Game Grades: Penn State Men’s Basketball vs. Illinois
Penn State ended its four-game losing streak by defeating Illinois inside the Bryce Jordan Center, 93-81. The Nittany Lions were amazing during the game, and found a way to bounce back and get the season sweep over the Illini.
Let’s grade Penn State’s performance, and see what helped lead the Nittany Lions to their upset win over Illinois.
Offense: A+
It was Valentine’s Day, and Penn State’s offense was sharing the love to the tune of 93 points, the most points they have scored in a conference game this season. The blue and white had four different players in double-figures, with Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy, Andrew Funk and Kanye Clary.
The star of the night was Pickett, who put up an incredible 41 points, the most scored by a Penn State player in a Big Ten game in school history. Pickett was efficient as well, shooting an impressive 15-for-20 from the field and 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Pickett was also sensational passing the ball, dishing out eight assists in the win. In total, Pickett scored or assisted on 23 of Penn State’s 33 field goals, epitomizing one of the best offensive performances in the history of Penn State basketball.
Defense: C
Penn State was able to solve its woes on offense against Illinois, but some of the defensive struggles remained. Illinois scored 81 points while shooting over 47% from the field.
The Nittany Lions also continued to get beat up on the interior, as the Illini scored 38 points in the paint in the loss. The offense was able to minimize the impact of these defensive struggles, but their defense did have some bright spots in the win.
Illinois had success, but many shots were heavily contested and tough shots that the Illini were able to finish. Illinois also came into the game as a poor free throw shooting team, but were able to shoot an impressive 16-for-20 from the charity stripe.
In short, Penn State’s defense did struggle at times, but there was some improvement shown that helped the Nittany Lions close out the game and get the win inside the BJC.
Coaching: A
Head coach Micah Shrewsberry has been credited with being a great coach at game planning for an opponent, and Tuesday was no different with the Nittany Lions’ ability to prepare for Illinois. Shrewsberry helped lead his team to the season sweep over the Illini, and his offensive game plan was as good as it gets for the blue and white.
Penn State continued to put Pickett in positions to be successful, and allowed him to completely take over the game to the tune of 41 points. Shrewsberry has also made the necessary adjustment by playing Kanye Clary extended minutes over the past two games.
Clary has made the most of his time with back-to-back games in double figures, and adding a new layer to Penn State’s offensive attack.
Shrewsberry put together a great game plan to help the Nittany Lions defeat Illinois, and will look to take that momentum into Minnesota when Penn State takes on the Golden Gophers on Saturday night.
Adam Sheetz is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
