‘That Was Awesome:’ Penn State Basketball Upsets No. 12 Wisconsin on the Road

Penn State basketball coach Mike Rhoades wanted his team to shape its full focus around the regular-season finale at Wisconsin and not what might come next: a potential postseason bid, the NCAA Transfer Portal, etc. Easier said than done. However, the Nittany Lions managed to cap a disappointing Big Ten season with perhaps their best victory.

Penn State defeated No. 12 Wisconsin 86-75 on Saturday to earn its first win at the Kohl Center in program history and its highest-ranked road win in 15 years. The Nittany Lions last beat a top-15 team in February 2009 against then-No. 9 Michigan State. After the game, Rhoades told reporters in Wisconsin that he had not thought about the postseason but sounded as though this game would end the Nittany Lions’ season.

“It’s been a hard year, it’s been a tough last eight weeks, but the guys never quit and [showed] pride today, and I’m proud of them,” Rhoades said after the game.

Penn State (16-15, 6-14 Big Ten) stunned Wisconsin with a marvelous second half. The Nittany Lions, who trailed by 5 at halftime, scored 51 points in the second half and shot 61 percent of the field. D’Marco Dunn punctuated a career day with a 15-point second half, making six of seven shots and going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Dunn scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting.

A Dunn jumper gave Penn State a seven-point lead with 5:33 to play, a place that has been a hot zone for Penn State all season. Wisconsin (23-8) cut its deficit to two points with 3:43 remaining, but this time the Nittany Lions held onto their lead. The Badgers went 0-for-6 from the field for the remainder of the game, and Penn State pulled out a huge road victory.

The win was just the second for Penn State on the road in the Big Ten this season. Further, it was an extremely rare win for the Nittany Lions in Madison. Penn State entered the game with a 2-23 record at Wisconsin and had not won there since 1995. The Nittany Lions also had never won at Kohl Center.

“That was awesome,” Rhoades said. “Coming here and finding a way to pull out a win like that, I’m just really proud of our guys and of the approach we’ve taken this last game of the season for us. Our approach was having clear minds to come in here today and let’s see if, one last time, let’s play the right way, let’s go play for each other. We talk about being tough and together, and I thought we did that for a lot of the game to give us a chance.”

Penn State shot 56.4 percent from the field and 57..9 percent from 3-point range. Center Yanic Konan Niederhauser had his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked five shots. Zach Hicks scored 14 points, and Nick Kern Jr. had 12. Point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. had eight points, nine assists and three steals.

Penn State is unlikely to receive, or accept, a postseason bid, but a chance remains. The Nittany Lions could play in the NIT or the new College Basketball Crown. One site has Penn State among the last four teams in for the NIT.

“We don’t have a lot of wins in the last two months,” Rhoades said after the game, “so I’m going to enjoy this. We’ll figure it out from there.”