Penn State’s path to the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament just got a bit trickier after a loss at Indiana on Wednesday evening. The Nittany Lions took a small lead into halftime in Bloomington but were unable to hold off the Hoosiers in the second half of an 83-78 setback. The loss puts Penn State up against a wall in the final couple of games in the regular season when it comes to the upcoming Big Ten men’s basketball tournament.
Penn State was led by a solid all-around game from Ace Baldwin Jr., who scored 22 points and added five assists and a season-high six steals/ Yanoc Konan Niederhauser added 16 points and seven rebounds. Four other players — Zach Hicks, D’Marco Dunn, Freddie Dilione V, and Nick Kern Jr. — each scored in double figures with 10 points each. Penn State held a five-point lead a little more than midway through the second half before the Hoosiers went on an 8-0 run and pulled ahead from there.
Five straight points from Indiana’s Myles Rice helped keep the Hoosiers in front in the final minutes, although Penn State did pull within three points in the final minute. But in the end, it was another tough loss for Penn State, and this one puts the Nittany Lions in an incredibly tough spot.
Penn State will now face the most challenging path to the final seed in the Big Ten tournament imaginable. On top of needing wins against No. 16 Maryland and No. 11 Wisconsin, Penn State must also get some help in the form of USC and Iowa each losing their final three games of the regular season.
Penn State will host Maryland for the final home game of the season on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State men’s basketball drops crucial game at Indiana
