Tag: Yanic Konan Niederhauser

Penn State basketball pulls off statement upset of No. 7 Purdue

Penn State’s defense frustrated Purdue all night long, and the hot scoring of the Nittany Lions continued in a massive program win.

Penn State men’s basketball was off to a good start to the season but knew things were about to get much more difficult once Big Ten started up. Or was it? Penn State made a statement with a dominating victory over No. 7 Purdue on Thursday night in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State celebrated an 81-70 win over the Boilermakers, who have been the gold standard of Big Ten basketball, with a storming of the court. It was Penn State’s first win over a top-10 team since beating Maryland in 2019.

[autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] led a balanced Penn State scoring attack with 17 points as five Nittany Lions scored in double figures. It was the defense of the Nittany Lions that set the tone and gave Purdue frustration all night long. Purdue turned the basketball over 24 times, and Penn State drew even with the Boilermakers in rebounds with 24 apiece. Penn State also had two blocks (one from [autotag]Yanic Konan Niederhauser[/autotag] and one from [autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag]).

Ace Baldwin Jr. was called for a technical foul following a big three-pointer in the second half for a celebratory gesture used to suggest he has ice in his veins, which was defended vehemently by head coach Mike Rhoades. The former VCU player and coach combination have helped transform Penn State basketball into a legitimate basketball team capable of making a run to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Of course, there is a long way to go and Penn State will have to keep up this kind of play throughout conference play.

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But this offense continues to shine and the defensive skill of the Nittany Lions is going to cause some problems for opposing Big Ten teams.

Penn State will be back in Big Ten action in its next game when it visits Rutgers on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The Nittany Lions will then resume non-conference matchups before Big Ten play resumes in the new year.

Here’s hoping the good vibes from the basketball court find their way to the football field in Indianapolis this weekend. Penn State faces No. 1 Orgeon in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday night, with the College Football Playoff on the horizon.

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Penn State basketball improves to 7-1 with blowout of Buffalo

Yanic Konan Niederhauser’s big day helped lift Penn State basketball to its best start since 2019.

Penn State men’s basketball enjoyed getting back to its home court on Sunday afternoon after taking its first loss of the season last week. Behind a career day from [autotag]Yanic Konan Niederhauser[/autotag] and a double-digit assist performance from [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag], Penn Sta easily took care of Buffalo in the Bryce Jordan Center for an 87-64 win. The victory improves Penn State to 7-1, which is the best start for the program since the 2019-20 season.

The Switzerland native and Northern Illinois transfer Niederhauser scored a career-best 27 points while shooting 12-for-16. Niederhauser took control underneath the basket with seven dunks.

Penn State’s defense applied pressure on the visiting Bulls early on. That led to five Buffalo turnovers in the first eight minutes as Penn State took an early lead and built onto the lead off those Buffalo miscues. Penn State led by as many as 12 points in the first half with a Baldwin three-pointer late in the first half.

Penn State continued to extend its lead in the second half before Buffalo got as close as 10 points at 64-54. But Penn State went on a 12-1 run to help put the game on ice. [autotag]Freddie Dilione V[/autotag] scored eight of his career-high 16 points in that run.

Next up for Penn State is the start of Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions host Purdue on Thursday night in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State basketball throttles UMBC in historic fashion

Penn State basketball rolls past UMBC in historic offensive fashion

The Penn State men’s basketball team continued its strong start to the season with a victory over the UMBC Retrievers. The Nittany Lions scored 100-plus points for the second straight game, beating UMBC 103-54 Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

In the season opener, Penn State scored 108 points against Binghamton and followed that performance by scoring 103 points against the Retrievers. This marked the first time in program history that Penn State scored 100-plus points in back-to-back games.

Eleven Nittany Lions scored, including five players in double figures. It was a balanced team effort with six bench players scoring. Penn State shot 55.2 percent from the field and an impressive 43.5 percent from 3-point range. The Penn State offense also assisted on 21 of their 37 field goals.

Northern Illinois transfer [autotag]Yanic Konan Niederhauser[/autotag] scored 18 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. [autotag]D’Marco Dunn[/autotag] added 16 points, while [autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag] scored 12.

Penn State dominated the paint during the first half, scoring 28 of its 43 points inside. In the second half, PSU separated from UMBC by shooting a sizzling 60 percent from 3-point range, knocking down 9 of 15 from 3-point range. Freshman guard [autotag]Jahvin Carter [/autotag]was part of the 3-point barrage, hitting all three of his 3-pointers while tallying a season-best 12 points.

The Nittany Lions will host Saint Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday night before they head on the road. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. on Peacock.

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Penn State basketball wins charity exhibition game vs. Lafayette

Ace Baldwin Jr. helped fuel a second-half run to help Penn State pull away from Lafayette in an exhibition win.

The start of the new college basketball season is just about here, and the Penn State Nittany Lions are looking to surprise many this year. The second season under head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] unofficially got underway Friday night with a charity exhibition game against Lafayette on the campus of Lebanon Valley College, Rhoades’ alma mater. Penn State came out on top of the Leopards by a final score of 79-64 with [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] scoring 11 points, nine assists and two steals.

Penn State was led by [autotag]Yanic Konan Niederhauser[/autotag]’s 15-point night, which also included five rebounds and four blocks. [autotag]D’Marco Dunn[/autotag] added 13 points and hit all three of his three-point attempts.

Penn State jumped out to an early lead before Lafayette cut things down to a one-point game but the Nittany Lions went on an 11-0 run fueled by a [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] three-pointer. Penn State led 38-31 at halftime and used a 22-9 run led by Baldwin Jr’s three-point shooting to pull away in the second half for the exhibition win.

Penn State is expected by many in the Big Ten media to finish toward the bottom of the conference this season. The Nittany Lions, in their first year under Rhoades, went 16-17 last season, with a Big Ten record of 9-11. Penn State won its first-round matchup in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament against Michigan before dropping a close game against Indiana in the second round. After their Big Ten exit, Penn State did not play in a postseason tournament.

Penn State men’s basketball officially begins its 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4 with a home game against Binghampton in the Bryce Jordan Center.

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Penn State earns commitment from former Nebraska guard

Penn State basketball adds its third player from the transfer portal.

Although we are deep into the football offseason, Mike Rhoades and company are working to add to Penn State’s basketball roster.

The Nittany Lions have already signed two players from the transfer portal: [autotag]Kachi Nzeh[/autotag] and, most recently, [autotag]Yanic Konan Niederhauser[/autotag].

After adding two big men to the portal, Penn State stayed with the theme of adding size. This time, it was former Nebraska guard [autotag]Eli Rice[/autotag], a 6-foot-8 guard who averaged 4.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game as a freshman this past season. Rice announced his commitment to [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] and Penn State with an Instagram post. Rice will have three years of eligibility remaining.

In limited minutes last year, Rice proved to be a decent shooter, hitting 37% of shots behind the arc. Rice should provide the Nittany Lions with solid rebounding numbers, given his size in addition to his long-range shooting.

The Tennessee native’s commitment leaves Penn State with one more scholarship to fill before the transfer portal closes.

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