Micah Shrewsberry says Penn State is playing without pressure in Big Ten Tournament

Ahead of a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Northwestern, Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry explained how his squad has been playing free. After a tough stretch in the middle of the season, the Nittany Lions have been on a hot streak to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Now with a 20-12 overall record and a win over Illinois on Thursday, Penn State is in a strong position before taking on the Wildcats. And with plenty to gain and likely not much to lose, Shrewsberry and Penn State can take a relaxed mindset into the quarterfinals.

“We’ve had the pressure on us. For three weeks they’ve been playing like this. Now they’re just playing free,” Shrewsberry said to Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz. “Whatever happens, happens. We’re just focused on one game at a time, one possession at a time. And that takes all the outside noise away. And now we can just focus on what our game plan is.”

But a freed-up mindset doesn’t mean Shrewsberry and his squad are overlooking their competition. Despite beating Northwestern quite recently, the Penn State head coach is well of the challenge that’s coming.

“Can’t turn the basketball over. They forced us into a lot of the turnovers in the first half. I think we had nine within the first 12, 13 minutes of the game. And that gets them going, that gets their offense going,” Shrewsberry said of the recent meeting. “We did a better job in the second half of keeping them away from the rim, not sending them to the free throw line, not turning the basketball over. We’ve gotta repeat it. They’re a really good team. Their guards are really good. And this is going to be a major challenge for us.”

Unfortunately for Shrewsberry, Penn State started off with three turnovers in the early going, getting down 4-0 at the first media timeout.