At the Buzzer: Penn State 85, Indiana 71

Quick thoughts on an 85-71 loss to Penn State:

How it happened

With Xavier Johnson sidelined but Malik Reneau available, Indiana got off to a strong start on Saturday afternoon at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers built multiple double-figure leads – at 16-6, 26-16 and 34-23 – but Penn State had an answer each time. The Nittany Lions hit six of their 12 3s in the first half and went into the locker room trailing by just four at 41-37. Indiana dominated the paint in the opening 20 minutes, outscoring Penn State 26-16. Kel’el Ware also turned in an excellent half, scoring 17 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line in 19 minutes. And Reneau, who left the Iowa game with an ankle injury, was also solid with nine points, four rebounds, and two assists in 16 first-half minutes.

An 8-0 run by Penn State early in the second half gave the Nittany Lions a 47-43 lead at the under 16-media timeout. In the first four-plus minutes of the second half, the Hoosiers had just one made field goal and three turnovers. By the under-12 media timeout, Penn State had extended the lead to 11 at 59-48 after a Jameel Brown 3-pointer. The Penn State lead got extended to 13 at 64-51 with 8:55 to play on a Zach Hicks jumper. Another 3-pointer – this one by Ace Baldwin Jr. – gave Penn State a comfortable 71-57 advantage with 6:23 remaining. The Hoosiers never seriously challenged Penn State the rest of the way and fell to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in the Big Ten with two road games up next.