After blowout, Micah Shrewsberry issues Penn State team stern warning

Micah Shrewsberry delivered a simple, stern warning to his Penn State team at halftime of its 74-57 blowout loss at Indiana Wednesday night.

Unable to make shots, guard, or rebound with any proficiency in the first half, the same could not continue. The beginning stretch of what would become a third-straight loss for his Nittany Lions, Shrewsberry’s choices moving forward would reflect his priorities.

“I just told those guys, we’re beyond yelling and screaming. We’re beyond anything but finding the guys that want to compete,” Shrewsberry told Penn State’s radio broadcast. “And that’s what we did. We just found the guys that wanted to compete and wanted to play the way that we want to play. And that’s who played the second half.”

A disastrous loss by any measure, Shrewsberry’s most notable substitution came at the four spot.

Though leading the Nittany Lions in scoring and rebounding at the half with five points and five rebounds in 15 minutes, Greg Lee’s 1 of 7 shooting and two fouls led to diminished time out of the break. Resurfacing for just five minutes, Lee gave way to the outside shooting of Myles Dread as the Nittany Lions attempted to play catch-up to the Hoosiers. 

Other second-half alterations saw bench players Jevonnie Scott and Jalanni White remain there after playing three and five minutes in the first half, respectively. 

“It’s just all about finding the right guys who are gonna go out there and fight and compete. That’s what we did at halftime,” Shrewsberry said. “We’re only gonna play the guys that are gonna fight and compete from here on out. That’s it. That’s who we want to be.”

Noting improved effort on both ends of the floor, Shrewsberry acknowledged a troubling trend through the team’s recent run of disappointment.

Having come back from a 22-day COVID layoff winning three of four games in the resumption of Big Ten play, including wins against Indiana, Northwestern, and Rutgers, Penn State has dropped successive games at Ohio State, at Iowa, and at Indiana. Playing the Buckeyes tight in Columbus without leading scorer Seth Lundy, the Nittany Lions have had dismal showings in back-to-back games. 

Dropping to the nation’s No. 307-ranked scoring offense at just 65.0 points per game, Penn State’s Big Ten-only stats have been worse. Now at 3-6 against league opponents, the Nittany Lions’ 62.2 ppg are at the bottom. 

“I got to be better. I got to help these guys be better. And I got to put guys in who are gonna play with the hunger, with a fight. And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna stick with the guys that are going to fight,” Shrewsberry said. “I told them at halftime, something’s clicked with this team where we’re not playing the same way. We’re not putting the same effort in, we’re not playing with the same fight, the same hunger, and we’re gonna change that.”

Along with that change, Penn State will also enjoy the change of playing again in front of a friendly home crowd.

Unable to face Minnesota at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 19 due to a COVID-19 postponement by the Gophers, the Nittany Lions’ last home game was Jan. 11 against Rutgers. Hosting Iowa on Monday night (7 p.m., BTN), Penn State will break up a stretch of five of seven games on the road.

But as Shrewsberry insisted, a simple change in scenery won’t fix what ails Penn State. Needing stops, better ball sharing and offensive pace, and a reinvigorated competitive spirit, the onus for change is clear. 

“We do need to play at home, but we need to play better. If we go home and we play like this at home, we’re going to get beat, too,” Shrewsberry said. “We got to play better and we got to be hungrier. Enough’s enough. Three losses in a row are enough. And we need more people to step up and really say that. It’s my job to get these guys ready to play. I guarantee you, we’re gonna be ready to play on Monday.”