For the first time this season, Penn State coach Mike Rhoades will find out how his team responds to a loss.
Fresh off their first setback, the Nittany Lions host Buffalo on Sunday in University Park, Pa., in their final tune-up before Big Ten play begins.
Penn State (6-1) won its first six games, all by at least 13 points, before finally feeling the taste of defeat Tuesday in a 75-67 setback against Clemson. Ace Baldwin Jr. led the Nittany Lions with 20 points and 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Tigers, an Elite Eight team from a season ago.
“He’s just a warrior,” Rhoades said of Baldwin to the Penn State Sports Network. “But we needed other guys to help him in other areas. We had a lot of open 3s today that we didn’t make that we’ve been making all year. But I think (Clemson’s) physicality and their length had something to do with that.”
Indeed, the Nittany Lions shot just 4 of 18 from 3-point range against Clemson and committed 17 turnovers. Yanic Konan Niederhauser complemented Baldwin with 14 points, but the other three starters combined for 20 points on 9-of-23 shooting.
“We’ve got to learn from it,” Rhoades said. “Because if we can play a team like this like we did tonight and take care of some stuff and get more contributions from others, we’re going to be better and better.”
Baldwin is the team’s top scorer at 16.3 points per game, followed by Zach Hicks at 14.6. Niederhauser averages 12.4 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game.
Buffalo (4-3) has won two in a row, including a one-point victory over North Carolina A&T its last time out on Monday. Tyson Dunn hit the decisive free throws with 8 seconds left for the Bulls, who were led by Ryan Sabol’s 22 points.
“Every guy that got in stepped up for us in different ways,” said Buffalo coach George Halcovage III, whose team has already matched its win total from last season (4-27). “In the end, we just had enough and got it done.”
Sabol leads the Bulls in scoring at 18.6 points per game, with Dunn next at 13.3. Noah Batchelor is pulling down a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game.
Penn State leads the all-time series 6-2, although the teams have not met since 2004, when visiting Buffalo won 72-70.
–Field Level Media
