What a rush! Best photos from Penn State basketball’s upset of Illinois

Penn State basketball gave fans a memorable experience in Rec Hall. Here are some of the best photos from the night.

Penn State basketball has been enjoying quite the up-and-down regular season but the emotional highs have been plentiful when playing at home and even more so in historic venues. Earlier this season Penn State came away with a win in The Palestra in Philadelphia, but on Wednesday it played in a venue molded in the style of The Palestra that it once called home, Rec Hall. And the Rec Hall setting was perfect for what transpired Wednesday evening.

Penn State took on no. 12 Illinois with the Illini trying to keep pace and setup a possible opportunity to grab the top seed in the Big Ten basketball tournament. And for a while in the second half, it appeared Illinois was going to leave Rec Hall with an expected win, but the Nittany Lions turned on the defensive pressure to a level Illinois was not equipped to handle and Penn State stormed back in the final minutes for a stunner. Zach Hicks drained three free throws in the final seconds to complete a memorable comeback for the Nittany Lions and the defense prevented a good look for a last-second basket by the Illini, leading to a good old-fashioned court storming by the whiteout crowd in Rec Hall.

Here are some of the best photos from a memorable evening in Rec Hall.

Kanye Clary removed from Penn State men’s basketball roster

Penn State’s leading scorer Kanye Clary no longer part of the program

The up and down season for the Penn State men’s basketball programs after news was released that their leading scorer, [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag], was no longer part of the team after comments from head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] on Monday.

“Kanye’s no longer with the team. Coach’s decision. We’re going to just keep moving forward with and focus on the guys we got, the task at hand,” Rhoades said at the Bryce Jordan Center.

This shocking turn of events comes after the sophomore guard didn’t make the trip to Nebraska on Saturday where the Nittany Lions lost 68-49. He is now no longer on their online roster after Rhoades’ comments.

Clary was one of the biggest surprises in the Big Ten this year, becoming one of the conference’s top scorers before an injury caused him to miss two games. He returned in a bench role for the next three games.

During his absence, Penn State won games over Rutgers and Indiana on the road. They also beat Iowa at home when Clary returned from injury but lost against Northwestern and Michigan State.

This announcement comes at a strange time in the season.

The Nittany Lions only have five more games remaining before the Big Ten tournament begins and will need a Cinderella type of run to get back into March Madness.

At the time of his dismissal, Clary was averaging 16.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

“Next man up. Let’s continue to build this the right way, work really hard, keep putting it together,” Rhoades said.

Whether this is a direct shot at the sophomore guard is unknown, but it’s peculiar messaging after someone as talented at Clary was dismissed.

He was a holdover from Micah Shrewsberry’s first Penn State recruiting class after he decided to stay in Happy Valley upon the hiring of Rhoades. It seemed like things were working out early as he improved just about every aspect of his game from year one to year two.

Now, [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] will be the feature guard with [autotag]D’Marco Dunn[/autotag] and [autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag] getting more playing time in the backcourt.

How this impacts the team will be seen, but it’s a shocking announcement at this point in the year.

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Penn State basketball can’t keep pace in loss at Nebraska (photos)

Penn State men’s basketball falls to two games under .500 after its latest road loss at Nebraska.

Penn State’s road woes on the basketball court continued to haunt them on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska. Penn State saw yet another loss on the road in Big Ten play as they came up short at Nebraska, 68-49. The loss dropped Penn State to two games under .500 with time running out in the regular season to string together any hope of playing in the NCAA tournament this season.

[autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 13 points on a tough afternoon for the Penn State offense. [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] was the only other player to score in double figures for Penn State with 10 points. Penn State shot just 5-of-23 from three-point range and just 8-of-16 from the free point line.

Nebraska’s Keisei Tominaga led the Huskers with 17 points and hit timely shots to help stall any opportunity for momentum by Penn State. That included three three-pointers to help the Huskers pull away for the conference win.

