Penn State focused on Rutgers matchup after upset win

Before he took questions after his team’s win over the No. 4 Iowa on Wednesday night, Penn State coach Patrick Chambers revisited the loss to Nebraska and his players’ response to that setback.

He credited the Huskers, who dominated the Nittany Lions in the second half, using a 34-7 run to open up a 28-point lead. But Chambers said “that was not who we were and that’s not Penn State basketball.”

The coach said his seniors knew it.

And they led the team through three days of intense practices to prepare for the Hawkeyes.

“We came back in on Sunday, and we went after it and those seniors went after it,” Chambers said after the Nittany Lions upset Iowa 79-75. “They didn’t want to let that happen again, and it’s very true you practice the way you play. Those guys got after it on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and our practice translated to the game tonight.”

Penn State (13-13, 4-9 Big Ten) is taking the same approach at practice going into its game at Rutgers (6-20, 0-13) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Nittany Lions followed an upset over then-No. 22 Indiana — a team tied for first place in the Big Ten at the time — with the loss to Nebraska. After beating another first-place team, Penn State senior Brandon Taylor stressed the team would soon shift its focus to facing the Scarlet Knights.

“After a win like this, the one thing we got to worry about is not getting too high,” Taylor said after the win over the Hawkeyes. “Being happy about this win, but we got another game. We got another game on Saturday, so we can’t just focus on this win.”

Chambers praised Taylor’s leadership at practice after the Nebraska loss.

The coach said Taylor needs to remain “feisty” as the Nittany Lions get ready for Saturday. He liked the way his senior leader practiced and went through the team’s film session Thursday.

Chambers wanted to see that approach again both on Friday, and when Penn State takes the court Saturday.

“He’s got to have that same mentality,” Chambers said on a teleconference Friday. “He understands, you win (against) Indiana and it was almost like you won the Super Bowl and then you come back and for whatever reason, we didn’t play as well (against Nebraska).”

But the Nittany Lions bounced back to take down No. 4 Iowa.

The seniors set the tone in the days leading up to the game.

And they kept the team together to hold off the Hawkeyes in the second half.

“I think we were all, everyone keeping everybody’s heads up, kept encouraging everybody,” senior Donovon Jack said. “We never let any bad body language or any turmoil come into us. We tried to just keep staying positive.”

Jack scored a career-high 19 points off the bench Wednesday night.

Chambers has given opportunities to every player in his rotation this season. Nine players have started at least one game, and 10 players have played at least 20 minutes in one game.

Chambers said he’s used the bench more this year than in the past, in part to give his players “some tough love” if the staff isn’t pleased with a player’s effort.

“They really responded from Brandon’s tough love, from our staff’s and myself’s tough love this week so hopefully we can continue that,” Chambers said.

The Nittany Lions have moved on from their upset win.

“The Iowa win was over at midnight,” Chambers said Friday. “We came back in yesterday and we practiced hard. We’re kind of just trying to stay focused on getting better, and that’s been my message to them.”

Notes: Chambers said Devin Foster’s playing time will likely be limited Saturday. Chambers expected Foster to be back with the team Friday after missing Wednesday’s game for the birth of his daughter. …Rutgers guard Corey Sanders was suspended for two weeks due to a violation of team rules, the program announced Monday. Sanders leads the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game and assists with 4.1 per game. ... Rutgers is the lone winless team in Big Ten play. Minnesota beat No. 6 Maryland for its first conference win Thursday.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Penn State focused on Rutgers matchup after upset win."