Five takeaways from Penn State’s crucial 68-65 overtime road win over Northwestern
Penn State picked up a valuable win Wednesday night on the road, defeating the Northwestern Wildcats in overtime, 68-65. The Nittany Lions are now 18-12 overall and 9-10 in the Big Ten.
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday night’s game.
Early turnover issues
Penn State is the best offensive team in the country when it comes to turnovers, rarely giving away free possessions to opponents. So calling Wednesday’s start on that end of the court out of the ordinary would be a massive understatement.
The Nittany Lions gave the ball away nine times in the first half — with all nine coming in the first 13 minutes of action. There were bad passes, lazy passes and a lack of focus that allowed Northwestern to make plays. Those giveaways gave the Wildcats 8 extra points they wouldn’t have otherwise had and field an offense that was struggling in its own right.
Maybe it was a carryover from the team’s struggles late in Sunday’s game against Rutgers, but the Penn State offense came out extremely flat Wednesday night.
Lundy bounces back early
One of the biggest questions facing the Nittany Lions was how senior wing Seth Lundy would respond after a poor performance against Rutgers, and early on, it was about as well as he could have.
He showed aggression early on, still hunting his shot and taking open looks when he could get them. He attacked a closeout and finished at the rim with a dunk in the first half to go with two made 3-pointers on five attempts. Not to mention, he kept up the intensity on defense and helped the Nittany Lions stay relatively close despite their offensive struggles in the first half.
Lundy is the team’s second-best player, and making sure he was ready to go Wednesday was important for Penn State.
Pickett can’t get going as a scorer
Penn State’s offense has run through Jalen Pickett the entire season, and for good reason. He’s a potential All-American and set the program record for assists in a season Wednesday night, bypassing Tim Frazier.
Pickett’s performance on offense has been paramount to the group’s success, so when he isn’t making — or taking — shots, the team is in trouble.
Yes, he was still able to contribute as a passer, finishing the game with seven assists, but he has to be more of a force as a scorer for the Nittany Lion offense to be at its best. He was only able to score 2 points in the first half on four field goal attempts, making things difficult for his team on that end of the floor for most of the game.
Penn State gets the look it wants
The Nittany Lions had an opportunity to close the game out in regulation and went back to a play that has become a staple for Micah Shrewsberry late in games.
The Nittany Lions got the ball to Pickett in the post on the opposite end of the floor as the player inbounding the ball. Andrew Funk curled behind Pickett beyond the arc and got an open look on the pass from his teammate, but the shot bounced off the rim twice before falling outside for a miss. While the shot didn’t fall that time, it’s still a look the Nittany Lions can live with and one the team wants to get in those situations.
All that mattered after it missed, however, was if the team would be haunted by the shot based on the outcome in overtime.
Mahaffey and Wynter keep hopes alive
Penn State had another chance to close out the game in overtime, and this time the Nittany Lions delivered.
Pickett missed a shot with plenty of time left for Northwestern to score, but freshman Evan Mahaffey crashed the offensive glass and made things happen. He hauled in the offensive rebound, swung the ball out to Funk, who kicked it to the corner to an open Cam Wynter. The senior guard steadied his feet, rotated the ball to his liking and laced a shot with 0.7 seconds on the clock to win the game and keep the team’s goals within reach.
The Nittany Lions continue to have an outside shot at making the NCAA Tournament and will have to earn another win Sunday when they take on Maryland at home on Senior Day.
