CHICAGO — Nine days ago, the Penn State men’s basketball team defeated Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., in overtime. Friday’s quarterfinal matchup in the Big Ten tournament also needed some bonus basketball.
They defeated the Wildcats — once again in a majority Northwestern crowd — 67-65 to advance to the semifinal round of the Big Ten tournament for the first time since 2018.
Northwestern’s Robbie Beran made a layup to tie things up with 1:03 remaining in regulation. Seth Lundy hit a tough pull up jumper to tie the game. Both teams missed the last chance opportunities to secure the win.
Jalen Pickett would open extra time with a 4-0 run before the Wildcats would go on a 6-1 run lead 62-61 with 1:17 to go. Lundy silenced a raucous Northwestern crowd with a 3-pointer to take a two-point advantage. Pickett would sink a pair of free throws to give the Nittany Lions some breathing room.
Brooks Barnhizer would score again for Northwestern, followed by a free throw by Lundy to make it a 3-point game. Andrew Funk fouled Boo Buie to give Northwestern an opportunity for only two points. He missed the second free throw, the ball went loose and Penn State came out on top at the buzzer.
It was an ugly start to the game as neither team could find success offensively.
Penn State struggled with shooting, finishing the half with 36% (9 of 25) shooting overall and 33.0% (3 of 9) from 3-point range. It also committed seven turnovers that the
Matthew Henn was the first Nittany Lions player to score when he hit a 3-point shot just over five minutes into the game. He then drew an offensive foul to force a turnover and followed that up with a layup to give Penn State its first five points.
Leading scorer, Pickett started 0 of 3 before finally hitting a shot with 6:08 remaining in the half.
The Nittany Lions were able to string together an 8-0 run to give themselves a 25-21 lead with just 1:47 to go. Northwestern would hit the next two shots to head into the locker room with a 26-21 edge.
Penn State came out in the second half on a 7-0 run to take the lead. It got some extra opportunities courtesy of Northwestern fouling on the first three possessions. The foul trouble would continue for the Wildcats getting their seventh 14:00 to go.
Buie, who had been struggling from 3-point range, hit a shot to close Penn State’s six-point advantage to just three points. Funk responded with his own 3-pointer and shushed the Northwestern crowd who was on its feet.
Penn State held control for a majority of the second half. That didn’t stop Northwestern from battling throughout, keeping it within six points and even taking the lead with 6:15, 2:31 and then again with just 1:08 left in the game.
Lundy hit a tough shot to tie the game at 56 a piece with just 37 seconds left to force overtime.
But the Nittany Lions outscored the Wildcats 11-9 in overtime to secure the win.
Lundy led for Penn State with 16 points. Pickett, Funk and Kanye Clary also scored in double-figures with 15, 14 and 11, respectively. The Nittany Lions finished the game shooting 41.2% overall and 35.0% from 3-point range.
Key stat
It was a messy night for the Nittany Lions as they committed 15 turnovers against the Wildcats after averaging just 8.8 all season.
Northwestern scored 23 points off those errors, which made the game a lot closer than it needed to be.
Up next
The Nittany Lions advance to play the winner of No. 3 Indiana and No. 6 Maryland in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Tipoff is set for about 3:30 p.m.
Penn State won the only regular-season matchup with the Hoosiers, 85-66, on Jan. 11. The Nittany Lions split the series with the Terrapins with a 74-68 loss and a 65-64 win to end the regular season.
