One of the most fundamental parts of basketball is boxing out. When Malik Reneau drove to the basket with less than ten seconds left in a tie game, someone forgot to box out senior Anthony Leal. If you watched last night's 61-59 thrilling Indiana win, you saw Leal crash the boards for the put-back that turned out to be the game-winner.
Indiana had a simple question to answer, could they finally beat the Nittany Lions?
The answer is yes. Behind 18 points and 14 rebounds from center Kel'el Ware, the Hoosiers defeated the Nittany Lions. It was a back-and-forth game with several lead changes, so it should have been no surprise that the game came down to the last two possessions. Puff Johnson got a good look at a three-pointer, but it hit the back of the rim.
Wrestling legend Jim "JR" Ross would call tonight's game "bowling shoe ugly." Neither team shot particularly well, and that was because both teams were tremendous defensively. Here are three takeaways from tonight's thrilling win:
Back and Forth
The Nittany Lions could not have started the game any worse. They missed eight of their first nine shots but their defense allowed them to stay in the game, keeping Indiana at arm's length. While Ace Baldwin did not have a great game offensively, he led the charge defensively for Penn State.
Despite Indiana's size advantage, Penn State did an outstanding job on the offensive boards. Also, the Nittany Lions hit free throws. Head coach Mike Rhoades pressure defense forced some sloppy possessions in the second half that allowed Penn State to get in the game and take the lead.
Indiana was equally as good defensively. Penn State wanted to get the ball inside to Qudus Wahab, but Kel'el Ware's length was a problem, forcing shots to be adjusted all night long. There were over a dozen lead changes, and a last-second put back by Anthony Leal gave the Hoosiers the win.
Indiana's reward for defeating the Nittany Lions? Nebraska. Another team who swept Indiana this year.