pennstate.rivals.com
This is ridiculous right now. Ohio State can get whatever they want and Penn State making bad passes and can’t do anything.
They're 12-5 so they mustn't suck too much. PSU can't come close to matching their physicality. PSU has to rely on creating turnovers and hitting 3s.
I don't follow BB that closely - like I used to - but if you read their boards, they have a habit of choking away games in the last 5 minutes under Holtmann. Many of those 12 wins were against low caliber - high school competition. I just think PSU makes a run in this game late
They didn’t even play one of the bottom 50 teams in the country. They’ve got plenty of good wins, so I wouldn’t put too much stock in their overly emotional message board fans.
I think you're being generous saying 23-18 is essentially even on the boards. Also look at how OSU physically took PSU defenders to the rim and either scored or got fouled. This game wouldn't be close if OSU had hit a few 3s.
The offensive/defensive split was basically even…offensive for us was 6 to 19, defensive was 12 to 4. We missed a lot more shots, so they’d be expected to get more rebounds…total rebounds doesn’t tell the story as well. If we can keep Ohio St to only getting 25% of their misses, we’re far exceeding expectations.
pennstate.rivals.com
not a good game; they can't start like that. Rhoades called a TO when it was 10-0, and I thought he should have called it at about 6-0 because it was clear OSU was on fire. But even after that OSU continued to cause problems, and it was 16-0 before we got going. After that, PSU stayed with them the rest of the way. There were some bright spots, like Puff Johnson having a good day.
OSU's fast start wasn't because of hot shooting. It was all because they were physically stronger and they aggressively took PSU defenders to the basket.
I think it was more like they were forcing PSU into off-balance shots that weren't falling. They were hot and it threw PSU off pretty badly. From the time it was 16-0, PSU basically played them evenly but obviously that was way too much to overcome. I thought Wahab didn't have a good game. also it is so hard to win on the road in the B1G and it is due to the officiating. really it is kind of ridiculous, even when we benefit from it at home. It's like the league tells them not to call any fouls on the home team.
They were definitely giving Clary & Baldwin fits but their shooting was 2' from the basket. I think they were 0-8 from 3pt range.
people were saying that about the last guy, and he was in the NCAA tournament in year 2. Also 2020 was an NCAA tournament team until the season was canceled by Covid. This is no longer the program that it was in 2004, where any hopes of a tournament were 5+ years away. it is not in that bad of shape anymore.
I agree with that and really hope year 2 we could see big improvements. With the transfer portal especially with basketball you only need a couple guys to make a big difference. But, there is no guarantee. We play in an excellent league and its not like the upper half B10 teams are suddenly going to become bad programs. I have faith in Rhoades that he can build a solid program that could have consistent Dance invites.
Exactly...plus, some of the other lower tier teams will improve. Rutgers has a ridiculous recruiting class coming in, and those two could move them up the league ladder very quickly. And then we're adding 4 schools that are somewhere between really good and solid. We'll really need to land a difference-maker in either the portal or a late HS signing (and/or really hit a home run in the 2025 class).
It wasn't losing this one that bothers me, it was that we really didn't come to play the game. We were sluggish, unprepared for what Ohio State was doing, and didn't make any corrections until it was too late. We lose very little next year if Rhoades can keep them all together, and what we have coming in is better than what is going out. The only missing piece for next year will be a solid post player. If he can bring one in through the portal we could be very good next year. Unfortunately Favour Aire isn't the answer.
There is no room to bring in talent from the transfer portal, unless we lose some of those who could come back. Just by playing together for a year will help to improve this team, and if they all come back, except Mitchell, O'Boyle and Wahab who leave, this team will be solid. Just need a solid post player.
I am much more optimistic about next year than most. If Rhoades can keep the team together we will lose O'Boyle Wahab and Mitchell. and what he has coming in is much better than we lose. We lose 3 and bring in 3 which doesn't leave room for portal help, unless someone else moves out. I am afraid it could be Jameel Brown if Rhoades doesn't increase his minutes, and I hate to lose him. The only problem then is what we have this year, very little in the post.
Wahab is the biggest loss. PSU desperately needs a big man who can score and defend in the paint.
Losing Wahab will be rough...we really need a portal 5 to replace him. And I'm also concerned about the lack of shooters; even though O'Boyle hasn't had a lot of success here, he's likely our best shooter. We really need more shooters for us to be "very good".
The 3 coming in might be better than the three we're losing in the long term...but I certainly wouldn't count on them being better than those 3 next year.
O'Boyle is definitely not our best shooter. he is a role player and his role seems to be sub in for a few minutes and hope he can get a 3 while he's at it
He's had four seasons shooting 36% or better behind the arc...this year has been the outlier. He struggled a lot in the non-conference, but has shot 44% in conference play (in a relatively limited sample size).
VCU: 11-7
I think he’s going to be a hot commodity and I’m not sure playing for PSU is enough of a draw to keep him here. I could be way off, but that’s my fear.
Our two best shooters from deep are Clary at almost 39% and Jameel Brown at 40%. I am afraid that Brown will hit the portal because of lack of playing time. Can't understand why he doesn't play more.
O'Boyle is a good shooter, unfortunately for him, Rhoades has him playing way out of position. It is not an easy task to have to defend against some of the best bigs in the country, and then try to shoot at a high %. Tracking Myles Dread's shooting, his 3 point % went down when he had to muscle bigs inside, than defending guards. The best shooter we have is Jameel Brown. His shot is pure, and he leads the team at 40%
