Here’s 3 takeaways from Penn State basketball’s 75-55 upset victory over No. 15 Virginia Tech
Penn State men’s basketball bounced back from Sunday’s loss to Seton Hall with a 75-55 upset victory in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge over No. 15 Virginia Tech Tuesday night. The win pushes the Nittany Lions to 3-1 heading into Big Ten play.
Here are three takeaways from the big win.
1. The defense took over early
Penn State jumped all over Virginia Tech early by forcing turnovers and wreaking havoc on defense. The Nittany Lions forced the Hokies to commit 10 turnovers in the first half alone on their way to a 42-23 halftime lead. They pushed the pace and trapped the Hokies when they had the ball, with double teams coming from the wings down to the post to force their opponent to dish the ball out under pressure.
The chaos continued into the second half with Penn State growing its lead on the back of aggressive defense and increased pace offensively. Without that type of defense it would’ve been difficult for the Nittany Lions to maintain the pace they did. They were dominant on both sides of the ball Tuesday, but especially on defense.
2. Shooters stayed hot
The Nittany Lions aren’t going to slow down their shooting all season for a multitude of reasons, and it paid off against the Hokies. They were gunning from deep with 6-of-13 shooting in the first half and 6-of-10 in the second half. As it has in the first three games, the shooting was spread around for Penn State. Six different Nittany Lions attempted 3-pointers in the game with five finishing with at least one make. Even the players who weren’t making looks from deep were contributing to the long-range onslaught.
Driving guards and posted-up bigs frequently kicked the ball out to open perimeter shooters for easy looks. The Nittany Lions won’t always make that many deep shots, but when they do they’ll be very difficult to beat.
3. Izaiah Brockington took his turn at the controls
The offense is clearly going to take a by-committee approach this season and that was put on full display Tuesday night. Entering the game, sophomore Seth Lundy was Penn State’s leading scorer, averaging 22.3 points per game. He was held scoreless against the Hokies, yet his team still came away with the 20-point victory. Instead, it was junior Izaiah Brockington who led the team with 24 points to set a new career high as a scorer.
He was effective from beyond the arc, making two of his three attempts, while attacking the rim and finding his shot from the mid-range when necessary. Brockington took over for Penn State offensively in this one, proving once again that the team has several options to beat a team on any given night.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 11:10 PM.
