Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1445781
4 0 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "and I don't feel like we handled the little bit of success that we had very well." Penn State had been facing the then- No. 16 Buckeyes without the services of its leading scorer, junior forward Seth Lundy, who was announced as unavail- able minutes before the start of the game without further explanation. Lundy's absence was felt. The Lions scored their fewest points since the December shut- down, connecting on under 40 percent of their shots from the floor and hitting only 6 of 22 three-point attempts. Shrewsberry said he wants to establish an upward curve in which progress can be measured by the most fundamental metric in sports: victories. "I expect us to win every game. I expect us to play in the NCAA Tournament. Win games. Stack games on top of each other. Go on winning streaks," Shrewsberry said. "Don't be happy with being close with somebody else and [thinking that] now we've arrived. We haven't arrived. We haven't done anything. We're below .500 in this league. And until we get where we want to be, I'll never be satisfied. "I think we're still going to get better. I don't think we're a finished product yet." ■ COVID-19 PLAYS HAVOC WITH PENN STATE'S SCHEDULE Penn State basketball's first cancellation came with- out fanfare. The Nittany Lions released the news via email two days ahead of a scheduled game at VCU on Dec. 18. Due to positive COVID-19 results within the Nittany Lion program, the email said, the game had been canceled and would not be rescheduled. Just one day later, the reality of the team's predica- ment crystallized further when Penn State canceled a home game with Quinnipiac set for Dec. 22. And shortly afterward, the Lions' final nonconference game of the regular season, a home date against Delaware State on Dec. 29, also was scrubbed, this time because of COVID positives in the visitors' pro- gram. Add it all up, and the Nittany Lions lost nearly 30 percent of their mid- and low-major competition. The Big Ten schedule has also been upended. Penn State had been set to face Minnesota at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 19, but positive tests in the Gophers' program forced what is likely to be a re- scheduled date between the two teams. All told, four of the first 19 games in PSU's 31-game schedule were either postponed or canceled. — Nate Bauer 2 0 2 1 - 2 2 M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L S C H E D U L E Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Nov. 10 Youngstown State W, 75-59 Nov. 15 at Massachusetts L, 81-56 Nov. 18 St. Francis Brooklyn* W, 74-59 Nov. 22 Cornell* W, 85-74 Nov. 26 LSU** L, 68-63 OT Nov. 27 Oregon State** W, 60-45 Dec. 1 Miami (Fla.) L, 63-58 Dec. 5 Ohio State L, 76-64 Dec. 8 Wagner W, 74-54 Dec. 11 at Michigan State L, 80-64 Dec. 18 at VCU Canceled Dec. 22 Quinnipiac Canceled Dec. 29 Delaware State Canceled Jan. 2 Indiana W, 61-58 Jan. 5 at Northwestern W, 74-70 Jan. 8 Purdue L, 74-67 Jan. 11 Rutgers W, 66-49 Jan. 16 at Ohio State W, 61-56 Jan. 19 Minnesota Postponed Jan. 22 at Iowa L, 68-51 Jan. 26 at Indiana (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 31 Iowa (BTN) 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at Wisconsin (BTN) 6 p.m. Feb. 8 Michigan (ESPN/ESPN2) 9 p.m. Feb. 12 at Minnesota (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Feb. 15 Michigan State (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at Maryland (ESPN/ESPN2) 7 p.m. Feb. 25 Northwestern (FS1) 7 p.m. Feb. 28 Nebraska (BTN) 7 p.m. March 3 at Illinois (FS1) 7 p.m. March 6 at Rutgers (BTN) Noon March 9-13 Big Ten Tournament (BTN/CBS) TBA * Emerald Coast Classic at Bryce Jordan Center ** Emerald Coast Classic at Niceville, Fla. PENN STATE BASKETBALL SUPERLATIVES JAN. 2-22 THREE BEST PLAYERS 1. Jalen Pickett | G | Sr. Pickett took a little while to ramp up and get settled into Penn State's offense. But now that he's comfortable, he's clearly one of the Nittany Lions' biggest assets. He had scored in double figures in nine consecutive games entering a Jan. 26 road trip to Indiana, averaging 16.2 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game over that span. 2. Seth Lundy | F | Jr. Considered to be a bit of a liability for the Nittany Lions on defense in seasons past, Lundy has emerged to become an elite presence at that end of the court under coach Micah Shrewsberry. He guards the opposition's best player just about every night, all while also leading the Nittany Lions in scoring at 13.7 points per game. He's hit some big shots in big moments for Penn State, too, particu- larly in a comeback road win over Northwestern on Jan. 5. 3. John Harrar | F | Sr. Harrar has had some uncharacteristically quiet games in Big Ten play offensively, but he's still an incredibly important presence for the Nittany Lions on both ends of the floor. The ball screen-centric offense flows through his ability to set strong picks, and he's one of the conference's leading re- bounders, averaging 9.6 boards per game. KEY PLAY With the score tied, 63-63, and less than 40 seconds remaining on the clock at Northwestern, the Nittany Lions rushed the ball up the court looking to ensure they would get two offensive posses- sions before time ran out. Pickett hit senior guard Myles Dread, who swung it to Lundy in the corner. Lundy faked a drive, took one dribble to his left and splashed a go-ahead three-pointer, which gave the Nittany Lions a lead they would not surrender. Lundy scored 12 points in the final 10 minutes against the Wildcats to help Penn State come back from a 10-point second-half deficit. BEST HIGHLIGHT Penn State found itself clinging to a one-point lead with under six minutes to play at home against Indiana on Jan. 2. With the shot clock nearly expired, Pickett just needed to make something happen. He fumbled the ball a bit near the top of the key, recovered to his right, stepped back and drilled a prayer of a three-pointer with a man all over him as the buzzer sounded. Those three points proved to be immense; the Nittany Lions survived with a 61-58 win. PREDICTION The three nonconference games that were canceled due to COVID-19 are going to prove costly. The Lions have been better than many expected them to be in Shrewsberry's first season and have prob- ably played themselves into consideration for the NIT. But they'll have to finish .500 to get there. In 2017, the NIT got rid of a rule requiring teams to have a .500 record to participate, but tourna- ment organizers have yet to select a losing team. So, we'll assume that, for all intents and purposes, the rule still exists and the Nittany Lions will need to go 9-11 in the Big Ten to get there. Had they gotten three wins from games against VCU, Delaware State and Quinnipiac, their target would surely be less lofty. — David Eckert