Honestly, if you just looked at the final Penn State basketball score from Sunday afternoon, you’d see a 96-73 loss to Maryland and probably think, "Ouch, another one." But the scoreboard at the Xfinity Center doesn't even begin to tell the full story of how bizarre and frustrating this game actually was for the Nittany Lions.
It was a total blowout that briefly threatened to become the comeback of the century. Then it wasn't.
David "Diggy" Coit basically turned into Steph Curry for twenty minutes. He put up 30 points in the first half alone. That is not a typo. He actually outscored the entire Penn State team by himself before the teams even went to the locker room. By halftime, Mike Rhoades’ squad was staring at a 30-point deficit, trailing 56-26.
Breaking Down the David Coit Show
You have to give credit where it's due, even if it hurts. Coit finished with a career-high 43 points. He tied a Maryland program record with nine triples. Every time Penn State tried to go under a screen or gave him a pocket of daylight, the ball was through the net before the defender could even contest.
Maryland (8-10, 1-6 Big Ten) hadn't won a conference game all year. They were desperate. They played like it. Meanwhile, Penn State (9-9, 0-7 Big Ten) looked like they were stuck in Maryland traffic for the first twenty minutes.
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That Massive Second-Half Surge
The most confusing part of the Penn State basketball score yesterday was the first eight minutes of the second half. Most teams down by 30 on the road just roll over. This team didn't.
They came out of the tunnel and went on a 20-4 run. Then it became a 25-5 run. Suddenly, a game that was 56-26 was 61-51. Dominick Stewart started hitting everything. Kayden Mingo, back in the lineup after surgery on a broken nose, looked like the best player on the floor for a stretch.
- Kayden Mingo: 19 points, 5 assists (In 34 minutes with a face mask).
- Dominick Stewart: 17 points (Ignited the comeback attempt).
- Eli Rice: 13 points (Kept them steady during the run).
For a second, you actually thought they might pull it off. The lead was down to 10. The Xfinity Center got quiet. But then, as has happened so many times during this 0-7 conference start, the gas tank hit E.
The Rebounding Nightmare
You can't win in the Big Ten if you don't rebound. It's basketball 101.
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Maryland absolutely demolished Penn State on the glass, 39-21. That is a -18 margin. It's almost impossible to overcome that. The Terps grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and turned them into 16 second-chance points. Ivan Juric, who has been a bright spot at times this year, finished with just one rebound in 20 minutes.
When you allow a team to shoot 54% from the field and also give them nearly triple the offensive rebounds you get, the math just stops working in your favor.
Where Does Penn State Go From Here?
This loss marks five straight defeats for the Nittany Lions. They are now 0-7 in the Big Ten, their worst start since the 2018-19 season. It's a tough pill to swallow because this team has shown flashes. They played No. 5 Purdue to a tight 93-85 game just last week. They lost a 74-72 heartbreaker to Michigan on January 6th.
The talent is there, especially with Mingo back and Freddie Dilione V available after his ankle sprain. But the consistency? That's still MIA.
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If you are looking for a silver lining, it’s the "Return to Rec." Penn State heads back to the historic Rec Hall on Thursday, January 22nd, to host Wisconsin. There is something about that old building that usually brings out the best in this program. They’ll need every bit of that home-court magic to finally get a "1" in the win column for conference play.
To fix this, the coaching staff has to address the interior defense immediately. They can't keep letting opposing guards have career nights—this was the fifth time this season an opponent scored 28+ points against them. Cleaning up the defensive rotations and finding a way to compete on the boards is the only way the next Penn State basketball score looks any different.
Keep an eye on the injury report leading up to the Wisconsin game. Having Mingo back at full strength is huge, but the team needs a secondary post presence to step up and help Juric if they want to stop the bleeding.