Zach Hicks led all scorers with a season-high 20 points and Ace Baldwin Jr. added 17 points to boost Penn State to a 66-57 win against Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Hicks drilled six 3-pointers as the 11th-seeded Nittany Lions (16-16) advanced to face sixth-seeded Indiana on Thursday. Penn State swept the regular-season series from the Hoosiers, prevailing by 14 on the road and nine at home, with both meetings coming in February.
Wednesday’s game wasn’t as close as the January matchup between Penn State and Michigan at the Palestra in Philadelphia, a six-point Penn State victory. The 14th-seeded Wolverines (8-24) trailed by as many as 15 points. Michigan led just once, at 3-2 on a Nimari Burnett trey less than two minutes into the game.
The Wolverines closed the season on a nine-game losing streak.
Dug McDaniel’s fast-break layup brought Michigan to within 50-46 with 9:53 to go, but Penn State allowed the Wolverines to come no closer. Baldwin Jr. swished a pair of free throws on the Nittany Lions’ next possession, part of the team’s 23-for-29 night from the line.
Terrance Williams II led Michigan with 15 points while Tarris Reed Jr. had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds before fouling out. Burnett chipped in 11 points.
Qudus Wahab contributed 13 points and eight rebounds for Penn State, which forced 15 turnovers. Baldwin dished six assists.
The Nittany Lions held Michigan to 34.5 percent shooting, but the Wolverines finished plus-10 on the glass.
Penn State capitalized on Michigan’s shooting woes late in the first half to take a 33-22 lead into intermission.
Fueled by three treys from Hicks, the Nittany Lions closed the half on a 13-2 run. The Wolverines’ Jaelin Llewellyn missed a jumper at the buzzer as Michigan missed its final six attempts from the floor before the break while going without a field goal for the last 5:30 of the half.
–Field Level Media
