After snapping a 13-game losing streak against Iowa last Wednesday, the Penn State men's basketball team talked about riding the winning high all the way through the Big Ten tournament and into the "Big Dance."
No longer in last place, senior David "Mooch" Jackson was telling his teammates they could make history, be the first team to have a 1-13 conference record and "win the whole thing," earning an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
This fantastic notion actually came with a sense of real possibility.
But Indiana brought the Nittany Lions back to reality. In the last game before the conference tourney this Thursday, Penn State (11-18, 2-14 Big Ten) was dealt a sense of perspective by the Hoosiers (20-9, 10-6) on Saturday night, and was blown out of Bloomington, Ind., 94-63.
Indiana, which hit 14 three-point shots against the Lions on Jan. 13, upped the ante with 17 treys against Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis' 2-3 zone defense. Geary Claxton scored 25 points, but a points-in-the-paint disadvantage of 32-24 unfazed the Hoosiers.
"When teams go against you with zone, you have to be able to shoot threes," Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson said, according to Indiana athletics. "If we spent all of our time trying to get it inside, it would be going against our grain."
It was all too easy to execute. Hoosier guard A.J. Ratliff came off the bench to supply 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc for 18 points, contributing a 32-11 advantage in bench scoring. Senior Roderick Wilmont scored 21 points and collected 11 rebounds on Senior Night at Assembly Hall.
Penn State suffered its worst loss since a 91-64 beating from Michigan State on Jan. 20 in the Bryce Jordan Center. The regular season ends with the Lions losing all 10 of their road games, and at 0-14 all-time, they have still never won a game in Bloomington.
Wilmont said he felt at ease after the emotions of his last game at home died down.
"I was confident today," Wilmont said, according to Indiana Athletics. "Coach has been emphasizing that it is mostly mental, and we need to go at it with our all. I came out and played within myself and tried to help the team."
The loss put Penn State back into last place in the Big Ten, behind another 2-14 team in Northwestern. As the No. 11 seed in the conference tournament, Penn State will face No. 7-seeded Illinois in the opening round.
In their last meeting on Feb. 24, the Illini pounded out 36 points in the paint to the Lions' 16 en route to a 68-50 win. It is a complete style change from what they saw in the Hoosiers, a team that will shoot three-pointers at will.
Regardless, Penn State finished the season losing 14 out of its last 15 games. Indiana, on the other hand, goes into the conference tournament able to rely on its outside shot.
"This team's strength is three-point shooting," Sampson said. "It doesn't matter if they are playing man or zone, we try and have the open man hit the three.
