Five takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 68-62 victory over Butler
Penn State moved to 3-0 on the year after facing a step-up in competition in the Butler Bulldogs Monday night, earning a 68-62 victory.
Here are five takeaways from the Nittany Lions’ closest game so far this season.
Jalen Pickett finding ways to contribute
Things weren’t going well for Jalen Pickett early on as a scorer, but it should be no surprise that he still proved to be the best player on the court. He excelled as a passer, getting to the rim and finding open teammates when he couldn’t get a clean shot off and keeping the ball moving around the perimeter and in transition. Pickett had an excellent first half despite his lack of efficient scoring.
He dished out seven assists while chasing down nine rebounds, eight of which came on the defensive glass in the game’s first 20 minutes. Those boards allowed him to get the offense moving in transition as he immediately brought the ball up and found open teammates on the run. Pickett is likely to finish this season as Penn State’s leading scorer, but it’s clear he’s so much more than that already and will find ways to be a positive value even when his shot doesn’t go in. That shined through Monday when he finished with the first triple-double by a Nittany Lion since Calvin Booth did it in 1998.
Weak finishing around rim leads to slow start
Penn State went into the half with a 33-26 lead that reasonably could have been much bigger. That’s because Pickett wasn’t the only one struggling from the field early on. The team as a whole was not great inside the arc and especially had a hard time around the rim. Starting big man Caleb Dorsey missed a few layups early and other Nittany Lions couldn’t get shots up when they got in close, instead kicking out to the perimeter.
While that’s a successful strategy, generally speaking, Butler did an excellent job of closing out under control and not flying by shooters to run them off the line. Instead, the Bulldogs chopped their feet and came to a halt in front of those Nittany Lions, making it more difficult for Penn State to earn the open looks from deep they have been drilling early in the season. That, combined with the lack of rim finishing allowed Butler to keep it close early.
Manny Bates tests Penn State bigs
The Nittany Lions are a relatively small team at center and Butler provided the first opportunity to test how well they would do against a bigger center. The results were relatively good, all things considered, and provide some level of proof of concept for them moving forward. Manny Bates has good touch around the rim and did well as a rebounder, hauling in 10 boards.
The biggest disruption he caused for Penn State was his four offensive rebounds in the game, but relying on him to win on post-ups is a better proposition than giving up open 3-pointers by collapsing down on him. There will be bigger centers and more skilled players that Penn State deals with in the post, but for the time being the team passed its first test against a big man.
Offense without Pickett is still a concern
The Nittany Lions were good offensively Monday when Pickett was on the court, but that changed when he went to the bench. They relied, for the most part, on Andrew Funk and Camren Wynter to help create shots in those minutes and the results were mixed. The team was able to get enough open looks to have a formidable offense without Pickett but it seems that it will require much more effort to get those buckets.
Wynter and Funk both carried the load for Drexel and Bucknell, respectively, last season but are not expected to be asked to do that unless Pickett is off the court. While they should be able to produce just enough, there’s still a drop-off in scoring without the team’s best player. There’s a lack of cohesion when he goes to the bench that the team will have to overcome as it builds experience playing together early in the season.
Nittany Lions tap the brakes
Penn State struggled down the stretch in the game, in part because of the mistakes the team made while trying to hold the lead late. The Nittany Lions fouled the Bulldogs and turned the ball over to open the door for a 9-0 run that cut the Penn State lead to five with 56 seconds left. They had a few opportunities to extend the lead in that time, but passed up open looks to bring the ball out and run the clock.
Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said that he’d have let his team keep firing away had he known the mistakes they would make and he wanted the game to be slower because he trusts his players.
“If I’d have known that we were gonna turn it over, I’d have just let them play free wheeling and just keep bombing away from three,” he said with a smile. “We’re a team that, we’re pretty sure-handed. We haven’t turned the ball over much as a group yet. We had 11 turnovers, it feels like 200 because we hold ourselves to such a high standard. ... I think getting a good shot for us was the most important thing. ... I think being patient at that point in time is the most important thing with our group.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 12:04 AM.
