Penn State advances to 2nd round of NCAA Tournament with win over Texas A&M
READ MORE
March Madness
Penn State men’s basketball is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Read below for all of our coverage.
Expand All
The Penn State Nittany Lions played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 Thursday night and made sure they made their mark. The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Micah Shrewsberry, defeated the Texas A&M Aggies in the first round in Des Moines, Iowa, 76-59.
The Nittany Lions fell behind early, thanks in part to a momentum swinging block by A&M guard Dexter Dennis. Cam Wynter looked like he’d have a layup to make it 7-4 early, but Dennis went up and pinned the shot against the backboard with two hands, hauling it in for the Aggies, leading to their eventual 9-5 lead at the first media timeout.
The Nittany Lions kept at it, utilizing Jalen Pickett’s post-ups like they have all year to get looks for him and the shooters around him.
That was the theme of the first half, with Penn State relying on it to grow its lead to as high as 18 in the game’s first 20 minutes. The Nittany Lions made six of their nine 3-point attempts in the half, which is high but the looks were almost all wide open, allowing them to make them at that high of a clip.
The trend continued in the second half, with Penn State coming out of halftime and building its lead even further. The Aggies didn’t have an answer on either end of the court and were unable to stop Pickett or senior guard Andrew Funk.
The team’s 59-36 lead at the under-12 timeout in the second half proved to be insurmountable, with the Nittany Lions earning the 76-59 victory.
Player of the game
Senior guard Andrew Funk: Few players in the country get make shots from deep like Funk when he gets going and he got going in a hurry on Thursday. The Nittany Lion senior had 15 points in the first half on four made 3-pointers and three free throws that he received after he was fouled attempting a shot from deep, helping the team build its massive lead. He’s the ultimate chess piece for Shrewsberry and proved why against Texas A&M, finding openings in the defense and coming off screens to launch shots from beyond the arc. Funk changed the shape of the game and manipulated the Aggie defense to open everything up for the Nittany Lions when they had the ball.
What the win means
Penn State advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. The Nittany Lions will try to repeat what that team did by reaching the Sweet 16. They’ll have to do so by defeating the No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns, who they will face Saturday in Des Moines. The Longhorns are one of the best teams in the country and will present a significant test for Penn State.
This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 12:13 AM.
