Micah Shrewsberry updates Seth Lundy status: Hoops notes

Micah Shrewsberry isn’t getting carried away. Improving to 9-3 with a 77-68 win over Quinnipiac last Thursday, his Nittany Lions held serve despite not playing their best. 

A third win in as many tries, even without senior forward Seth Lundy, out with an injured ankle, the primary objective was achieved. Needing a win, Penn State got one.

Set to return to action after weeklong hiatus, this time facing Delaware State on Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center (2 p.m., BTN+), the Nittany Lions will look to do the same. 

Will it be more dominant than the effort against the Bobcats? Will Lundy be part of the action?

Shrewsberry met with reporters this week to update where the Nittany Lions stand heading into their final nonconference game of the regular season.

Seth Lundy’s status

On the injury front, Shrewsberry was noncommittal in his update on whether Lundy would be back in action on Thursday. 

The senior forward is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in his 11 games played this season. 

Acknowledging that Lundy practiced Monday for the first time since the injury, sustained in the first half against Canisius on Dec. 18, Shrewsberry also said he’s not fully recovered from the setback. 

“We got together last night and did stuff and Seth was back in practice doing things. He’s a little bit hobbled a few days after injuring (his) ankle. So, he may not be 100 percent, but he’s working back in there,” Shrewsberry said. “Yesterday was the first day he practiced. He didn’t practice in between those other games. 

“So we’re just gonna try and get him as ready as he can be and at full strength as possible leading into, whether that’s Thursday or Sunday or whatever it may be, he’s doing okay. He did a lot of work with our training staff to get back, get healthy and we’re gonna get him some reps and get him some work this week during practice.”

In Lundy’s absence against Quinnipiac, Myles Dread filled in as a starter and Shrewsberry went to the bench, and deeper in it, than at other points this season. 

Micah Shrewsberry’s state of mind

Generally pleased by the Nittany Lions’ place heading into the game with Delaware State, Shrewsberry reflected on the Nittany Lions’ performance against Quinnipiac with the same ease he’d noted about Lundy.

Essentially taking the performance in stride, one in which Penn State shot a season-worst 20.7 percent from deep and was out-rebounded, 48-40, Shrewsberry indicated he wasn’t overly concerned by it. 

“I didn’t think too much of it during that game, just because it’s stuff we’re gonna watch. You got to continue to coach your team, you got to continue to get better,” Shrewsberry said. “But also, I realize what that game was and how it was gonna go and how our team was playing and I was just trying to survive. Let’s get out of here. We got a win. We didn’t play great, but we played good enough. It gives me some ammunition to show them. 

“But that was a really hard game. The teams that are locked in usually win those games. Teams that aren’t locked in and go home for Christmas lose those games. I don’t put too much stock into that one. But that is one thing that we have to get better at. And I thought we did it. And then we took a step back this last game. But, getting the lead and then kind of putting people away is a weakness of ours right now.”

Delaware State expectations

The metrics paint a clear picture of who and what Delaware State is at this point in the season. Kenpom has the Hornets as No. 361 of 363 teams ranked in its analytics. And the NCAA NET rankings place them at No. 357. 

Maybe more to the point, though, Delaware State is 1-11 on the season under second-year head coach Stan Waterman. Averaging losses of 13.8 points per game, even that number is skewed slightly by its lone win on the season, a 104-67 decision over Immaculata on Nov. 10. 

Heading into Thursday’s game, Shrewsberry is taking a measured approach to the reality in front of the Nittany Lions. 

“These guys are human,” Shrewsberry said. “They see scores, they look at things. I’m never going to sugarcoat anybody and be like ‘Hey, like, these guys are like Duke or something.’ They’ve struggled this year. But I watched earlier in the year and they had Villanova on the ropes. So if you don’t show up, there’s a chance that things could happen.” 

Stressing that Penn State has areas to improve, particularly focusing on exerting a killer instinct that has at times lacked this season, Shrewsberry’s addendum was straightforward.

A team that hasn’t lost games it shouldn’t so far this season, that trait will have to carry through Thursday afternoon’s tilt. That’s especially true for the program to get to the resumption of Big Ten play with its goals still intact.

“I told our guys before they left, this is our last nonconference game. We’ve done a really good job of not stubbing our toe in the games that we’re supposed to win. You win this game on Thursday and now the ball is in our court,” Shrewsberry said. “Whatever we do, we’re not held to anybody else’s judgment.”