Penn State’s Mike Rhoades explains how to snap 4-game losing skid before Monday night tipoff

STATE COLLEGE Time have, in fact, been tough for Penn State mens basketball in January.

The Nittany Lions have gone on a four-game losing streak, their past win coming on Jan.

2 against Northwestern at home.

Three of those four losses came to top-15 teams: Illinois, Oregon and Michigan State.

Against The Ducks (without Ace Baldwin Jr.) and Spartans, Penn State lost by a combined six points.

The team has been good enough to compete and prove it belongs in a daunting Big Ten, but it has had just enough frustrating moments and mistakes to avoid stacking key wins toward an NCAA Tournament berth.

Oh, coach Mike Rhoades also lost starting forward and key leader Puff Johnson last week for an indefinite period of time with an injury .

Penn State (12-6, 2-5) gets its next chance to turn the tide Monday night against an intriguing Rutgers team, one that boasts two of the most talented players in the country in freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

But the Scarlet Knights are just 10-8 this season and have been beatable.

Action will tip off from the Bryce Jordan Center at 6:30 p.m.

on Peacock.

One thing Im learning about this journey in the Big Ten is, you gotta be ready for the next opponent no matter what happened last time, Rhoades said Friday.

We gotta play better than we have been.

Were close.

But that doesnt count.

It doesnt count when you play college basketball.

You gotta find a way.

Thats our No.

1 goal, is to continue to get better and figure it out.

Rhoades emphasized that the key to turning this stretch of losses into impressive wins starts with his messaging to the team.

He said he has always prided his teams on performing well in close games.

That hasnt happened, in part as he said due to struggles rebounding and playing defensively.

Penn State has also gone through cold shooting stretches, but guys like Zach Hicks or an emerging DMarco Dunn have helped buoy the offense in important moments.

I told these guys the other night, the night before Michigan State.

When you play in a league like this with so many great teams, great coaches, great players, theres adversity, Rhoades said.

And that adversity teaches you a lot of things.

Now, it sucks going through it.

I dont want us to ever say its okay because we were close, were not into that.

Thats for grenades, right? We want to find a way and overcome this.

But you have to go through this.

Rhoades was right Friday when he said his team has scored more than enough to win games.

The Lions scored 81 in the loss to Oregon and 85 in a loss at Michigan State one of the countrys toughest environments to face on the road.

Penn State ranks 17th in the nation in scoring at 84.4 points per game.

The second-year coach was adamant Penn State hasnt guarded opponents well enough to win.

Penn State will have to get back to Rhoades trademark: playing suffocating defense.

The Lions are in the top 15 nationally at forcing just over 16 turnovers per game, but they forced just 10 against Michigan State and 11 against Oregon.

Rutgers wont be easy to force into mistakes, though, as the Scarlet Knights average just 10.7 giveaways each game.

In an 80-76 Rutgers win the last time these teams squared off, Penn State forced 14 turnovers but was out-rebounded 46-32.

Harper scored 24 points, while Bailey added 15.

No other Knights went into double figures, making Mondays scouting report fairly obvious.

Theyre going to make it an incredible shot.

Theyre going to make a play that only 5% of college basketball players could make.

You just gotta make it really hard for them, Rhoades said.

And you respect them, but you gotta go after them, too.

Youve gotta put bodies on them.

Youve gotta be really in the moment when they have the ball because theyre so elite with the ball, creating makes and creating shots and opportunities.

Weve played against good players before.

Two of them on the same team with that caliber? Im not sure.

But thats the fun of preparing for them and the challenge.

Penn State ranks No.

47 in the NCAA NET rankings, which are typically a great indicator of March Madness resume later in the year.

The Nittany Lions remain in position to get a berth, but theyll need to start winning again soon.

Our guys are disappointed and pissed, and Im glad.

Im glad Im only in my second year and people think we should be winning these games.

And our guys think that, Rhoades said.

Thats good.

Thats what we want.

But we gotta go win them, and I got to do a better job helping these guys down the stretch.

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