minneapolis – The 11th-seeded Penn State men’s basketball team used a strong defensive effort to defeat 14th-seeded Michigan 66-57 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night inside Target Center. Penn State advances to the second round and will face sixth-seeded Indiana on Thursday night at approximately 9 p.m.
The Nittany Lions took the lead in the fourth minute of the ballgame and never looked back in their solid opening round victory over the Wolverines. Great defense and hot shooting helped Penn State win the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
Zack Hicks’ The 20-point outing gave the Nittany Lions the opening round win. Hicks made a season-best six threes, tying the second-best single-game total for the Nittany Lions in a Big Ten Tournament game. ace baldwin jr Filled up the stat sheet, scoring 17 points with six assists, five rebounds, three steals and one block. Qudus Wahab Scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high eight boards, solidifying Penn State’s presence down low and sealing the win.
How did this happen
- A Demetrius Lilly A three-point play at the 14:57 mark gave the Nittany Lions an 8–3 lead in the first five minutes of the game.
- The Wolverines scored the next two baskets, but Penn State responded with an 8–3 lead over the next 3:25. zach hicks The triple gave the Nittany Lions a 16-10 lead with 7:48 minutes remaining in the first half.
- Michigan tied the score at 20 three minutes later, before a Hicks 3-point barrage and strong defense helped the Nittany Lions spend the final 4:05 of the half on a 13–2 run. Hicks drilled three triples during the spurt and Penn State did not allow a Wolverine field goal in the final 5:29 of the half as the Nittany Lions took a 33–22 lead into the locker room.
- Michigan got off to a hot start to the second half, as the Wolverines scored four with just under a minute to go to lead 35–31. five-straight points from ace baldwin jr Penn State then responded with a 14–6 run over the next 3:27, as Hicks’ five points capped the streak, bringing Penn State’s lead back to double digits at 47–35. , with 14:40 left to play.
- The Wolverines immediately responded with 11 of the next 14 points and suddenly cut Penn State’s lead to just four at 50–46 with 9:53 left.
- The Nittany Lions scored seven of the next nine points using five points from the free throw line and a Wahab hook shot to make the score 57–48 at 7:31.
- Hicks drilled his sixth triple of the night at 5:50 to bring Penn State’s lead back to double digits at 60–49.
- Penn State’s defense did a lot of work as the Wolverines scored only two points over the next five minutes. Michigan scored six runs in the final minute of the game, but it proved to be too little, too late. The Nittany Lions made six of eight field goals from the free throw line in the final five minutes to win 66–57.
game notes
- Penn State has now won a Big Ten Tournament game for the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in the last seven full tournaments. Penn State advances to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament to face sixth-seeded Indiana on Thursday night at approximately 9 pm ET/8 pm CT.
- Penn State improves to 3-1 all-time in Big Ten Tournament games vs. Michigan.
- Michigan entered the game shooting 44.7 percent on the season, but was stifled by the Nittany Lion defense, which allowed the Wolverines to convert only 34.5 percent from the floor, including 24.1 percent of their attempts in the first half. Was.
- Penn State’s Big Ten-leading three-point defense limited the Wolverines to 22.2 percent shooting from downtown.
- Penn State committed 15 turnovers on Wednesday night, including 11 in the first half alone.
- zach hicks, making his Big Ten Tournament debut, scored a season-best 20 points against the Wolverines. His game is Penn State’s first 20-plus-point game in the tournament Jalen Pickett Lost by 28 runs to Indiana in last year’s Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
- Hicks drilled a season-best six triples, including four in the first half of the game. The mark is tied for the second-best score in a Big Ten Tournament game in school history. The junior added six boards and one assist in his final line.
- In his second career Big Ten Tournament game, Qudus Wahab Recorded tournament career bests in points (13) and rebounds (8).
- Big Ten Defensive Players of the Year ace baldwin jr Finished with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
- Only two members of the Nittany Lions roster (Qudus Wahab During his time in Maryland and andy christos) had seen action in the conference tournament before tonight. Eleven Nittany Lions made their Big Ten Tournament debut on Wednesday.
- Dan Conlon Recorded his first block in a Penn State uniform.
from the source
Head Coach Mike Rhodes, ace baldwin jr , zach hicks
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next
- Penn State advances to take on sixth-seeded Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night at approximately 9 p.m. The game will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.
The 2023–24 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
