Jalen Pickett reveals the mindset that led Penn State to victory in Big Ten Tournament

Penn State entered Thursday’s Big Ten tournament game against Illinois squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble as one of ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s Last Four In. The Nittany Lions knew they were fighting for their March Madness lives — but Jalen Pickett said they’ve been doing that for quite some time now.

It all goes back to Penn State’s four-game losing streak in February. Since then, the path to the tournament has been tougher, and the players knew they had to play their best basketball to have a shot at the big dance.

“We lost four games in a row,” Pickett said on the Big Ten Network postgame show. “Our team was kind of down. But our seniors, we’re fighting for a bigger opportunity. We all want to play in March Madness. It’s our last go-around, so we’ve been putting in this 1-0 mentality. … It’s been March for us for two, three months.”

Pickett had 12 points against Illinois, which ranked fourth on the Penn State roster, in addition to eight assists. But Camren Wynter turned in another big performance with 18 points in the latest of a string of high-scoring efforts. It seems he’s turned a corner as of late — and Pickett said one thing changed.

“Definitely just his confidence, man,” Pickett said. “He’s been in the gym all season. He went through a slump there, and he started slow. I started slow when I first got here. But as the season goes on, we get him confident and we can play off each other. Cam’s a great player, so we weren’t really worried about him. Just the work he puts in every day, we knew he was going to come out of it.”

Now, Penn State will turn its attention to Northwestern, a team it beat just eight days ago. Pickett knows the task won’t be easy even after winning just a few miles up Lake Shore Drive and Sheridan Road. That’s why he and the Nittany Lions aren’t taking the No. 2-seeded Wildcats lightly.

“I’m close with Boo Buie. … He’s a great player. He’s the head of the snake,” Pickett said. “We’re going to try to make it tough on him again. Chase Audige, coming off co-Defensive Player of the Year. They’re a really good team.

“We beat them at their place. That means nothing today. We’re going to get ready for them, watch some film and see what happens next game.”