INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) had 19 first-half points on his way to a game-high 26, but Penn State (12-20; 4-14 Big Ten) couldn’t find a basket in the first 10 minutes of the second half and fell, 75-58, to No. 15/15 Indiana (25-7; 11-7 Big Ten) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday in Indianapolis.
Penn State trailed the Hoosiers, playing in front of a partisan crowd of 17,936 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, by just six at the half, but started 1-of-10 from the floor in the second half and saw the Hoosiers use a 14-0 run to build a 20-point lead, 54-34, with 12:27 left. The Lions used a 7-0 run to get back within 13 after a Jermaine Marshall three with 11:25 to play, but would get no closer as the Hoosiers built as much as a 22-point lead on a Lion team that shot 28 percent in the second half.
After a remarkable first half, Frazier didn’t get a field goal until 4:20 remained in the second. Tying a career high with four threes (4-6) on the day, the junior’s 26 points on the day gave him 602 for the year as he joined Jesse Arnelle (1955), Talor Battle (2009 & 2011), Joe Crispin (2000 & 2001) and Jarrett Stephens (2000) as just the fifth Lion to post 600 points in a season. His mark stands as the seventh-best total in Lion history. Frazier posted four assists to improve his Penn State record season assist total to 198 and grabbed five steals to improve his season total to 76, good for the fifth-best season total in Lion history.
Freshman Trey Lewis added 11 points on 3-of-7 from three in his first start since Nov. 30. Penn State blocked a season-high eight shots, three from freshman Ross Travis, but got out-rebounded 45-29 and saw the Hoosiers turn 16 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points. Penn State matched the Hoosiers, who lead the Big Ten in three-point percentage, with eight threes, but Indiana outscored the Lions 29-12 at the free throw line. Cody Zeller went 11-of-15 at the charity stripe on his way to 19 points, while Christian Watford was a perfect 10-of-10 on his way to 14 points.
Jordan Hulls led IU hitting 4-of-6 from three for 20 points. Penn State held the Big Ten’s top shooting team to just 36 percent shooting, but shot 34 percent itself and converted eight steals into just six points.
Frazier’s huge 19-point first half to kept the Lions close through the first 20 minutes. The first-team All-Big Ten guard hit 3-of-4 from three and 50 percent from the floor while grabbing four first half steals. Indiana took a 38-32 lead to the half after shooting 13-of-15 at the foul line and 5-of-9 from three. Penn State hit 4-of-8 from three and 40 percent from the floor in the half while holding IU to 37 percent shooting overall.
Indiana opened with six straight points from Zeller and then 13-straight from Hulls as the Hoosiers led 16-13 at the 11:17 media timeout. Frazier scored the Lions first six points hitting a pair of threes to offset two short shots and a dunk from Zeller.
A Frazier jumper and a pair of Jermaine Marshall free throws had the Lions down just three, 24-21, when Matt Roth buried a three for IU to spark a 7-0 run that built a 10-point Hoosier lead, 31-21.
Frazier ended the run with his third three of the half. Roth hit another three. Sasa Borovnjak finished in the lane with a dunk and Lewis finished a nice pump fake, and spin on the block by draining a short 12-foot jumper to get the Lions within eight, 36-28.
Frazier hit a pair of free throws to end the first half scoring as the Lions went to the locker room down six.