Penn State will return home this week for a game against Illinois in Rec Hall on Wednesday.

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s loss at Nebraska on Saturday.

Best photos from Penn State basketball’s major win at Indiana

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s first men’s basketball win at Indiana since 2014!

Wins for Penn State basketball come few and far between when playing on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers. But on Saturday, Penn State’s decade-long drought came to an end in Bloomington with a stunning second-half performance leading to an 85-71 victory. It was just the second road win of the season for Penn State, and both came in the same week!

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State basketball’s major road win at Indiana on Saturday afternoon.

Penn State basketball picks up massive road win over Indiana

Penn State basketball storms out of Indiana with massive Big Ten win.

For much of the season, Penn State had been a completely different team on the road compared to at home playing in the Bryce Jordan Center.

This week was going to be a huge test for the Nittany Lions as they had two consecutive road games at tough places to play.

They earned a gritty victory over Rutgers and headed out to Indiana for a massive Saturday matchup and to play in a place they hadn’t won since 2014.

Once again, Penn State would have to compete without their leading scorer [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag], and once again, they were able to pull off an upset win.

This might have been the most complete game the Nittany Lions have played all season, beating the Indiana Hoosiers 85-71.

It started out tough, getting into a 10-point hole about seven minutes into the game. That deficit largely stayed for the majority of the first half, until three-pointers started to fall and they entered halftime down 41-37.

Penn State took their first lead of the game just about four minutes into the second half after back-to-back threes from [autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag] and [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] to make it 45-43.

Similarly to what they did against Rutgers, once the Nittany Lions grabbed the lead, they never gave it back.

Their defense stifled much of what Indiana could do in the second half and allowed their offense to continue operating at a high level.

Baldwin was spectacular, scoring 22 points on 8-14 shooting while adding eight assists, but it was the role players who stepped up in big way and got Penn State an important Quad 2 victory.

Hicks had his best game in a Nittany Lions jersey. He made four threes on 50-percent shooting, finishing with 19 points, five rebounds and two steals.

[autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag] lit it up coming off the bench, hitting four threes of his own to score 14 points.

[autotag]Qudus Wahab[/autotag] continues to give Penn State the much-needed size they’ve been missing. Not only did he battle inside, but he was an offensive threat in the post, scoring 14 points, while also pulling down seven rebounds.

Coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] has said he thinks this team is close, no matter how things have looked to begin the year.

It seems like he was right as the Nittany Lions picked up their second consecutive road win.

Penn State basketball’s poor shooting plagues them in loss to Ohio State

Penn State’s road woes continued with a poor shooting performance at Ohio State.

On Tuesday, Jan. 16, it was one of the coolest scenes that Penn State basketball has seen in a while. The court was stormed, full of students, alumni and locals who were in attendance to see the Nittany Lions upset Wisconsin, who was ranked eighth at the time.

[autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] was hoping this win would give them some momentum the rest of the season.

That was not the case when Penn State traveled to Columbus on Saturday to face Ohio State.

Classifying the beginning of the game as a sleepy start by the Nittany Lions would be kind. They went over seven minutes without scoring a point and trailed 16-0 before [autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag] banked in a three-pointer.

Getting into that big of a hole is hard to overcome in Big Ten play and that’s what ultimately did Penn State in as the Nittany Lions fell to the Buckeyes by a final score of 79-67.

They spent the majority of the first half trailing by double digits before entering the locker room down 33-19 at halftime.

That was the same case during the second period as Penn State could never cut into the deficit and trailed by 21 points with 12:23 remaining in the game.

The Nittany Lions began to make a run at things, going on a tear with under four minutes to go that cut Ohio State’s lead to nine points with 1:38 left to go.

However, it was too little too late as Penn State dropped a fifth game in conference play, not being able to piece together back-to-back solid performances against a team that entered Saturday on a three-game losing streak.

They finished the game shooting 37.1% overall from the field but were 32.6% shooting two-point shots. Penn State’s three-point shooting was really the only thing that kept them in the game after they made 11 threes and shot 45.8%.

Playing away from home continues to plague the Nittany Lions as they move to 0-4 in true away games.

The good news for them is they head back to the Bryce Jordan Center for a game against Minnesota next Saturday.

ESPN Events Invitational: Best photos from Penn State’s game vs. VCU

Penn State came up short against VCU in their final game in the ESPN Events Invitational. Here are the best photos from the VCU game.

Penn State’s Thanksgiving weekend did not offer too many things to be thankful for. Penn State went 0-3 in the ESPN Events Invitational this weekend after losing the 7th-place game on Sunday morning against VCU. VCU celebrated a win over their former head coach, [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag], and former teammates [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Kern Jr.[/autotag] as the Nittany Lions were left looking to regroup back at home after a rough weekend.

Penn State lost to VCU by a final score of 86-74 in a game where leading scorer [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] left early due to an injury. Baldwin scored a game-high 27 points against his former teammates from VCU, but VCU got a big game off the bench from guard Alphonzo Billups III who scored 23 points in 27 minutes on the court.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s most recent setback against VCU from the ESPN Events Invitational.

Penn State men’s basketball dominates Morehead State for 4-0 start

Penn State men’s basketball will head to its Thanksgiving weekend tournament wiht a clean 4-0 record.

Penn State picked up another win on the basketball court to start the Mike Rhoades era in State College on Friday night. Penn State had no problem with visiting Morehead State in a 74-51 victory in the Bryce Jordan Center with the defense forcing 29 turnovers by the Eagles.

Penn State had a double-double performance from [autotag]Qudus Wahab[/autotag] with 14 points and 12 rebounds. [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] also added 14 points and [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] contributed 12 points with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in the win. [autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag] drained 3 three-point shots on 6 attempts to lead the Nittany Lions from behind the arc. Penn State also hit on 30 of 38 free-throw attempts in the game.

Penn State capitalized on Morehead State’s defenses by outscoring Morehead State 32-2 on points off turnovers. Penn State turned the basketball over 8 times in the game.

Penn State will now head to Orlando to participate in this year’s ESPN Events Invitational. Their first game will be a rematch from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last March against Texas A&M. Penn State eliminated the Aggies from the tournament in their first-round matchup in March. The Aggies are no. 15 in the latest USA TODAY Men’s College Basketball Coaches Poll and will arrive in Orlando with a 3-0 record, which includes a road win at Ohio State.

Penn State will face Texas A&M on Thanksgiving (Nov. 23) at 12:00 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN.

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How to watch Penn State basketball’s Tuesday night game vs. St. Francis

Penn State looks to improve to 3-0 when they host St. Francis on Tuesday evening. Here is how to watch the game on TV or stream.

Penn State men’s basketball is off to a 2-0 start and hopes to add another win for new head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] on Tuesday evening. The Nittany Lions host another in-state opponent, St. Francis, as [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] and [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] look to pick up another home win in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Tuesday night’s game will be the first game to air this season on Big Ten Network, so this could be the first opportunity for some fans to catch a glimpse of the new-look Nittany Lions. Penn State has won 10 consecutive non-conference games at home and is favored to make that 11-straight home wins in non-conference play. St. Francis will visit State College with a record of 0-3 following a three-game road stint in California with losses to future Big Ten member UCLA, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. St. Francis lost each game by at least 23 points.

This is just the 12th all-time meeting between the two in-state programs despite a short driving distance of just over 60 miles. This is the first time these two programs have played each other since 2012. Penn State is 9-2 all-time against St. Francis. The last loss came in 1978.

If you are looking to watch the game from home, here is what you need to know!

Penn State vs. St. Francis Men’s Basketball

  • Date: Tuesday, Nov. 14
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: Big Ten Network

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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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