Penn State men’s basketball eyeing bounce-back game against Nebraska
After dropping a tough result on Tuesday at the hands of Wisconsin, 63-60, Penn State returns home for its only Saturday game of the season against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
While it was a hard loss for his team, Micah Shrewsberry was expecting a tight game, despite the recent struggles for the Badgers.
“We knew this would be a battle coming in here. I don't get into the whole like Wisconsin's a bad team because they've lost a few in a row,” Shrewsberry said after the loss. “They were a good team two weeks ago. They're a good team when they left the Bahamas. They're a good team now, and we got beat by a good team.”
Against Wisconsin, Jalen Pickett had another strong performance, notching his fifth double-double of the season, 19 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Funk and Myles Dread were just behind him with 16 and 11 points, both of the sharpshooters drained three triples.
Funk had a chance to give the Nittany Lions the lead with under 10 seconds left, and another to tie it up with waning seconds, but hit shots wouldn’t fall.
“He's a good shooter, right? I'm gonna take it. He's one of the best shooters in our league, one of the best shooters in the country,” Shrewsberry said on the last shots with Funk. “We had two possessions at the end, we got two good looks from three like you can't ask for much more.”
The loss dropped the Nittany Lions to 12-6 overall with a 3-4 mark in Big Ten play.
For a team that is sitting on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, the Nittany Lions will continue to ride the hot hand of guard Jalen Pickett against Nebraska.
The senior is enjoying a stellar campaign in his second year with the program averaging 17.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game.
He is just the second player in the past 30 years with more than 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game. Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine accomplished the feat in the 2015-16 season.
Pickett has been named to the Oscar Robertson Award midseason watch list, given to the top player in college basketball, and picked to The Sporting News Midseason All-America Third Team.
Switching gears to the opposition in the Fred Hoiberg led Cornhuskers, who sit at 10-9 on the season with a 3-5 record in conference play.
While history may suggest that Nebraska is a team near the bottom of the Big Ten, Shrewsberry knows history doesn’t matter.
“Whatever you may feel about who Nebraska is or what Nebraska basketball is about since they joined the Big Ten doesn't necessarily hold true when they come in here on Saturday,” Shrewsberry said. “They're capable of beating just about anybody.”
Hoiberg and company proved they can win on any given night, as they took down Ohio State, 63-60.
Guards Sam Griesel and Keisei Tominaga led the scoring with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Last year, the Cornhuskers thumped Penn State, 93-70, in Happy Valley, while Shrewsberry hasn’t forgotten, he credits Hoiberg for what he is building in Lincoln.
“I love how Fred coaches, I love how he plays offense. I like his team, like the pieces that they have,” Shrewsberry said. “So we have a great challenge, and our guys better be ready for it, we better be ready for it.”
Both teams sit in the middle of the Big Ten standings and look to make a climb towards the top, tip-off is set for 2:15 p.m. on Big Ten Network from the Bryce Jordan Center.
“Every single game you gotta be ready to play, or you're gonna get beat,” Shrewsberry said. There's good coaches, there's good players. People are playing a good style of basketball and competing, and it's fun as a competitor, but it sucks as a coach.”
Matt Scalzo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email matt.scalzo8@gmail.com or mms7477@psu.edu
