Penn State men’s basketball focused on recapturing its energy heading into Big Ten tourney
Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers and the Nittany Lions are in desperate need of a fresh start.
They’ve lost five of their last six games, including a Saturday afternoon loss to the Big Ten’s second-worst team, Northwestern, to close out the regular season.
Fortunately for them, they’ve got a fresh start ahead. The Nittany Lions have a clean slate as they enter postseason play as the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a virtual lock to make the NCAA Tournament.
Their attempt at a postseason run will begin Thursday in the second round of the conference tournament when they’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s first round game between Indiana and Nebraska.
They’ll need to improve off their recent performances if they want to advance, but Chambers said that’s less about preparing for a potential opponent and more about self-reflection.
“It’s all about us,” Chambers said. “It’s all about us getting that confidence back, getting that belief back, getting that swagger back. Moving into Thursday night, that’s what you need. And we’re going to get that over the next couple of days because we have plenty of time to rest and get better.”
Penn State’s biggest flaw in recent weeks is how tired it’s been on the floor. The Nittany Lions have shown signs of fatigue to end the season, especially star senior forward Lamar Stevens.
“Lamar looked weary, he looked tired,” Chambers said about Stevens in the final week of the season. “He didn’t look tired today, though. It looked like he’s got his energy back.”
There isn’t much time for Stevens and the rest of the team to recuperate. They have five days off between games before taking part in their first-round contest. Still, Chambers was adamant his players looked better Monday than they did Saturday, in part, because they had a chance to sit down and acknowledge what they’ve already accomplished.
“I showed (the team) a five-minute video of everything they accomplished this year,” he said. “The video was powerful. One of the most powerful things I’ve seen in my tenure ... What these kids were able to do with energy and enthusiasm, and that’s what we need to get back. The energy, the positive body language, the dunks, the steals, just having a really good time.
“I think we wanted it so bad ... that maybe we didn’t play our best and maybe we weren’t as connected. I felt like today we really got back to who we are and what we need to do going forward.”
In a vacuum, this season has been a successful one. They’ve won 21 games, including 11 in the Big Ten, and went on an eight-game winning streak in conference play. It’s easy to forget how good Penn State has been when its at its best.
Recency bias brings the team’s end-of-season struggles to the forefront, but it’s a team that found plenty of success when it was playing well. The peak may have been a No. 9 ranking in the Associated Press top 25 poll just three weeks ago.
Then came the five losses in six games and a team that looked too tired to win.
Now they’ll have to fight that fatigue. The Nittany Lions will have to play four games in four days if it wants to make the conference championship game. Chambers knows his team will have to grind to make it there, but the start of postseason could be the jolt his team needs.
“I think we get a fresh start,” he said. “I think the best thing that happened to us is the season ended. Sometimes that’s a good thing. So now you’re 0-0, your record doesn’t matter, your statistics don’t matter, any accolades don’t matter. What matters is getting better and focusing on yourselves.”
The players say they’re ready for that run, and are refreshed and ready to go into battle in the tournament.
“I think we’re good,” Stevens said about the team’s energy. “It’s late in the season, I feel like everybody is a little tired. You know, we’re playing in the Big Ten. But, we’re good now. We’re ready to go. The entire team and the coaching staff is excited for the postseason.”
They’ll need to be ready. The Nittany Lions are fighting for seeding on Selection Sunday and a chance to flip momentum in their favor. If they fail, the narrative of their season can shift.
All of their successes could go by the wayside and be replaced with cynicism about a good team that could’ve been great.
