Penn State is going to the Big Ten tournament semifinals
Another game, another thriller for Penn State basketball!
They survived another close game against Northwestern on Friday night, winning 67-65 in overtime.
This was the second time in the last two meetings between these teams that the game was decided in the overtime period. On March 1, at Northwestern, [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] hit the game winner at the buzzer. On Friday night, in the Big Ten tournament, the roles were almost reversed.
To start the game, it was classic Big Ten basketball to put it kindly. There was a total of 14 combined points with ten minutes to play in the first half. Northwestern looked rusty and Penn State looked tired.
The scoring pace eventually ticked up and the Nittany Lions found themselves in another seesaw game. There were seven lead changes and four ties in the first half, which has been a staple of Penn State’s tournament games.
At the halftime buzzer, Penn State trailed 25-26.
After starting the first half on the back foot, the Nittany Lions came out swinging to start the second. Their mini 6-0 run gave them a 31-26 lead four minutes into the half.
Penn State kept Northwestern at arms length for a while, taking their largest lead of the game at seven points. But the Wildcats kept hanging around and hanging around, using their defense to stifle a normally potent attack.
With just over six minutes left in the game, Northwestern took their first lead of the second half.
[autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] answered with a three to give immediately give Penn State the lead back and the race to the finish was on from there.
In the final six minutes, the lead changed three times and the score was tied twice. It looked like Penn State was going to hit another walk-off shot against Northwestern, but [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag]’s three just missed off the back rim to keep the game knotted at 56.
Penn State looked to put the game away early in the extra period, getting out to a quick four point lead. Northwestern clawed their way back into the game and took the lead with over one minute left. Then Lundy hit another big three to give the lead back to the Nittany Lions.
That lead was never relinquished. Penn State survived a shot at the buzzer to advance to their first Big Ten Tournament semifinal since 2018.
The box score may not show it, but it was another quiet offensive night for [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag]. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, but wasn’t as effective as normal. Lundy was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points and hit big shot after big shot. Yesterday’s star Andrew Funk had an off shooting night but finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
A huge shoutout needs to be given to freshmen [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag]. They stepped up and made huge plays tonight. Clary scored 11 points and dished two assists. Njie added three points and four rebounds, but played a huge part in not allowing Northwestern to use their size on the interior. Clary and Njie were headliners of the highest rated recruiting class Penn State has ever had.
Northwestern’s star players had an off night. Second team All-Big Ten guard Boo Buie scored 16 points but shot 35% from the field. Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year Chase Audige finished with six points when he averages 14.1 per game.
It’s been a fantastic run for Penn State who has now won six out of their last seven games. They are playing fantastic team basketball and earned their way into the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
They’ll play the winner of Indiana and Maryland on Saturday at roughly 3:30 pm ET on CBS (25 minutes after the consluion of Purdue vs. Ohio State).
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