The Indiana Hoosiers came into Saturday night's game against the Penn State Nittany Lions tied at the top of the Big Ten and were riding high after a road win at Michigan.
This seemed like a classic trap game for Indiana coming in, and it proved as one as the Hoosiers suffered a tough road loss. With Iowa and at Michigan State coming up as the next two games, this would have been a great win to get heading into those two, but now the next two matchups will be a little bit more important than they may have been.
How It Played Out
The Hoosiers led by just one at 34-33 in a back and forth first half in which neither team could really assert their dominance. In the second half, Penn State held a lead for most of the half, but Indiana wasn't going to go down without a fight.
With 3:44 left to play, Thomas Bryant hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Hoosiers a 56-55 lead, but that was the last lead they saw. That was followed by a big three by Brandon Taylor to give Penn State a 58-56 lead, and they weren't poised to give that up.
Down two, Indiana fed Bryant down low, but a travel was called and they were forced to give it back to the Nittany Lions and went down and converted on two free throws.
With 13 seconds left and down four, Collin Hartman missed a wide open three that would have given the Hoosiers one last gasp, but it clanged off the rim, and that was that from State College.
Why It Happened
One of the biggest stories in this game was the offense for the Hoosiers that was fairly absent. They shot just 36.2 percent from the field and were just 9-for-27 from behind the arc. Nick Zeisloft was the one of the only Hoosiers shooting well as he was 4-for-7 from behind the arc and finished with a team high 14 points.
This was a game played at a pace that Penn State wanted and they got that throughout. They average just around 69 points per game while the Hoosiers average upwards of 80 points per game. With the poor shooting, however, it was going to be a struggle to get to that 80-point threshold.
A big difference in this game was not just the shooting percentage between these two teams, but the amount of shots taken and made. Penn State took 13 more shots from the field and made eight more as well. What may have kept the Hoosiers in this game was the fact that they shot and made 10 more free throws than the Nittany Lions.
It isn't much of a secret that Brandon Taylor has been one to carry the Nittany Lions this season, and Saturday night was no different. When he plays well, there is a chance the team plays well, and this was the fact once again. Taylor finished with 24 points and six boards while connecting on 4-of-9 shots from behind the arc.
Another thing that is a staple of Penn State basketball is that they play hard as a team. Coach Patrick Chambers always gets his teams to play hard and physical, and this matchup was no different.
What's Next?
Indiana will welcome in league leading Iowa on Thursday while Penn State travels to Nebraska.