Micah Shrewsberry shares importance of Penn State's experienced roster

From an age standpoint, Penn State is as experienced as they come in college basketball. That’s why, in Micah Shrewsberry‘s eyes, his team will always have the benefits that come from having a group of that age.

Shrewsberry highlighted how the Nittany Lions lean on their experience following their 68-65 overtime win at Northwestern. He said it allows them to adjust their game plan on the fly. It then also provides a sense of calm considering his players know what they’re doing, when they need to do it, and how to do it the right way, especially at the end of games.

“We’ve played some close games. I think how it helps us at the end of games is we can make adjustments on the fly,” said Shrewsberry. “At the end of games? I’m always sitting on timeouts in case we need late-game stuff…We can adjust on the fly. We can change some things defensively based on what the other team is doing…That’s what experience can do.”

“Experience doesn’t panic at the end of the game,” Shrewsberry said. “I trust them to make the right plays, make the right passes. And the ball ends up in the right spots. That’s where experience comes in…It’s starting to help us and starting to pay off for us.”

Per KenPom, Penn State has the most Division I experience in the country with an average age of 4.03 years. That includes four starting seniors, and six in their rotation overall, who are all big contributors to their team.

That level of experience was on full display during their victory in Evanston. After going down 10 early, they were able to fight their way back to get the game into OT. From there, they did enough until a three-pointer from Camren Wynter got them over the finish line.

Whether they’ve started from the very beginning at Penn State or transferred in, Shrewberry has the oldest group in the country. That should make Senior Day in University Park this weekend pretty special before they try to keep their careers going into the Big Ten Tournament and beyond.