Penn State basketball will face Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Mike Rhoades has invoked the snowball effect multiple times this season when talking about his Penn State basketball team. A few things go wrong, and suddenly, it goes from bad to worse, and the Nittany Lions are in a hole.
Most of the time, they can’t dig out of it.
The latest example came against Ohio State when Penn State went 13-and-a-half minutes between made shots and the Buckeyes went on a 26-3 run during that stretch. After holding an early lead, the Nittany Lions were never competitive again in the 94-62 defeat.
Nittany Lions Look to Bounce Back
Rhoades has harped on his young team’s maturity this season, and Penn State has one more chance in the 2025-26 regular season to show that it has grown when it faces Rutgers. Rhoades said, “It’s a couple good plays, and just snowball. We couldn’t react or respond, and then it goes for 10, 12 minutes. And against a good team…”
Penn State appeared to have momentum entering their home game against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions were a few days removed from their last-second win over Iowa, which was arguably their best performance of the Big Ten slate. Rhoades felt Monday’s practice was good, and he felt optimistic after shootaround. Penn State even held an early 8-7 lead.
Offensive Struggles Impact Defence
A theme that has been common this season returned for the Nittany Lions during this stretch. The offensive stagnation started affecting things at the defensive end. Then, the opponent kicks into gear.
Guard Dominick Stewart said, “It’s kind of hard to put my finger on it, but in my opinion, I just feel like we didn’t play with the same heart that we had that game [vs. Iowa]. Shots aren’t dropping, s— not going your way, and it’s easier to go inward, I feel like. I feel like that’s kind of what we did tonight, instead of just sticking it out, sustaining our defense, doing whatever it takes to get it done.”
Mingo’s Absence and Team Issues
Penn State were without Kayden Mingo for the loss to Ohio State after he was injured late in the second half against Iowa. Rhoades said postgame that he knew Monday that Mingo wouldn’t play, and Rhoades didn’t volunteer any insight for the freshman’s status at Rutgers.
Still, Penn State nearly upset No. 2 Michigan and pushed No. 5 Purdue on the road without Mingo in January. The loss to Ohio State wasn’t about one player. Rhoades observed team-wide issues against the Buckeyes.
“When you feel sorry for yourself or you get frustrated, it makes the game harder,” Rhoades said. “You saw that today. You saw that. It was disappointing because I thought [against Iowa], we were completely the opposite, but that’s called sport.”
Penn State’s 85-72 loss to Rutgers on Feb. 18, which also