The 2025 calendar year has not been kind to Penn State men’s basketball. Since January 1, the Nittany Lions have won just two games and lost the other 11 — both in heartbreaking and blowout fashion.

This nearly two-month stretch has ended any hope of an NCAA Tournament appearance after an encouraging 11-2 start to the season with wins over Virginia Tech and No. 8 Purdue. Now, the hopes of making the Big Ten Tournament are shrinking as Penn State sits in last place with a 3-12 conference record.

Due to the Big Ten’s recent expansion, its conference tournament only includes the top 15 teams, leaving out the three worst. Penn State, Northwestern, and Washington are on the outside looking in.

“I’m disappointed in our results. It’s on me,” head coach Mike Rhoades said Monday. “We’ve got to be better, and we’ve got to continue to push forward. That’s what it’s all about.”

Despite the losing stretch, the Nittany Lions remain hopeful. Senior forward Zach Hicks said he’s trying “soak in” the remainder of his final season, but at the same time, understands the season isn’t over yet.

“We still have five games,” Hicks said. “If we go undefeated, we still have a chance to go to the Big Ten Tournament and hopefully [make] some magic in there.”

Penn State lost to Washington on Saturday in an all-too-familiar way. The Nittany Lions held a five-point lead at the halfway mark of the second half, but a flurry of three-pointers from the Huskies gave the road team the lead.

Mekhi Mason hit six of Washington’s season-high 11 three-pointers, but Penn State still hung around. It was a two-point game with 41 seconds remaining when Rhoades called a timeout where he called for multiple ball screens, which resulted in point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. missing a fading mid-range jumper.

Zoom Diallo was fouled but missed the one-and-one to keep Penn State alive. But with time running out, Rhoades decided not to use his final timeout as Yanic Konan Niederhauser got stuck in the post. Konan Niederhauser kicked it out to Baldwin where he missed a deep three as time expired.

“He’s the guy we want to have the ball,” Rhoades said of Baldwin postgame. “Hindsight should’ve called a timeout to settle it.”

Although it was another tough loss to take, Hicks said how it was a good example of the team’s willingness to fight, and it showed they haven’t given up on the season yet.

“We just lost a two-point game,” Hicks said. “If we were out there quitting, it would be just a complete disaster, getting blown out. I do think we have a lot of fight and that’s just our team’s makeup — it’s fighting and competing.”

Several problems are contributing to the losing streak, mainly defense and depth. Over those 13 games, the offense has averaged a mild 70.7 points per game while the defense has allowed 80.1. Rhoades attributed the defensive struggles to the lack of ball deflections, half-court presence, and overall guarding the ball.

As for the depth, Penn State has been without two key contributors this season: Puff Johnson and Eli Rice. Johnson suffered a hand injury against Michigan State in mid-January and Rhoades announced on Monday that Johnson will not return this season. The sophomore Nebraska transfer, Rice, was ruled out for the season with an undisclosed injury in November.

One of the best qualities Johnson brought to the floor was his on-court leadership. He has been touted as the vocal leader for the Nittany Lions, and although he can’t play, he’s still trying to make an impact from the bench.

“Puff is still Puff,” guard D’Marco Dunn said. “He’s loud, he talks, he brings energy. He’s always a bright spot in our life and in the locker room.”

Penn State has one of its last chances to make a postseason push against Nebraska on Wednesday night. The Cornhuskers are 17-9 with a 7-8 conference record, mostly due to six straight Big Ten losses in January. However, Nebraska has gotten back on track by winning five of its following games.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the improvement has been the play of guard Brice Williams. He has averaged 23.8 points a night while shooting 46.5% from the field during that stretch.

“I think offensively, they have been a lot more efficient scoring the basketball here the last few weeks,” Rhoades said. “They’ve done a good job of playing through Williams, but other guys have really stepped up shooting the ball. But then I think defensively, they’ve been pretty much elite, keeping guys from scoring at the rim and getting consecutive scores.”

If Penn State comes up short Wednesday night, it will face Minnesota for the second time in two weeks. Should the Nittany Lions lose that one, their postseason hopes are likely gone.

“There are only so many opportunities in life you get to put on a uniform in a sport that you pursue and we have left here,” Rhoades said after Saturday’s loss. “Let’s put them on with pride, and knowing that you lose these opportunities, there are only a few left to have pride and take advantage of them.”