• Basketball
  • Penn State MBB Earns Its First Top 10 Win In Years By Dominating No. 8 Purdue, 81-70

Penn State MBB Earns Its First Top 10 Win In Years By Dominating No. 8 Purdue, 81-70

Details
Basketball

Fans stormed the court in Happy Valley as the Penn State men’s basketball team earned its first win over a top-10 team since 2019 and the Nittany Lions took down #8/7 Purdue, 81-70, in Thursday night’s Big Ten opener inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State earned its first win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll since Dec. 10, 2019. The Nittany Lions now own three top-15 wins under second-year head coach Mike Rhoades. Penn State improves to 8-1 on the season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.

Penn State led Purdue by as much as 27, forcing a season-high 24 turnovers out of the guard-heavy Boilermakers. The Nittany Lions scored 32 points off turnovers and shot 48.9 percent from the field. Penn State added 28 points from the free throw line while shooting 87.5 percent from the charity stripe.

Ace Baldwin Jr. led five Nittany Lions in double figures and tallied game-high marks of 17 points and six assists. Freddie Dilione V scored 14 points, while Puff Johnson had 13 points, five rebounds and four steals. Nick Kern Jr. tallied 12 points, a game-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Zach Hicks chipped in 11 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Boilermakers took a quick 5-0 lead just over three minutes into the game before Puff Johnson capitalized on a second-chance opportunity and Freddie Dilione V had a steal and score to put the score at 5-4 at the first media timeout.
  • A Zach Hicks triple knotted the score at 7-7 at the 15:03 mark before the Nittany Lion defense was the catalyst behind an 11-0 run. Penn State forced seven Purdue turnovers while holding the Boilermakers scoreless for a 5:08 stretch as the Nittany Lions pulled ahead 18-9 with 9:48 left in the first half.
  • Penn State put its lead into double digits for the first time following Hicks’ second trey of the game at the 8:25 mark. The Boilermakers were within seven at 25-18 two minutes later, but Yanic Konan Niederhauser answered with back-to-back buckets and Hicks added a jumper to force a Purdue timeout at 3:43 as Penn State extended its lead to 31-18.
  • A Dilione V 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds gave Penn State a 16-point lead, 40-24, heading into the locker room as the Nittany Lions wrapped up the first half having scored 15 points off of 13 Purdue turnovers and holding the Boilers to a 40.0 FG%.
  • The Nittany Lions owned a 45-32 edge three minutes into the second half before Penn State exploded on a 13-2 run over a five-minute stretch. Johnson was the spark, contributing seven points, as Penn State’s lead reached 24 at 58-34 with 12 minutes left on the clock.
  • The Nittany Lion advantage reached as much as 27 and Penn State stayed ahead by at least 20 points until a 9-0 Boilermaker run from 6:34 to 4:25 trimmed the PSU edge to 17 at 72-55. The Boilers wouldn’t pull within closer than 15 until the final minute as Penn State closed out the 81-70 win.

GAME NOTES

  • Penn State earns its first win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll since Dec. 10, 2019 when Penn State defeated #4 Maryland 78-61.
  • Penn State is now 3-2 against top-15 teams under second-year head coach Mike Rhoades.
  • The Nittany Lions are 8-1 to start the season. It’s Penn State’s best start since the 2014-15 team started 12-1.
  • The Nittany Lions earn their first win in a Big Ten opener since the 2017-18 team defeated Iowa to start conference play.
  • Penn State earns its first win over Purdue since Feb. 11, 2020, and just its second over the Boilermakers since Feb. 2, 2014. The Boilermakers had won 17 of the last 18 meetings between the two squads.
  • Penn State forced 24 Purdue turnovers and collected14 steals, its fifth game of the season with double-digit steals. The Nittany Lions scored 32 points off of Purdue’s season-high 24 turnovers.
  • Penn State has now scored 80+ points in eight of its nine games this season.
  • Ace Baldwin Jr. was perfect from the free throw line, converting all 12 of his attempts. Baldwin Jr. becomes the sixth player in Penn State history to record a perfect effort from the line while attempting 10-or-more foul shots.
  • Puff Johnson recorded a career high-tying four steals. It is the most steals Johnson has recorded in a Big Ten game, bettering his previous conference game high of two. Johnson also netted 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.
  • Nick Kern Jr. scored in double figures for the sixth-straight game. Kern Jr. added eight rebounds and three steals to his final line.
  • Freddie Dilione V (14 points) and Zach Hicks (11 points) joined Baldwin Jr., Johnson, and Kern Jr. in double figures.

UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions head to Rutgers Tuesday for their first true road game of the season. Tipoff from Piscataway is slated for 7 p.m. on Peacock.