Why Penn State’s 93-81 win over Illinois could be turning point Nittany Lions needed
Jalen Pickett noticed something different about his teammates on Tuesday night. Penn State was on a four-game losing streak, trying to prevent it from becoming five against Illinois, but there was a noticeable change about the team during its shootaround.
It was happy.
“We had a really good couple days of practice,” Pickett said. “And our energy was good today in shootaround. I seen some smiles for the first time in a while. I’m not surprised by the result.”
It showed against the Illini.
Penn State dominated Illinois on the back of Pickett’s 41 points — including the 2000th of his college career — in a 93-81 win that could change the shape of the season.
The group had appeared more tense in recent games, to Pickett’s point about the looseness pregame, and that may have been at the root of some of its issues. There were changes made in the meantime that helped create more positive energy within the team that manifested in good feelings. What also manifested were shots going in the bucket.
“We’ve been implementing new clips of us doing good in some of these losses,” Pickett said. “Instead of just all bad clips, there’s been a lot of good clips too. We’re playing good basketball. Even though we are on a losing streak, we’re still doing some things good. And I think that was big for us. Just everybody having a positive attitude, showing that we’re doing good things. And when we can all get on the same page, we’re gonna be a really tough team to beat.”
Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said he continues to learn about and understand his team.
As he noted, not all players respond the same way to the same type of criticism or corrections. He has to continue finding the right way to communicate with each player.
It helps when the team comes in with the mindset to receive that criticism and continue improving.
“Our spirit has been great the last couple of days,” Shrewsberry said. “So I can have a positive film session with them and show them what we needed to do and where we’re getting better. And they’re reacting to it in the right way.”
Good vibes aside, the easiest way to earn a big win is to have your player break a record on his way to 41 points. The 41 points were a career best for Pickett in non-overtime games — he had 46 points in a game that went to three OTs when he played at Siena — and the first time a Nittany Lion scored at least 40 since Gene Harris set the program record with 46 in 1961. Pickett’s 41 were also the most points scored by a Penn State men’s basketball player at the Bryce Jordan Center.
It wasn’t just the sheer total of points that set Pickett’s performance apart. He did it on only 20 field-goal attempts while picking up eight assists and two turnovers, one of which came with the game well in hand late. His game was a genuine masterpiece — the kind fans are not likely to see soon from a Nittany Lion.
Pickett is, and has been all season, the engine that pushes the group forward. And when he is great, the NIttany Lions have an opportunity to be great.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said his team didn’t help its cause with Pickett when it let him walk into two open 3-pointers, and it was all downhill from there.
“We let him walk into the first two,” Underwood said. “We went under him and then we didn’t even try to close out. That hasn’t been us. But again, I’m not taking anything away from them. They were great tonight. They probably would’ve beat the Celtics.”
It helps that Pickett drew some fouls in the game. He finished with six free-throw attempts — a low total for a player considered one of the best in the country who plays as physically as he does — but a high one for a player who maxed out at seven attempts so far this season, while finishing plenty of games with two or fewer.
Pickett noticed that change, and it allowed him to be at his best and put more pressure on the Illinois defense.
“It’s very important,” Pickett said. “We’ve been talking about how we can draw more fouls. What can we do, because we shoot a lot of threes. We don’t really go to the basket a lot or whatever. Coach is like, if people jump in the air, we gotta go into them and try to get into the bonus early. People are putting us in the bonus, so we just gotta be more aggressive and put the pressure on other teams.”
Sure, Pickett does not need to score 41 points every game or set records every night. But he does need to play at a high level for Penn State to be near its best. And his teammates do need to support him. Because this is not even a team that’s on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament right now. It’s clearly on the outside looking in, with a slim chance of fighting back in.
That should provide plenty of motivation for a team that featured four seniors starting against Illinois.
Tuesday will need be a new beginning for the Nittany Lions, if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament.
Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, they have something no other team in the country does.
They have Jalen Pickett.
And on nights like Tuesday, that’s all that matters.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 11:11 PM.
