Pitt made sure the final image matched the story of the afternoon.
With seconds left in Penn State’s 82-76 loss Sunday at the Palestra, Panthers guard Jonathan Powell finished a dunk off a Dasonte Bowen turnover, a clean closing moment to a game in which the Nittany Lions spent too much time giving the ball away. Penn State committed 16 turnovers, and Pitt turned those mistakes into 17 points.
That was the difference in a game that never quite got away from Penn State in the way last year’s meeting did, when the Nittany Lions were blown out by 34. Still, the 150th matchup between the programs exposed plenty for Mike Rhoades’ team, now 2-1 after its first power-conference test of the season.
Penn State had a chance to carry real momentum into halftime. Brant Byers drilled consecutive 3-pointers to push the Nittany Lions ahead 35-28 with 5:15 left in the first half. Then the game flipped.
Pitt finished the half on a 14-3 burst and walked into the break with a 42-38 lead. Two turnovers, one by Roko Prkačin and another by Jay Rodgers, fueled fast-break scores for the Panthers and forced Rhoades into a timeout.
“That was huge,” Rhoades said. “That’s the part where you gotta have a level of mental discipline to play at this level, to be successful at this level. You can't just say, ‘I'm gonna go do it.’”
He also pointed to “horrendous” shot selection during that stretch. François Wibaut took a long 2-point jumper he didn’t need, and Josh Reed missed two off-balance layups.
For a brief stretch, Penn State looked like it might settle in. Instead, it delivered what Rhoades called its worst four minutes of basketball this season, and that stretch ended up swinging the game.
“We beat ourselves today, and then Pitt beat us,” Rhoades said. “Now we got to learn not to beat ourselves, so we can go beat a team like Pitt or as good as Pitt.”
Pitt’s offense kept putting Penn State on its heels with ball movement that pulled defenders out of position. Rhoades said he expected that approach and was frustrated that it still worked.
“That's our biggest thing is winning the point of attack,” Rhoades said. “When you move that ball, you have that closeout, you got to win that, and we didn’t win that enough today.”
Once the Panthers started forcing those rotations, the driving lanes opened. Pitt scored 48 points in the paint despite Penn State’s size advantage, with A’lahn Sumler pouring in 26 points by attacking the rim and Baye Ndongo adding 13 inside.
That was enough to leave Rhoades saying Penn State “couldn’t guard consistently enough.”
“We're not the most athletic team,” Rhoades said. “We sure aren't going to be in the Big Ten.
That's okay. We got to be the toughest and the most disciplined.
We got to get better at that.”
There were some signs of progress in that area. Penn State outrebounded Pitt 37-28, a point Rhoades highlighted as part of his push to toughen up a group that went 12-20 last season.
“Last year, we weren't at all,” Rhoades said. “We were weak and soft and really young.
We got bludgeoned. We’re older.
We’re bigger. I thought we at times rebounded really well today.
We have to continue to do that against teams like Pitt.”
Ivan Jurić was central to that effort, grabbing 13 rebounds and scoring 16 points for his third straight double-double to open the season. Prkačin and Reed each added seven boards.
But Penn State’s physical edge came with a cost. Fouls piled up, and Rhoades wanted more strength without the whistles.
Jurić sat for much of the first half after picking up two quick fouls. Tim Oboh was whistled for three fouls in two minutes, which pushed Prkačin into more time at center than power forward.
Bowen and Thomas Allard also finished with four fouls apiece.
Penn State was fortunate Pitt shot only 68.2 percent from the free-throw line, because the margin could have grown. Even so, Rhoades said the physical side is moving in the right direction.
“[It’s] better than it was two weeks ago,” Rhoades said. “Not good enough where it needs to be right now.
We got work to do on that. We know that, and we got to make sure that we use tonight and grow from it and get better, and if this happens again, we win this game.”
In Other News...
Penn State Fans Finally Got An Encouraging Jack Ham Update
Penn State fans got a reassuring update on Jack Ham after the longtime Nittany Lions legend and radio color commentator experienced a medical emergency in Seattle ahead of the Penn State-Washington game. Ham was treated at the University of Washington Medical Center, and Penn State athletics later confirmed the incident while saying he is in stable condition.
Matt Campbell and the teams broadcasters have since offered updates and support for Ham and his family, a reminder of how deeply he remains woven into the programs identity. For a fan base that has followed him for generations, the immediate concern was simply hearing that the Hall of Fame linebacker was getting the care he needed and was in a better place than the initial news suggested. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Campbell Just Changed A Penn State Problem Fans Know Too Well
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Rocco Becht drew praise for his composure, and Campbell framed the win as part of a broader push to keep developing in all phases. The run game and pass rush remain areas the staff wants to keep sharpening, but the bigger picture is clear enough: Penn State found a way to win on the road against a struggling conference opponent, and now the focus shifts to finishing at 8-4. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Biggest Offensive Turnaround Came From One Crucial Change
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Matt Campbell pointed to schematic adjustments and a growing sense of confidence up front as the biggest reasons for the turnaround. For an offense that had been searching for consistency on the ground, the change has been hard to miss, and it has given Penn State another layer to lean on as the season moves forward. The question now is whether that progress can hold when the competition stiffens again. [Read more 🡒]