Worst loss ever? Penn State suffers epic collapse in brutal defeat to Rutgers

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Good lord. It cannot possibly get any worse than that.

In the long and unstoried history of Penn State basketball, bad losses have just been the norm. They're expected. Because Penn State hoops fans simply cannot have nice things.

It's so damn hard being a Penn State basketball fan. It's not just that the program loses a lot, it's HOW so many of the losses just suck the life out of even the most optimistic of people.

Still, even knowing all the history, having watched so many of the collapses, there's almost no way to explain what we saw Sunday night at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park.

There's really only this:

Penn State may have suffered the worst loss in program history, and that's saying something given how many disasters we've all experienced.

But this one? This one was a special kind of collapse.

The Lions came into their game against Rutgers playing great, winning three in a row and climbing back onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. They looked awesome for 23 minutes, leading a really bad offensive Rutgers team by 19 points.

There is no way in hell Penn State could blow this one.

Yeah, hold my beer, as the saying goes.

Rutgers quickly whittled the lead down to nine, then seven. And with about 8 minutes to go, you just felt like this could be one of those disasters.

Which it ultimately turned out to be: Rutgers 59, Penn State 56.

Brutal.

Devastating.

Stunning.

Unacceptable.

But, if you're a longtime follower of Penn State basketball, it just might have been something else:

Inevitable.

Fate always seem to step in and say, "Hahahahahaha, you silly Penn State basketball fans don't actually think you're gonna succeed do you?"

The Lions led 42-23 with 17:01 remaining. They were playing tremendous basketball, overwhelming a Rutgers team that had lost four of five coming in.

How on earth could Penn State blow it?

Here's how:

• The Lions' last made field goal came with 9:16 to go, for a 53-43 lead.

• They scored only three points the rest of the game, all at the free-throw line.

• They missed their final 14 shots from the field

• They got outscored 16-3 down the stretch -- AT HOME.

• Their best player, Jalen Pickett, who has carried the team of late, did not even take a single shot in the second half. Of all the incredible things that took place on this night, that might be the hardest to believe. Pickett has been sensational of late and has even drawn some first-team All-American kind of praise. Can you imagine a first-team All-American not even taking a shot in a home game while his team was collapsing? It's an unfathomable aspect of this game.

Look, I'm not blaming Pickett for the loss. There is TONS of blame to go around for this historic stinker.

Seth Lundy shot 1 of 16 from the field and missed all 11 of his 3-point attempts.

Andrew Funk was 1 of 7 from the field (all 3s).

So, between the two of them -- two really good 3-point shooters -- Lundy and Funk were a combined 1 of 18 from 3.

That, my friends, is what you call living and dying by the 3, which is what this team has done all season.

Micah Shrewsberry had done a nice job of late turning to Pickett in all the key moments, the kind of plan B this team had needed for a while. But Shrewsberry saw his shooters fire bricks all night, and his best player didn't take a shot when it mattered.

I just don't know how Shrewsberry was unable to call a play -- or 20 -- to make sure Pickett got some shots. It's just inexcusable for him to go AWOL like that in the second half.

No doubt about it.

The toughest pill to swallow is that this wasn't just some game. This was a game that almost certainly would have gotten Penn State back on the right side of the bubble had it won. The Lions came in as the first team out in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology for ESPN.

And the game seemed like it was over with the Lions up 19. If they hold on, they would be in the tournament field as of today, but instead, saw their hopes dwindle further.

All is not lost, believe it or not. As bad as this loss was -- and again, it just might be the worst in program history -- the Lions have two more regular-season games remaining and could still get on the right side of the bubble.

They have a chance to get a good win at Northwestern, then can close with a good win at home against Maryland. Win both of those to finish 10-10 in the league, and then win two games in the Big Ten Tournament, that might be enough to go dancing. Maybe.

But if Penn State cannot bounce back from this colossal collapse and loses to either Northwestern or Maryland, that will pretty much do it, save for a miracle run in the Big Ten tourney.

All because the Lions couldn't hold onto a 19-point lead at home against Rutgers.

It was pathetic.

But if you know the history of this program, maybe we just should have come to expect it.