Penn State hasn't found the key to winning in Madison, Wisconsin. | Facebook
Penn State hasn't found the key to winning in Madison, Wisconsin. | Facebook
Road games are always tough on the men’s college basketball circuit, but Wisconsin’s Kohl Center has presented even more of a challenge than usual for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Wisconsin Badgers (18-4 overall, 9-3 in the Big Ten) survived a challenge by Penn State on Saturday because the Nittany Lions missed their chance to tie the game or win in the last 30 seconds. Wisconsin won 51-49.
“I didn't feel like we played particularly well. I thought we could play better,” Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said after the game, according to video of the postgame news briefing.
The Badgers have won 21 straight home games against the Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin had an 18-13 lead at the break. The Nittany Lions trailed by nine points with less than four minutes left, but they responded with nine unanswered to tie the game on a layup by Myles Dread with 51 seconds to go.
Wisconsin regained the lead on a layup by Tyler Wahl with 30 seconds left.
Penn State had a chance as Dread set up for contested three-pointer with time running out. Wahl snatched the rebound and the clock ran out.
Penn State hosted Michigan on Tuesday and lost another close game, 58-57. Penn State (9-11, 4-8) played the Wolverines evenly in the first half, but the fouling strategy at the end of the game fell just short. Jalen Pickett led the Nittany Lions with 14 points in that Big Ten contest.
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