Micah Shrewsberry reveals halftime message with Penn State leading No. 1 Purdue

Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry knew his team would be up to the task Sunday as Purdue came to town. When the Nittany Lions went into the locker room, they led the No. 1 Boilermakers by a score of 37-31 behind 18 first-half points from Jalen Pickett.

Speaking with Andy Katz of the Big Ten Network, Shrewsberry joked about having to play Purdue, but added that he is proud of the way his team responded to the challenge.

“I wanted to play Purdue, but they’re so good,” he said. “Mistake on my part. But I knew our guys would rise to the challenge. This crowd is awesome. We’ve got to keep giving them something to cheer for.”

Pickett scored the final six points of the half for Penn State, including a buzzer-beating layup to extend the lead to six. He finished the half a perfect 3-for-3 on his 3-point attempts and also added five rebounds and four assists.

Shrewsberry went on to say Penn State has to continue to focus on its defensive effort in the second half against Purdue, revealing his message to the Nittany Lions.

“I think we’ve got to stay with discipline,” he said. “We went under Braden Smith and he hits the shot. We go under Fletcher Loyer and he hits the shot. Zach (Edey)’s a load. He’s gonna score. We’ve got to continue to make it tough. We’ve got to continue to rebound and keep executing.”

The game was neck-and-neck throughout the first half, with neither team leading by more than seven points. Purdue shot just 30% from the field in the first half but a huge performance from Zach Edey, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Purdue lost its first game on the season on Monday against Rutgers, and will look to turn things around to avoid their second. Meanwhile Penn State will look to spoil the Boilermakers weekend and send them further down the rankings when they are released Monday.