The 2025-26 UW Men’s Basketball season has been defined by respectable performances against superior rosters. There have been low moments (the loss to Seattle U.) and high points (the victory over Ohio St), but the hallmark of this UW team has been its ability to hang in against top teams without actually getting the win. That pattern changed on Wednesday night not in a good way.
The Dawgs welcomed a Penn St team to Hec Ed that was 1-12 in Big 10 play and had not won a road game in conference. The Nittany Lions had arguably the worst defense int he conference and UW finally looked healthy enough to finish the season with the type of flourish that would get them into the middle of the Big 10 standings. Instead, the Husky offense struggled mightily against a poor defense and the Dawgs lost a shocker, 63-60 at home.
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The game started off innocently enough. UW guards went to the basket, Wesley Yates had a trio of early buckets, and Hannes Steinbach had a nice putback after a missed layup. The Dawgs led 15-10, but that was the start of the first prolonged offensive slump. UW went over five minutes without a point in the middle of the first half, and Penn St took the lead, 20-15. The game stayed close for the rest of the half and a Quimari Peterson three and a Yates three on either side of the break tied the game at 35. Steinbach continued to grind out just enough offense to keep the game roughly even as Penn St’s Freddie Dilione V matched his output. Frank Kepnang’s dunk off a Yates assist with 2:44 remaining gave UW a 59-57 lead. From that point on, UW would not make another field goal. Dilione and Kayden Mingo each got another bucket for Penn St and Peterson’s desperation three to tie it came up empty.
On paper, this game looked like an opportunity for UW’s guards to get to the basket against a team that has struggled to defend the rim. Instead, Zoom Diallo had arguably his worst game of the year- 3-15 shooting and five turnovers. Yates also struggled, going 1-7 from long range. Steinbach’s 14 rebounds (six offensive) gave UW a +9 FGA advantage, but they were not able to capitalize on that advantage. On the other side, Dilione and Mingo have struggled with their shooting efficiency all year, but finished a combined 13-25 for 29 points. It was a painful loss for the Huskies and removes any lingering hopes of making a run to the NCAA tournament.
