(Photo credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

Penn State coach Mike Rhoades went into the holiday break with a sour taste in his mouth.

Rhoades hopes his players can deliver a more inspired effort Monday afternoon when the Nittany Lions host North Carolina Central in nonconference action in University Park, Pa.

Penn State (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten) has lost three straight games and has not won since Dec. 2 when it topped Campbell 87-76. Since then, the Nittany Lions have suffered embarrassing losses to Indiana (113-72) and Pitt (80-46), bookended around a competitive four-point defeat against No. 9 Michigan State.

Against the Panthers, the Nittany Lions received points from only four players, including just two starters. Freddie Dilione V came off bench to lead the way with 23 points - half his team's total - as Penn State shot just 32.7% from the field in a neutral-site letdown in Hershey, Pa.

'How could you play at that level against Michigan State and then show up a couple days later and be this?' Rhoades said. 'It's on me. I've got to have these guys ready to go.'

Aside from their offensive problems, Penn State allowed Pitt to shoot 50% from both the field and 3-point range.

'We really react poorly when other teams hit 3s early in the game, and it gets us a little haywire ... and they start picking us apart in different ways,' Rhoades said after the Pitt game. 'It happened again.'

North Carolina Central (4-10) has played a bunch of notable opponents this season, including North Carolina State, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. The Eagles lost those four games by an average of 36.8 points, however, and have only one game left to iron things out before Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play begins.

The Eagles' most recent game was a competitive 74-72 loss to Longwood on Dec. 20. Gage Lattimore led the way with 22 points in that one, while Jae Stack and Khouri Carvey added 17 points apiece.

North Carolina State ultimately was doomed by 2-of-17 3-point shooting. The team also got outrebounded 40-27, including 16 offensive rebounds by the Lancers.

'We just emphasize getting better every single day, communicating to the loudest that our voices will allow, and just being connected on the defensive end of the floor,' said North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Moton.

--Field Level Media