened

Ace Baldwin Jr., Nick Kern Jr., Freddie Dilione V, Zach Hicks, and Kachi Nzeh got the start after Yanic Konan Niederhauser was listed as questionable and had a boot on pregame.

Minnesota jumped to an early lead after good ball movement resulted in an easy basket down low for Parker Fox on the team’s first possession. A slew of empty possessions by both teams plagued the game for the next three minutes until Dawson Garcia scored for the Golden Gophers.

It took nearly seven minutes but Dunn found the first basket for the Nittany Lions as he spun his way through the paint and Dominick Stewart hit a corner three on the next possession to make it 5-4. Dunn later drew a shooting foul and made both his shots.

.@dmarcodunn gets us on the board

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 5, 2025

Femi Odukale got Minnesota back on the board with a layup after its long scoring drought but Kern hit a three from the wing on Penn State’s next possession to make it 10-6 halfway through the first half.

The scoring started to pick up when Kern turned it over and Lu’Cye Patterson capitalized on the other end with a jumper. Dunn retaliated with another slashing layup and scored again after the media timeout to make it 14-8.

Mike Mitchell Jr. ended the almost three-minute scoring drought and hit a three for Minnesota as Dilione responded with a layup on Penn State’s next possession. Baldwin found Kern down low for an easy layup and Garcia also scored for the Golden Gophers.

Hicks made it a 20-13 game after he made a spinning move in the paint and made a short jumper. Baldwin followed the score with a running left-handed layup but Brennan Rigsby scored on Minnesota’s next possession.

WHAT A MOVE @zhicks1231

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 5, 2025

Dunn drained a three from the corner and Rigsby took flight with a dunk at the other end to make it 25-17 Penn State. Patterson was the next to score for Minnesota and a steal by Isaac Asuma led to another Garcia score down low.

Penn State turned it over again, this time the steal was forced by Patterson, but it didn’t lead to anything as the first half expired with Penn State up 25-21.

Kern was the first to score after he made one free throw off a drawn shooting foul but Fox quickly answered with a baseline dunk for Minnesota. On Penn State’s next possession, Hicks made a man miss and his three circled the rim before falling in.

GOT 'EM @zhicks1231

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 5, 2025

Garcia scored next for the Golden Gophers but Baldwin answered with a three. Patterson and Garcia each scored in the paint and Miles Goodman made his first basket of the night for the Nittany Lions.

Rigsby made it a 6-2 run for Minnesota with a baseline layup but Baldwin made a layup at the other end. Another layup was made, this time by Patterson, to cut Penn State’s lead to 36-33. Garcia was later fouled and made both free throws to make it a one-point game.

Hicks drew a shooting foul and made both foul shots and Asuma made a layup to make it a one-point game again. Odukale was called for a technical foul and Dunn was sent to the line where he made both free throws.

Nzeh committed a foul on Fox and made both shots to keep it close at 40-39 Penn State. Garcia then fouled Hicks as he was taking a three on the Nittany Lions’ next possession and he dropped in all but one free throw.

Garcia and Kern exchanged layups as Mitchell hit a corner three to tie the game at 44-44. Kern drew a foul and made both shots but Mitchell hit another corner three to take a one-point advantage.

The Minnesota lead grew when Patterson drew a foul in the bonus and made two free throws. It grew some more when Rigsby banked in a three as the shot clock expired to make it 52-48. Dunn made a layup to shorten the lead but Asuma answered with a layup to keep it a six-point lead.

Garcia made a sweet move in the post where he dropped in a bucket for a 12-2 Minnesota run. Hicks was fouled again from the three-point arc and again went 2-for-3 from the line. Patterson scored on the Golden Gophers’ next possession and Penn State called a timeout with 3:48 remaining in the game down 58-50.

Baldwin scored out of the break and Garcia was fouled and was perfect from the line to keep it an eight-point game. Nzeh was then fouled and missed both foul shots as Rigsby hit a deep three.

Dilione scored off a dunk and made two free throws to make it 63-56. Patterson made a mid-range jumper as the clock ran down to under a minute. Dunn hit a corner three and Baldwin made a layup as Rigsby, Garcia, and Asuma made free throws to end the game at 68-59.

Takeaways

• It took the Nittany Lions nearly seven minutes to score its first basket and Minnesota scored just four points in that time. The opportunity was there to jump to an early lead and starting 0-for-6 from the field in the first half won’t cut it.
• Mike Rhoades has said several times that Dunn is playing his basketball since transferring to Penn State and he showed out again. He led the team with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists while shooting 54.5% from the field.
• Another late-game run killed Penn State. The Golden Gophers tied the game 44-44 with 10 minutes remaining in the second half and went on a 12-4 run over the next four minutes.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions head west to take on UCLA at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 8. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.