Mike Rhoades has invoked the snowball effect multiple times this season when talking about his Penn State basketball team. A few things go wrong, and suddenly, it goes from bad to worse, and the Nittany Lions are in a hole. Most of the time, they can’t dig out of it.
The latest example came against Ohio State on Wednesday night when Penn State went 13-and-a-half minutes between made shots and the Buckeyes went on a 26-3 run during that stretch. After holding an early lead, the Nittany Lions were never competitive again in the 94-62 defeat at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Rhoades has harped on his young team’s maturity this season, and Penn State has one more chance in the 2025-26 regular season to show that it has grown when it faces Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Sunday (noon ET, BTN).
“It’s a couple good plays, and just snowball,” Rhoades said Wednesday night. “We couldn’t react or respond, and then it goes for 10, 12 minutes. And against a good team…”
Penn State appeared to have momentum entering Wednesday night’s home finale against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions were a few days removed from their last-second win over Iowa, which was arguably their best performance of the Big Ten slate. Rhoades felt Monday’s practice was good, and he felt optimistic after shootaround. Penn State even held an early 8-7 lead.
Then, things stopped working.
Read more: Mike Rhoades defiant when discussing future with Penn State basketball after latest blowout loss
A theme that has been common this season returned for the Nittany Lions during this stretch. The offensive stagnation started affecting things at the defensive end. Then, the opponent kicks into gear.
“It’s kind of hard to put my finger on it, but in my opinion, I just feel like we didn’t play with the same heart that we had that game [vs. Iowa],” guard Dominick Stewart said Wednesday. “Shots aren’t dropping, s— not going your way, and it’s easier to go inward, I feel like. I feel like that’s kind of what we did tonight, instead of just sticking it out, sustaining our defense, doing whatever it takes to get it done.”
Penn State (12-18, 3-16 Big Ten) was without standout guard Kayden Mingo for the loss to Ohio State after he was injured late in the second half against Iowa. Rhoades said postgame that he knew Monday that Mingo wouldn’t play, and Rhoades didn’t volunteer any insight for the freshman’s status at Rutgers (12-18, 5-14).
Still, Penn State nearly upset No. 2 Michigan and pushed No. 5 Purdue on the road without Mingo in January. The loss to Ohio State wasn’t about one player. Rhoades observed team-wide issues against the Buckeyes.
“When you feel sorry for yourself or you get frustrated, it makes the game harder,” Rhoades said. “You saw that today. You saw that. It was disappointing because I thought [against Iowa], we were completely the opposite, but that’s called sport.”
Read more: Top Takes: Penn State hoops closes home slate with brutal loss to Buckeyes
Penn State’s 85-72 loss to Rutgers on Feb. 18, which also featured a significant first-half deficit for the Nittany Lions, marked the fourth-most points the Scarlet Knights had scored in a game this season (third-most in a regulation game), and the 13-point margin was their largest in a Big Ten win this year. The only teams Rutgers has defeated by more this season are Rider (28 points), UNLV (15) and Delaware State (15).
The Nittany Lions are guaranteed one more game in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. Penn State clinched last place in the league, so the Nittany Lions will face either Rutgers or Northwestern — which beat Penn State by 21 points in January — in the No. 15 vs. No. 18 game Tuesday.
There are only two more opportunities for the Nittany Lions to show that Rhoades’ lessons have taken hold.
“The teaching part of it is you got to continue to learn, watch tape from it and sit down with guys and explain it to them that sooner or later, it’s got to stop happening,” Rhoades said.
After Wednesday’s game, Rhoades faced questions about his job security as he fell to 44-50 overall and 18-41 in Big Ten play during his three-year tenure. Given the youth of the roster this winter, there were always going to be challenges for Penn State.
But the number of noncompetitive games — the Ohio State loss was the fourth 30-point defeat of the season — have mounted, and the script has felt familiar. Time is running out to flip it before the offseason arrives.
“I think we just got to come together more,” Stewart said. “We’re like, ‘He’s missing. ‘Oh, he’s missing.’ I get that happens. You might get in your feelings a little bit, but at the end of the day, we got to do whatever it takes to get it done. And tonight, we didn’t.”
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@cbsinteractive.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.