Indiana Hoosiers vs. Penn St. Nittany Lions Pick & Prediction JANUARY 11th 2023

Indiana coach Mike Woodson has stalked the sideline for multiple NBA teams and played for the ultimate bottom-line coach as a Hoosier in Bob Knight.

So in the minutes after Indiana lost 84-83 Sunday at home to Big Ten conference foe Northwestern, a defeat that toppled it out of the Top 25 on Monday, Woodson predictably didn't make excuses.

"We've got to keep practicing and working," he said. "Nobody is going to feel sorry for the Indiana Hoosiers. We have some guys out. The other guys in uniform have to step up and play."

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Their next chance to do that is Wednesday night when they travel to University Park, Pa., to meet Penn State for what figures to be another difficult Big Ten assignment.

Playing without Race Thompson (leg) and Xavier Johnson (foot), Indiana (10-5, 1-3) fell behind by 17 in the first half and couldn't make it up despite a pair of superhuman individual efforts.

Jalen Hood-Schifino pumped in a career-high 33 points, the most by a Hoosier freshman in 16 years. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 18 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and dished out eight assists while playing the full 40 minutes.

Jackson-Davis is playing through back issues.

"I get treatment. I play the games. That's what I do," he said.

Meanwhile, Penn State (11-5, 2-3) is coming off a 76-63 loss Sunday to then-No. 1 Purdue in a conference game played at the famed Palestra in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions led 37-31 at halftime before the Boilermakers rode 30 points and 13 rebounds from 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey to the win.

Jalen Pickett supplied 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a yeoman's effort, but outside of Seth Lundy's 14 points, didn't get enough help.

Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry criticized the officials postgame for allowing Purdue to play excessively physical defense on the perimeter. The Nittany Lions took just three foul shots in the game.

"I'm going to fight for this program to get some frickin' respect," he said.

Indiana leads the all-time series 42-13, winning seven of the past nine matchups.

--Field Level Media

PREDICTION

Indiana Hoosiers

70

72

Penn St. Nittany Lions

Jalen Pickett scored 15 points and Penn State held off a late charge to beat Indiana 61-58 Sunday in State College, Pa.

The Nittany Lions (6-5, 1-2 Big Ten) led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Indiana cut the deficit to 59-58 on an inside basket by Trayce Jackson-Davis with 57 seconds remaining. But Penn State was able to hold Indiana scoreless on its final two offensive possessions, and Sam Sessoms made a pair of clutch free throws with 13 seconds left to help seal the win.

The Hoosiers (10-3, 1-2) had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation, but Rob Phinisee and Jackson-Davis both missed 3-point attempts before the clock expired.

Jackson-Davis led all scorers with 20 points for Indiana. The Hoosiers fell to 0-3 on the road this season and have dropped seven straight road games dating back to last season.

Myles Dread added 12 points for Penn State, including a big 3-pointer that put the Nittany Lions up 57-53 with 1:50 left. Penn State shot 50 percent (11-for-22) from 3-point range and also dominated on the boards, outrebounding Indiana 39-29.

Sessoms finished with 10 points.

Pickett scored eight points in the first half, including a jumper with 21 seconds left that allowed Penn State to take a slim 27-26 lead into halftime. The Nittany Lions overcame eight first-half turnovers by shooting 5 of 11 from 3-point range.

Indiana led by as many as five early in the first half, going up 16-11 on a Race Thompson 3-pointer. But the Nittany Lions answered with a 3-pointer from Dread to cut the Indiana lead to 16-14.

Seth Lundy put Penn State ahead 19-18 with a 3-pointer with 7:41 remaining in the half. Indiana responded with an 8-3 run, going up 26-22 on a hook shot from Jackson-Davis. But Penn State closed the half with a 5-0 run, holding Indiana scoreless the final 2:16 while scoring on a Lundy 3-pointer and Pickett's jumper.

Indiana shot just 36.7 percent from the field in the first half and 22.2 percent (2-for-9) from 3-point range. For the game, the Hoosiers were just 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from beyond the arc.

--Field Level Media