Rutgers men’s basketball closes out January with loss to Penn State

Rutgers men’s basketball lost a brutal one at home on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, January came to an end for Rutgers men’s basketball in a disappointing fashion. The Scarlet Knights welcomed Penn State to Jersey Mike’s Arena but collapsed in the second half during a 61-46 loss.

After the first half ended with Penn State leading 26-24, the Nittany Lions took over. Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way offensively with 15 points and seven assists. D’Marco Dunn also made an impact with 14 points. It marked the second time in January that Dunn scored more than ten points.

 

While Rutgers struggled offensively, they did get some encouraging performances from their freshmen. That includes Gavin Griffiths and Jamichael Davis. Griffiths led the team in scoring with 11 points and Davis added 10 of his own. They were the only Rutgers players who scored double digits.

In this matchup, Penn State dominated the boards. They scored 28 points in the paint and hauled in 40 rebounds. As a result, Penn State put the game out of reach in the second half.

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As Rutgers turns their attention to February, they will happily leave January in the rearview mirror. Over the last month, Rutgers posted a 2-6 record, losing their last three games. With only 11 games left in the regular season, they will need to turn things around quickly.

Rutgers men’s basketball looks to end January with a win against Penn State

Rutgers men’s basketball has an important game on Wednesday night against Penn State.

For Rutgers men’s basketball, a tough January will come to an end Wednesday night against Penn State. While Rutgers has posted a 2-5 record since the start of the new year, they will be looking to close out the month with their first conference win in two weeks.

In this matchup, Rutgers (10-9, 2-6 Big Ten) will be tasked with stopping Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin Jr. Clary has led the way offensively for Penn State this season, averaging 18.3 points per game. Baldwin Jr. has put his teammates in the position to be successful, averaging a team-high 4.9 assists per game.

Penn State comes into this game 9-11 (3-6 Big Ten) and with two straight losses.

 

As Rutgers looks to end their two-game losing streak, they will need big games from Clifford Omoruyi and Aundre Hyatt. After a slow start to the month, Hyatt has looked better of late and scored at least 10 points in five straight games. During that stretch, Omoruyi was a reliable scoring option with one 20-point game.

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For Rutgers, avoiding a slow start will be crucial to victory. The Scarlet Knights have struggled to play complete games of late, making comebacks in the second half hard. That was on display Sunday when they were outscored 33-20 in the first half against Purdue.

However, they will take on a Penn State team that has struggled away from the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions are 0-4 on the road this season. At Jersey Mike’s Arena, Rutgers has thrived with a 9-2 record.

Penn State basketball smoked by Michigan State

Penn State was scorched by Michigan State on Thursday night. Here are the best photos from a forgettable night.

Penn State picked a bad night to go up against a Michigan State basketball squad that seemed to do no wrong on Thursday night. Penn State dropped its first Big Ten game of 2024 on the road to the Spartans which was dominated from start to finish by the home team. Penn State lost to Michigan State by a score of 92-61 for what is easily the worst loss so far in the Mike Rhoades era as far as point differential goes.

Kanye Clary led the Nittany Lions with 21 points, but Michigan State had runs all night long that buried Penn State on the scoreboard. Any time Penn State established any sort of brief momentum, the Spartans had an answer. Michigan State led 51-26 at halftime and put things on cruise control in the second half.

The loss drops Penn State back to .500 with a record of 7-7. Penn State is now 1-2 in Big Ten play. Next up for the Nittany Lions is a game against Michigan in The Palestra in Philadelphia.

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s tough night in East Lansing.

Penn State vs. Bucknell basketball: Best photos form an ugly game

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s basketball game against Bucknell.

After dropping all three games away from home for the first time in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament, Penn State was hoping to enjoy some home cooking in the Bryce Jordan Center. After starting the season off 4-0 at home, the Nittany Lions were left wondering what went wrong in an ugly home loss to Bucknell on Saturday afternoon.

It was a truly humbling performance for a Penn State team still searching for a bit of an identity on a roster with a blend of transfers and young players under the direction of new head coach Mike Rhoades. With Big Ten play set to open next, the Nittany Lions have some things to sort through after this loss to the Bison, who came to University Park with just two wins on the year.

Here are some of the best photos from an otherwise forgettable basketball game for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State looks to start 3-0 as Saint Franicis (Pa.) comes to town

Penn State hosts Saint Francis in their third game of the season looking to imporve on their strong start.

The [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] era in Happy Valley is off to a flying start with two wins, where the Nittany Lions offense scored over 70 points in both games. Penn State will welcome in the St. Francis Red Flash, who began the season in California and return to Pennsylvania with an 0-3 record. Despite only being 62 miles apart, it will be the first time the two programs have met since 2012 and the 13th all-time meeting.

The Nittany Lions have been led by sophomore guard [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag], averaging 21 points on a scorching 60% shooting. While Clary has been the breakout star, the defense has been everything you’d expect from a Mike Rhoades-coached team. Led by point guard [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag], who leads the Big Ten with 3.5 steals per game, Penn State’s defense has held its two opponents to a 33% FG and a 13% 3FG%.

In Saint Francis’ three games, they have failed to eclipse 60 points, so the Nittany Lions should be able to put together another strong defensive performance. Qudus Wahab has been a menace on the glass and leads the Big Ten with 15.5 rebounds per game, only behind North Carolina big man Armando Bacot in the national rankings.

Alongside Clary, fellow sophomore [autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag] has averaged 14 points per game, and the duo has already combined for 70 points in Penn State’s two games. One thing to watch for tonight is whether North Carolina transfer Puff Johnson suits up for the first time this season. Rhoades plans on relying on Johnson heavily, but the forward has been nursing an injury.

After beating Delaware State and Lehigh in the first week of the season, Penn State hopes to continue their strong start against the Red Flash this evening and begin 3-0 for the third time in the last five years. Tipoff at the Bryce Jordan Center is set for 7 p.m. and will air on the Big Ten Network.

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