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Mar 8, 2026; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard Freddie Dilione V. (5) goes to the basket as Rutgers Scarlet Knights center Emmanuel Ogbole (21) defends during the first half at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
A week ago, Penn State showed some life in a home victory against likely NCAA tournament selection Iowa.
There seemed to be some life around the program and maybe a bit of a late season rally of entertaining play for the conference’s youngest team.
Well, last Wednesday, Penn State was flattened at home by Ohio State. Then, Sunday, the Lions looked even more dispirited in the first half of a 74-62 loss at Rutgers.
The Lions led 10-6 early, but looked lifeless as the Scarlet Knights had a pair of 10+ points scoring runs to ultimately lead 36-14 late in the first half. Ultimately, Rutgers would hold its largest lead in a conference game in more than a decade.
In the second half, Penn State trailed by as many as 26 points before making the score look respectable with a late flurry in the closing minutes.
The Lions closed the regular season at 12-19 and 3-17 in the Big Ten. The 17 losses were the most for Penn State in Big Ten play.
Four Penn State players scored in double figures, paced by Ivan Juric and Freddie Dilione with 16 points each.
One bright spot was the return of Kayden Mingo, who missed the Ohio State game with a concussion. Mingo finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Player of the Game: Tariq Francis, Rutgers
The junior guard scored just above his average, netting 18 points and making three 3-point shots.
Random Observations
No Defense – Rutgers shot better than 50 percent in the first half and one play summed up the Lions’ effort and drew criticism from the game’s commentators. Rutgers ran a relatively simple action that ended with a wide-open 3-point look and a pair of Penn State defenders left pointing at open space.
No Effort – The criticism didn’t stop with the game’s announcers either. Studio hosts Dave Revsine and Mike DeCourcy both noted how Penn State simply looked lethargic and let Rutgers bully them throughout the first half. This came after DeCourcy talked in the pregame about how Mike Rhoades’s team had shown life in a number of games throughout the conference season.
No Shooting – The Lions struggled in the first half to get to the basket thanks to Rutgers’s switching defense. That led to Penn State settling for 3-pointers and they only made 3-of-22 with the first of those makes coming late in the first half. The Lions had a chance to trim the lead to nine with under four minutes to go in the game, but missed an open look from behind the arc.
Looking Ahead
Barring the greatest run in the history of the Big Ten tournament, Penn State’s season will end this week in Chicago at the Big Ten Tournament. This season, all 18 of the conference teams will participate. Penn State, the tourney’s No. 18 seed, will open Tuesday night at approximately 7:30 p.m. against No. 15 seed Northwestern. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
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