Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
4 4 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades reveled in the moment after his team's comeback win over Michigan on Jan. 7. Turning around a double-digit halftime deficit at the Palestra, the Nittany Lions made the most of their trip to Philadel- phia, pulling off a 79-73 win against the Wolverines. Having been routed by Michigan State just three days earlier, the Nittany Lions responded with a defense-forward ef- fort to secure the win. But even in the aftermath of a rousing victory, Rhoades maintained his sights on the reality in front of the Nittany Lions moving into the heart of the Big Ten schedule. "You always hope a win like this and the excitement of the win can propel you. But you've also got to be cautiously optimistic," Rhoades said. "Without a doubt, you've still got to get better. We still have too many moments where we just shoot ourselves in the foot. We just have too many moments where it's a bad play, it's a miscommunication, letting a guy wide open. "We're growing as a team. We could have made every excuse and still been bummed out and made that loss beat us twice. We found something. There are some signs of this team that we're capable of doing some things. It doesn't guarantee you're going to win the next game, but let's see if we can build on this." Here's a look at the items on Penn State's checklist in its bid to improve during the second half of the season: Has To Improve Against Michigan, Penn State won for the first time this season while allow- ing its opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor. In previous losses, opponents' offensive success was a re- curring theme. That trend began with Texas A&M scoring 89 points to send Penn State to its first loss of the season. The Ag- gies topped 50 percent from the floor, as did Butler, VCU, Bucknell and Michi- gan State, with the Spartans hitting 56.3 percent of their attempts. As Rhoades alluded to, the Nittany Lions' defensive mistakes and miscommunications have proven critical and consistent in those losing results. Creating 19 turnovers against Michi- gan, and converting them into 23 points, Penn State was able to counteract that trend simply by taking more shots than the Wolverines. The Lions had 62 at- tempts to Michigan's 52, with six more free throw attempts. For one game, at least, they found an antidote to their half-court defensive problems. Getting Better Penn State's defensive pressure isn't even necessarily about the numbers. Defensive havoc is as much about what teams believe they're seeing as what's actually happening. When Penn State executes and asserts itself defensively with the press and its variations, suc- cess can be found. "This was the cumulative effect of our defense," Rhoades said. "We got turnovers, we pressed them, and we caused some problems. We didn't get points out of it [in the first half]. But if we stuck with it, I felt the cumulative effect was going to take hold, and it did." Throw in Michigan's proclivity for forcing quick shots at the end of the press, something Rhoades described as "a shooting turnover" when they start missing, and Penn State also capital- ized in transition. In a game in which the Nittany Lions were outrebounded 39-31, Penn State limited Michigan's offensive rebounds to 8 and saw a clean 31-21 split on defensive rebounds align- ing with its 10-shot advantage. 'Overachieving Spirit' After the Texas A&M game on Thanks- giving Day, Rhoades lamented the 50-50 balls that didn't turn up in Penn State's favor. He said his team had to "show crazy toughness" against opponents that were more physical. Players needed to Mike Rhoades' Blueprint For Improvement Takes Shape N AT E B A U E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M The Nittany Lions' emphasis on defensive pressure, exhibited here by sophomore guard Kanye Clary, put them atop the Big Ten with a plus-5.24 turnover margin through games of Jan. 14. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL