NCAA
Wisconsin 71, Penn State 66
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Wisconsin’s 3-point snipers led the way Sunday as the No. 14 Badgers defeated Penn State 71-66 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Guard Josh Gasser had 15 points and was three of six from the 3-point line and guard Ben Brust added 14 and was four of seven from 3-point range. Guard Traevon Jackson added 13 points and five assists for Wisconsin (24-5, 11-5 Big Ten) and made some clutch free throws in the final minute.
Guard D.J. Newbill led Penn State (14-15, 5-11) with 23 points and guard Tim Frazier, playing in his final home game, had 10 points but played only 22 minutes due to foul trouble. The Nittany Lions finished one of 13 from 3-point range.
Penn State, which trailed for the majority of the game, cut Wisconsin’s lead to 66-64 when Frazier scored on a second-chance layup with 18.2 seconds left. Jackson connected on two free throws to make it 68-64 and after Newbill missed a 3-pointer, the ball went out of bounds near Penn State’s basket. Officials initially awarded possession to Wisconsin and, after checking replays, upheld that decision.
Jackson made two more free throws to make it 70-64. The Badgers were 14 of 14 from the free-throw line in the second half until Gasser intentionally missed his second of two to run the final two seconds off the clock.
Penn State outshot Wisconsin 48 percent to 44 percent — the Nittany Lions shot 50 percent in the second half — and grabbed 34 rebounds to Wisconsin’s 28 but got to the free-throw line just 13 times and had some costly turnovers in the final minutes.
Forward Frank Kaminsky had seven points as the Badgers took a 31-27 halftime lead after a defensive-minded first half by both teams. Newbill had 11 points in the period.
NOTES: Wisconsin has clinched a share of fourth place or better in the Big Ten for the 13th time in as many seasons under coach Bo Ryan. … Penn State G Tim Frazier grabbed three rebounds, becoming just the second player in Big Ten history to record 1,000 points, 600 assists and 500 rebounds. Iowa’s Jeff Horner (2003-06) was the other. … The Nittany Lions had 50 points in the paint compared to 18 for the Badgers.
