Rodney Terry shares importance of limiting Jalen Pickett on the offensive end vs. Penn State

Holding an early lead over a Penn State team struggling to find its shooting range in the Round of 32, Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry assessed the challenge of trying to defend Nittany Lions star Jalen Pickett. Penn State runs the show through Pickett and Terry said it’s more about slowing the bleed, not stopping it entirely.

Pickett averages approximately 18 points per game along with seven rebounds and assists, each. He’s the spark plug for the Penn State offense, and Terry wants to limit him as much as possible.

“Pickett’s a really, really good player. We’re just trying to do a great job of containing him tonight. You’re not going to shut a great player like him down, but we gotta do a job of having our team guard and continue to work really hard on this end of the floor defensively,” Terry said to CBS sideline reporter Allie LaForce.

The good news for Texas is Pickett struggled early, with just two points through more than 12 minutes of game time, though he has contributed with four rebounds. The struggles continued for most of the game, with Pickett finished 5-for-13 from the field for just 11 points along with seven turnovers.

And with the win, Texas is on to the Sweet Sixteen, a place Terry thinks they belong.

Specifically, Terry said Texas is back to where it belongs and “where we need to be.” It’s about the Longhorns meeting their own expectations for what the program can be.

“We’re back in the Sweet 16 where we belong,” Terry said to TNT’s Allie LaForce. “Texas is back where we need to be and we’re excited about more.”

In the Sweet 16, Texas will face the winner between No. 3 seed Xavier and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh. And ideally for Terry and his squad, it’ll end up with a trip to the Elite Eight, where they surely want Texas to belong, too.

Powering the Longhorns past Penn State was the stellar performance of one Dylan Disu, who tallied 28 points and 10 boards — the second-highest scoring output in postseason history for Texas behind only Kevin Durant. Not bad company to keep.

“Just my teammates and coach [Terry] and the whole coaching staff encouraging me to get to my spots and take open shots,” Disu said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do and my teammates have been finding me. They’ve been amazing. I couldn’t do it without them.”