How Penn State basketball used defense to sink Rutgers

Penn State basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry would prefer to win every game the same way.

The Nittany Lions shouldn’t change what they do on any given night against any given opponent, Shrewsberry said. He always wants his team to win using the same tool belt.

And, while, it might not have been the prettiest sight, a suffocating defensive performance like the one the Nittany Lions delivered in a 66-49 win over Rutgers Tuesday night is a tool Shrewsberry feels his team can reach for regularly.

“I was thrilled,” Shrewsberry said. “We shot 38 percent in the first half and went into halftime up eight. The ball doesn’t need to go in for us to win and have success. That’s who we are. Our guys are buying into that.

“If we defend like that each and every night, we give ourselves a chance.”

Rutgers became the first Big Ten team to fail to reach the 50-point mark against Penn State since Indiana scored 49 points at the Bryce Jordan Center in January 2020.

Riding a four-game win streak in which they’d averaged 81.8 points per game, the Scarlet Knights came into this game fresh off a 93-65 obliteration of Nebraska.

They walked, almost immediately, into a pile of quicksand.

Rutgers needed over 12 minutes to reach double digits. It entered halftime with 19 points.

But Penn State’s work wasn’t finished. The Nittany Lions hardly lit the world on fire themselves in the first half, with only 27 points themselves. They needed to ensure the Scarlet Knights didn’t catch fire in the final 20 minutes, and they did.

That’s because the Nittany Lions all but extinguished the visitors’ primary offensive sparks.

Ron Harper Jr. entered Tuesday night averaging over 16 points per game. He left with seven, thanks to the outstanding defensive work of Seth Lundy, who shadowed Harper all game.

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“Whenever the season started, there probably wasn’t anybody in here that was waving the Seth Lundy all-defensive team flag,” Shrewsberry said. “Seth Lundy has guarded the best player, or one of the best players, on every single team this year.

“I thought he did an excellent job. He’s fighting. He’s making it tough on people. His athleticism, his length, his attention to detail — that attention to detail has really improved.”

Rutgers point guard Geo Baker also turned in a poor performance, smothered by his opposite number, Jalen Pickett.

The two combined for 14 points, previously averaging over 28 per game. They made five of their 21 field goal attempts.

“Those two guys make them go,” Penn State big man John Harrar said. “We wanted other people to make plays.”

The result was a dismal 33.9 shooting percentage for the Scarlet Knights.

Penn State forced a season-high 15 turnovers, too. Takeaways have been hard to come by under Shrewsberry, who prefers his team to play a safe, solid style of defense. But he felt the Nittany Lions did a much better job of making themselves big after Shrewsberry showed them tape of his Boston Celtics doing the same thing in the NBA Playoffs.

“How we play defense, we don’t turn people over. We’re safe, we’re going to be solid. We’re going to be in position every single. But there’s a difference between standing with your arms by your side, and being in position and standing there like you’re covering the ground,” Shrewsberry said, spreading his arms out wide.

It’s not the first time the Nittany Lions have leaned on their defense to win. They’re a perfect 6-0 on the season when they hold the opposition under 60 points.

It’s not always aesthetically pleasing basketball. As long as the results come, it doesn’t matter.

“The way we defend, if you do that, you give yourselves a chance,” Shrewsberry said. “And I love it.”