MINNEAPOLIS – On paper Penn State men’s basketball was always the better team, which is why it was no real surprise when the Nittany Lions walked away with a 66-57 victory over Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night. While Penn State (now at 16-16 on the year) found itself only a few unfortunate bounces, whistles and bad nights away from being a 20-win team, the Wolverines saw their season come to a close having won just eight games all year long.
Two ships passing in the night, one coach quite possibly headed towards unemployment, the other looking to cap off an otherwise successful first season at the helm.
But paper doesn’t play the games.
So it was of no small consequence that Penn State was able to fight off a late first half charge from Michigan that tied game with just inside of five minutes to go in the half into a 33-22 margin at the break. In an instant the Nittany Lions went from the threat of trailing to the benefit of heading to the locker room holding a comfortable advantage.
The centerpiece to Penn State’s response in this particular moment was former Temple transfer Zach Hicks who snapped a brief three game shooting-slump to crack off a 6-for-11 shooting night from beyond the arc to lead Penn State with 20 points with three of his makes coming in the final 4:05 of the first half as Penn State went on a 13-2 run.
Hicks’ six makes tied the second-best total in a Big Ten Tournament game in school history and also marked the eighth time in 11 games that he had scored 13 or more points. Prior to that span Hicks had managed double-digits just five times over the previous 21 contests. His scoring was backed by a predictable 17 point, six assist and three steal effort by Ace Baldwin Jr and 13 points and eight rebounds by Qudus Wahab.
“Every shooter goes in a slump,” Hicks said after the game. “Coach always tells me shoot the ball with confidence. So that’s one thing that never left me. I started hitting toward February, and I’m just riding the wave right now.”
Hicks would help Penn State again in the second half as Michigan pulled with four points. Ace Baldwin Jr. and Nick Kern would start the run, but in back-to-back possessions a three and then a jumper by Hicks would turn a seven-point game into a 12-point lead. Then with 6:21 to go Michigan would cut the lead once again to eight points and Hicks would once again respond with his final three of the night to put Penn State up by 11. The Wolverines would never get within single-digits the rest of the way.
“He never played defense until he got here this year,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said of Hicks. “And his defense has improved. I think one of the reasons he didn’t shoot the ball so well early in the year was he was playing so hard on defense and trying to do what he wanted. It wasn’t familiar to him. He was tired and fighting through fatigue. He’s learned to battle through fatigue.”
Penn State will have to battle through the fatigue of the season again at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday as the Nittany Lions take on Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The good news for the Nittany Lions, they should still feel fairly fresh as Thursday’s game will mark just the third game in 12 days, a rare moment of rest amidst a grueling.
