Penn State fans stormed the court after a statement victory over No. 8 Purdue on Thursday night, the third ranked home upset for Mike Rhoades in his second season as the Nittany Lions’ head coach. The 81-70 win showed that not Penn State (8-1) not only can compete in the Big Ten but also could be a threat as conference play ramps up. Here’s what we learned from the win.
Penn State’s defense harasses the Boilermakers
Penn State suffocated Purdue’s offense, forcing 24 turnovers, 12 via steals. The Nittany Lions scored 32 points off those takeaways. Braden Smith, Purdue’s first-team all-Big Ten guard, wasn’t a factor, scoring six points. Across from him was Ace Baldwin Jr., who led Penn State with 17 points, 12 of which came from free throws.
Rhoades was particularly impressed with Penn State’s first-half defense, in which it held Purdue to 24 points.
“That was the best half of defense we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Rhoades told reporters after the game at the Bryce Jordan Center. “That’s the standard of defense that I want us to have. That defense, it travels. And you take that defense on the road or anywhere else, that’s always going to give you a chance to win. And it wasn’t just one or two guys. It was eight or nine or 10 guys, and I’m really proud.”
The Nittany Lions showed great effort on the boards as well, totaling 27 rebounds and not getting blocked once. Purdue coach Matt Painter compared his team’s performance to losing in a war.
“If we’re in the front line of a war like we were just now, we’d all be dead,” Painter said postgame. “Our fight wasn’t even close to Penn State’s fight. It wasn’t even close, not remotely close.”
Freddie Dilione comes into his own
Penn State transfer guard Freddie Dilione had another strong performance on Thursday, shooting 6-of-11 on field goals and adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals. A top-50 prospect when he committed to Tennessee, Dilione has flashed some of that upside in his brief action with Penn State. Prior to the Purdue game, he made an impressive four 3-pointers against Buffalo.
“A win like that’s a statement win,” Dilione told reporters in State College after the game. “I just think it’s going to put everybody on notice. We’re just a walkover team. We’re always going be the underdogs, and that’s our mentality. We just got to come in every game and just punch everybody in the mouth.”
Guard Zach Hicks will likely demand defenses’ attention as a shooter on the wing, but Dilione showed that he could also be a threat and a strong option for Penn State’s offense.
A resume-building win for Penn State
While it’s early in the season to start discussing tournament resumes, an 81-70 win over a top-10 Purdue team — which has ranked wins over No. 10 Alabama and No. 23 Ole Miss — will do a lot for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions, now 33rd in the KenPom rankings, missed an opportunity to add a win over Clemson to their resume during the Sunshine Slam, which would look especially attractive now after the Tigers defeated No. 4 Kentucky and will likely be ranked in the next AP Poll.
Now sitting at 8-1, Penn State also could see a push into the top 25 for the first time under Rhoades. There’s a good chance the Nittany Lions stay there too, as they have a winnable schedule going into New Year’s that includes Rutgers (5-3), Coppin State (0-10), Drexel (5-4) and Penn (3-5).
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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson
