Penn State men’s basketball (16-15, 6-14 Big Ten) upset No. 12 Wisconsin (23-8, 13-7 Big Ten) 84-75 in Madison on Saturday afternoon. It’s the Nittany Lions’ first winning season under head coach Mike Rhoades.

What a way to go out for D’Marco Dunn. In the senior’s final regular season game, he finished with 25 points, four assists, and shot 10-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from three.

As for the rest of the Nittany Lions, Yanic Konan Niederhaser had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Zach Hicks had 14 points, and Nick Kern Jr. and Freddie Dilione V had 12 points.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions’ start was slow. Penn State shot 1-for-5 at the first media timeout, and Wisconsin shot 5-for-7 for a 13-3 lead.

Steven Crowl made the first bucket of the contest with a layup and Kamari McGee followed with a three. Dunn got the Nittany Lions on the board with an and-one layup but Nolan Winter hit a three off a Hicks turnover. Crowl then hit three and Winter made a dunk.

McGee hit another triple after the timeout, but Kern made a jumper to end the Badgers’ 11-0 run. McGee responded with a spinning layup but Kern hit a corner three on Penn State’s next possession. Dunn followed with another three to cut the lead to 18-11.

John Tonje made Wisconsin’s fifth three of the half, Dilione made his first bucket with a layup, and Xavier Amos did the same for Wisconsin. Hicks hit a deep three moments later but so did John Blackwell. The freshman Dominick Stewart hit Penn State’s four three of the half and Kern followed with a layup before to make it 26-21 Wisconsin at the second media break.

Tonje was fouled and made both free throws, and Konan Niederhauser made a difficult layup in the paint. Tonje was fouled again but made just one free throw this time. McGee followed by making a driving layup.

Dunn and Crowl each made a layup and the Badgers took a 10-point lead with a turnaround jumper on the post. Konan Niederhasuer made a hook shot at the other end, but Blackwell made a driving layup and Tonje drained another three.

Kern drew a foul but went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, and Konan Niederhauser did the same thing a couple of possessions later. Rhoades called a timeout down 40-29 with 1:33 left.

Ace Baldwin Jr. missed a rare free throw but made the second and Dunn made a layup on the Nittany Lions’ next trip down the floor. Baldwin then hit a three to end the half on a 7-0 run and cut the Wisconsin lead down to 40-35.

Hicks started the second half with a three but Crowl got the points back by converting an and-one. Konan Niederhauser made a dunk and Blackwell answered with a pullup jumper. Baldwin then lobbed one to Konan Niederhauser for an alley-oop and Dilione tied the game 45-45 with a three.

Winter made a putback dunk to regain the lead, but Penn State took its first lead of the game off Dilione’s and-one make. Baldwin forced back-to-back steals and on the second, he got the assist on Hicks’ three as the Nittany Lions led 51-47 at the first media timeout of the half.

Wisconsin got back on track with two made free throws by Carter Gilmore and a jumper by Crowl. Dunn answered with a layup and a 2:33 scoring drought commenced. Kern ended the drought with a jumper and layup to extend the lead to 57-51.

Wisconsin’s scoring drought surpassed three and a half minutes during the Nittany Lions’ 6-0 scoring run. Blackwell’s steal led to a Gilmore layup to end the drought and run. Dunn committed an over-and-back turnover and Crowl then scored on a second-chance dunk to make it a two-point game.

Penn State used a timeout and Konan Niederhauser made a dunk after the pause. Crowl then hit a three and Blackwell made a jumper to give the Badgers a 60-59 lead. However, it didn’t last long as Dunn nailed back-to-back threes to make it 65-60 Penn State.

Tonje drew a shooting foul and made both foul shots but Dunn lobbed one to Niederhauser on the next possession and moments later, Dunn made a jumper for a seven-point lead. Blackwell shortened the gap with a three.

Blackwell drew a foul and made both shots but Dunn stayed hot and hit his fourth three of the game. Blackwell answered with a three of his own to make it eight straight for him. Dilione drew a foul and made both shots and Dunn followed with another bucket.

Hicks made 1-of-2 of his free throws and so did McGee when he got fouled. Baldwin then went 1-for-2 from the line and Hicks made both of his free throws with a minute left. Blackwell and Tonje each made both free throw attempts but Dilione and Konan Niederhauser each scored inside and Hicks made two free throws as Penn State pulled off the 86-75 upset win.

Takeaways

• It wasn’t a great start but Penn State managed to play some of its best basketball of the season, mostly due to a 24-7 run from 4:15 left in the first half to 4:25 into the second.
• Wisconsin’s second half shooting woes were a big contributor to the upset loss. The Badgers shot 44.1% from the field and 41.2% from three in the first half, but that plummeted to 28.6% from the field and 21.4% from three in the second half.
• On the contrary, Penn State’s shooting was excellent. The Nittany Lions shot 56.4% from the field and 57.9% from three.

What’s Next?

That’s the end of the Nittany Lions’ season, folks. Penn State did not qualify to make the Big Ten Tournament. However, there’s an outside chance of an invitation to the NIT tournament or the new College Basketball Crown tournament.