It’s been a magical ride for Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament so far. After beating Illinois and Northwestern in close games, they faced their toughest test on Saturday against Indiana.
Indiana came into the tournament with hopes of winning it for the first time in program history. Penn State had those same aspirations, although they were certainly a longshot to pull it off.
It was Penn State who prevailed in the semifinal, winning 77-73, advancing to their second ever championship game.
The Nittany Lions got off to a slow start early and was down by six points four minutes into the game. After the media timeout, Penn State went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-12 lead after a [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag] three.
They never relinquished their lead in the first half was dominating the game.
In the previous two games of the tournament, [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] had been very quiet on the offensive end. He wasn’t hitting his scoring averages and looked to be running out of gas.
He put that notion to bed early in this game. Pickett scored 13 points in the first half and was a big reason why Penn State was explosive on the offensive end.
They went into the locker room leading 34-26 at halftime.
After the Nittany Lions stifled Indiana’s offense in the first half, it was only a matter of time before the Hoosiers made their run.
Penn State did a good in the early minutes of the second half, extending their lead to 10 points. But right around the 17 minute mark, the Indiana run started.
Indiana tied the game at 47 with just over ten minutes left after a big [autotag]Trayce Jackson-Davis[/autotag] dunk. It looked like the momentum was swinging towards the Hoosiers and the game was getting away from Penn State.
The seniors for Penn State took over the game. Pickett made a layup, [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] buried a three and [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] assisted freshman [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] for a dunk during their immediate 7-0 run.
From that point on, it was all Penn State. It looked like Funk put a dagger into Indiana when he drilled a 30 foot three point shot as the shot clock was expiring. That shot put them up by 11 points with four minutes left in the game.
But like all Penn State fans know, it’s not a Penn State basketball game unless it’s a nail biter.
With two minutes remaining in the game and the Nittany Lions up 13 points, it looked like the game was over.
That was certainly not the case.
Four turnovers and missed free throws kept Indiana in the game. They clawed at the lead possession by possession, capitalizing on all the late game mistakes given to them.
With 33 seconds left in the game, it was all of a sudden Penn State winning 74-73. [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] was fouled and hit two clutch free throws to put them up three points. Indiana’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, J[autotag]alen Hood-Schifino[/autotag], missed the game tying three and Nittany Lions players, coaches and fans let out a loud exhale in unison.
Pickett finished with a game high 28 points while adding eight rebounds and four assists. Lundy was the only other Penn State player in double figures with 16 points.
It was going to be difficult for Penn State to stifle consensus All-American Jackson-Davis. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. They did a good job on Hood-Schifino holding him to 11 points on 4-13 shooting.
Penn State now advances to the Big Ten Championship game for the second time in school history. In their only previous appearance, they lost to one seed Ohio State during the 2010-11 season.
This is the third time a double digit seed has made the championship game. Illinois did it twice in 1999 and 2008.
They’ll be facing a one seed again in Purdue who has already beaten the Nittany Lions in convincing fashion twice this season. Probable Player of the Year winner [autotag]Zach Edey[/autotag] has been a major problem for Penn State to contain and will have their hands full on Sunday.
The championship game will tip at 3:30pm ET on CBS.
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