Penn State dominates Texas A&M, advances to NCAA Tournament second round: Instant reaction
Penn State and Texas A&M entered an NCAA Tournament first-round matchup Thursday night as a contrast in styles. The Nittany Lions played their way into the dance with 3-point shooting and a gritty late-season stretch of wins. The Aggies, meanwhile, finished second in the SEC, built around an ethic of slashing and getting to the free throw line.
In Des Moines, Iowa, Penn State’s approach proved best.
Led by an electric 27-point performance from Andrew Funk, Penn State notched a 76-59 win over the Aggies. The 10-seed Nittany Lions will face 2-seed Texas on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They’ll play at 7:45 p.m. and the game will air on CBS.
Andrew Funk’s historic night for Penn State
Penn State’s transfer guard produced one of the best shooting nights in Penn State history and went beyond the the record books of the Nittany Lions. Connecting on 8 of 10 shots from beyond the arc, Funk’s 80 percent shooting, making 8 3-pointers, is tied for 10th all-time in shooting percentage from deep.
With his eight makes from deep, Funk also became one of 13 players to make more than 7 3-pointers in the NCAA Tournament, and the first to do so since 2015.
A big part of Funk’s success was aided from the performance of Jalen Pickett, who was similarly unstoppable. Pickett dished eight assists to go along with his 19 points in his first career NCAA Tournament game.
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Breaking habits
Texas A&M led the nation in free throws attempted and free throws made this season, relying heavily on its guards, Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford. But, Penn State’s defense limited Taylor to just 2-of-15 shooting from the floor and 10 points, while Radford finished second in scoring with 14 points.
In the process, the Lions kept the Aggies off the free throw line by limiting driving lanes and forcing tough shots. Texas A&M finished with just 12 free throws to the Nittany Lions’ 11.
Meanwhile, Penn State’s unconscious shooting in both halves of the game forced A&M to do what it hasn’t all season. Trailing heavily thanks to a 28-10 run for Penn State to close the first half, the Aggies unleashed 34 shots from beyond the arc for the game, ultimately connecting on 10.
While A&M did maintain its high offensive rebounding percentage, wrangling 17 offensive boards on 29 missed shots for the game, the overall margin finished just -2 against Penn State.
