Penn State searching for stroke heading into matchup with No. 22 Indiana

Penn State coach Patrick Chambers is trying to instill confidence in his players as they continue to work through their shooting woes this season.

If his players have a good shot, Chambers wants them to take it.

The coach said they’ve put in the time in the gym, and they need to trust that work will lead to results.

“I’m a firm believer of repetition,” Chambers said on a teleconference Friday. “I’m a firm believer of preparation. And they’ve put the work in, so nothing changes. Just keep doing what you’re doing, it’s gonna go in.”

The shots haven’t been falling for the Nittany Lions for much of the season. Penn State ranks 312th out of 346 Division-I men’s basketball teams in field goal percentage (40.7) and 337th in 3-point field goal percentage (28.8 percent). The Nittany Lions have shot under 40 percent from the field in nine games, and they’ve shot under 29 percent from 3-point range in 15 games this season.

It’s resulted in the team averaging just 65.3 points per game — ranking 317th in the nation.

Penn State (11-12, 2-8 Big Ten) will take on one of the nation’s highest-scoring teams when it hosts No. 22 Indiana (19-4, 9-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday.

While the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in scoring and rank seventh in the country with 85.0 points per game, Penn State’s scoring average ranks last in the league. The Nittany Lions are also last in the conference in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.

Those struggles were underscored in the team’s most recent game, a 73-49 loss to No. 5 Iowa on Wednesday night.

Penn State shot 30.4 percent from the field and a season-worst 5.0 percent (1 for 20) from beyond the arc. Chambers liked the looks his players got on the offensive end, but they could not finish layups or knock down 3s.

Nittany Lion freshman Davis Zemgulis hit the team’s first and only 3 after getting a wide-open look. Penn State pushed the ball up the floor, and Shep Garner made a pass to Zemgulis in the corner. The freshman was so open, he had time to take a dribble and set his feet before firing.

But Penn State misfired time and again from deep the rest of the night as the Hawkeyes ran away with a victory.

“I thought we really moved the basketball well,” Chambers said. “And we missed 12 layups in the first half, missed a ton of good-looking 3s. It’s gonna happen.”

Penn State has struggled since the start of the season.

In four of the the Nittany Lions’ first five games, they shot worse than 28 percent from 3-point range. It remained a weakness throughout nonconference action and into Big Ten play.

In 10 conference games, Penn State is shooting 26.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Chambers pointed out the team’s recent matchups have come against some of the conference’s best teams — Michigan, Iowa and now Indiana. Chambers said he thinks his freshmen and sophomores are still getting sped up on the court, too.

“We just got to play at our pace, slow down a little bit and have the confidence to make those shots,” Chambers said.

Saturday will be Penn State’s first home game in more than two weeks.

Chambers is hopeful his team can find its stroke shooting on the familiar rims of its arena.

“Hopefully being in the Bryce Jordan Center,” Chambers said, “we can see the ball go in the basket a little bit more.”

The Nittany Lions will need to score to challenge the Hoosiers, who are tied with Iowa for first place in the Big Ten and coming off a convincing win over Michigan.

Indiana is averaging 79.7 points while shooting a league-best 48.8 percent in its Big Ten games. The Hoosiers are led by senior guard Yogi Ferrell, who is averaging 17.4 points, 5.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds this season.

Notes: Saturday’s game is part of Penn State’s Alumni Weekend. John Amaechi will be Penn State’s honorary captain for the game. Amaechi played at Penn State from 1992-95. ... Indiana’s Thomas Bryant leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (72.4 percent). Indiana is shooting 51.6 percent from the field, good for second in the nation. ... The Hoosiers’ lone conference loss came at Wisconsin. Indiana fell 82-79 in overtime.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Penn State searching for stroke heading into matchup with No. 22 Indiana."