It wasn't meant to be for theNittany Lion's men's basketball squad at the Palestra as they could not overcome their in-state rival Pitt at the historic venue. Pitt was able to gain a second half lead that proved a little too insurmountable as they pulled away, 82-76. That does not mean Mike Rhoades' men did not battle it out. Ultimately, it came down to discipline, and with the Nittany Lions a little too careless with the basketball, Pitt was able to get back into the game.
The Nittany Lions finished with 16 turnovers which Pitt was able to capitalize on to the tune of 17 points. To start the third quarter, both Roko Prkacin and Jay Rodgers had critical turnovers that sparked Pitt. Coach Mike Rhoades acknowledged that these mental lulls can't
happen consistently if the Nittany Lions want to seek more improvement from last season.
“We beat ourselves today, and then Pitt beat us,”Rhoades said. “Now we got to learn not to beat ourselves, so we can go beat a team like Pitt or as good as Pitt.”
Still, there were some good positives, such as outrebounding the Panthers 37-28. Ivan Juric was especially pesky on the boards, with 13 rebounds. In fact, he was able to record his third straight double-double as a result. As a result however, he and reserve center Tim Oboh were both getting into too much foul trouble, potentially leading to lineup changes that Rhoades may not have liked in key moments.
Overall, this was a lesson learned for the Nittany Lions as they try and build from their mistakes. Still, unlike last season's loss to Pitt, there was some proof that this season's squad has improved enough to be competitive against sold competition.
“[It’s] better than it was two weeks ago,” Rhoades said. “Not good enough where it needs to be right now. We got work to do on that. We know that, and we got to make sure that we use tonight and grow from it and get better, and if this happens again, we win this game.”
While they ultimately lost this game, it's certainly a positive that Rhoades and his squad are beginning to find the formulas for success.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State basketball suffers first loss of season to Pitt
