Penn State finds fire, tops Nebraska in crucial showdown, 76-65

Penn State topped Nebraska in a crucial January Big Ten game, 76-65, in front of 11,297 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center. A virtual must-win for the Nittany Lions’ postseason aspirations, it returned the program to 4-4 in conference and improved them to 13-6 overall.

And Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry hid none of it. 

Needing a bounce back from a tough loss at Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the Nittany Lions battled through a rollercoaster, poor-shooting first half to topple the Cornhuskers.

Here is an examination of what led to Penn State’s win:

Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry postgame press conference

Flustered first half

The first two minutes and change couldn’t have gone much better for Penn State. Drawing up a 3-point shot for Andrew Funk at the top of the key, days after his two failed attempts from deep left the Nittany Lions on the losing end in Madison, the decision cashed.

Funk hit the shot from beyond the arc while getting hit, went to the free throw line to complete the 4-point play, and set off the start of a 10-0 run for Penn State.

Bookending a Seth Lundy 3 with another Funk triple, Penn State’s fast start drew a Fred Hoiberg timeout just 2:18 into the game. Settling down the Cornhuskers, the reset paid off for the visitors, who quickly climbed back with three straight buckets from forward Derrick Walker against an outmatched Nittany Lion defensive paint presence.

At 10-8 into the under-16 media timeout, though, the two teams were entering a slog of a period. Already blanked from the field since Funk’s 3-pointer with 17:44 to play, the Nittany Lions would commit two fouls, a turnover, and seven missed shots before Funk connected again at the 12:25 mark. A mere blip in a run of offensive struggles that would extend another four minutes, Penn State couldn’t push past a unique, confusing Nebraska defensive look. 

“They play a different style of defense. They swung the paint, they send everything baseline and keep you out of the middle. I think we were still getting good shots. It’s just that they weren’t falling,” Funk said. “But it’s a different type of defense they play. They hold teams pretty low scoring, generally. So we got off to the hot start and then we kind of just got to stay solid going forward.”

Or, as detailed by Shrewsberry, the Nittany Lion offense was a hair away from executing what it wanted against a defense he described as causing “chaos.”

“I thought our guys did a good job of moving it, swinging and swinging it. Making the extra pass, being unselfish, and then attacking,” Shrewsberry said. “The first half we didn’t attack it and we forgot about ourselves sometimes. Sometimes you attack the rim and we were looking to kick it out every time. Part of that is because of me. ‘You gotta kick it out. The play’s not gonna be in the paint because of the swarm.’ But we didn’t drive to score.” 

Penn State defensive response

Penn State did stay solid defensively. Though flummoxed by Nebraska’s length and approach, the Nittany Lions equally kept the Cornhuskers out of whack. 

Aside from five free throws made as Penn State racked up fouls, the visitors connected on just eight shots. 

“When we go through dry spells like that, we need our defense to keep us in it. Which, I think, did happen,” Funk said. 

With back-to-back 3-pointers from Dallion Johnson off the bench helping to open up a 7-point lead, the Nittany Lions were able to earn breathing room heading into the half up 29-23. 

Acknowledging the difficulty of the draw, Shrewsberry turned his sights toward the halftime locker room.

“It’s like a one-off, how you got to do things against them. How you got to try and score against them is different than everybody else in the league and I thought we adjusted pretty well in the second half,” Shrewsberry said. “In the second half, I thought we drove to score and got some layups.”

Second-half Penn State explosion

Connecting on just 10 of 30 shots from the floor in the first half, seven of which were 3-pointers, Penn State’s answer was an attacking approach in the second half, maintaining ball movement while driving to score. 

No longer relying so heavily on shooters, Penn State turned in the second half to Camren Wynter (6 points), Jalen Pickett (8), Seth Lundy (13), and Kanye Clary to gash the Cornhusker defense. After scoring just four points in the paint in the first half, the Nittany Lions dropped 20 in the second.

What’d been a 59-54 game, Nebraska taking advantage of a burst of energy from guard Keisei Tominaga, a flop charged against him at the 7:41 mark changed the game’s course. Lundy knocked down a subsequent free throw and Funk sent home his second of consecutive layups. And, the Nittany Lions lead grew to 8, then 9 on a Clary and-one. Eventually, it hit 12 when Funk hit a final dagger 3-pointer at the 3:40 mark.

A performance topping out at 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including another five makes from deep, Funk’s was an effort worthy of praise, said Shrewsberry.

“I thought this was a big game for us. I thought this was a huge game for us to win, especially at home. We want to play well at home. We got to hold serve at home and then try and go steal some on the road. And the way he played I thought was huge,” Shrewsberry said. “He spurred us to a huge win. 

“He was down after he missed those shots in Wisconsin. And he kind of put that on himself. And it wasn’t. He got two great looks at it, and I’m gonna take them any day of the week. But, he was upset after that game. And for him to bounce back and respond like this, I’m proud of him. That’s what seniors do.”