Penn State overcomes anxiousness, blows past Winthrop, 93-68

Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry spent the past week speaking about his feeling of anxiousness. Set to open the Nittany Lions’ 2022-23 season against Winthrop at the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday night, the Eagles represented a real test to his team.

But, maybe even more than the opponent’s potential to wreak underdog havoc in Penn State’s home opener, Shrewsberry’s nervousness was directed inward.

Working tirelessly to craft a new, dynamic roster this season, the time and effort dated back, really, to his hiring in the spring of 2021. Returning a core of five veteran pieces, with eight newcomers, three through the transfer portal, and another five true freshmen in the recruiting process, Shrewsberry had one specific hope for the new group’s debut.

“I think the anxiousness part was, I wanted us to play well,” Shrewsberry said. “I really wanted us to play well because I’ve seen us play well in practice. I’ve seen what we’ve been able to do in practice. I wanted it to show up tonight.”

Penn State’s 2022 debut

In nearly every sense, it did.

Setting a new program record for made 3-pointers in a game, Penn State hit 18 shots from beyond the arc, hit 55 percent of its shots from the floor, turned over the Eagles 17 times, scored 28 points off those turnovers, and won the rebounding battle, 31-25. The result was a dominant, 93-68 season-opening win for the Nittany Lions in front of 6,572 fans at the BJC.

Fifth-year senior Jalen Pickett led all scorers with 23 points (9-of-13 shooting) with five rebounds and a team-high five assists. He was complemented by a 22-point BJC debut for Bucknell transfer sniper Andrew Funk. Hitting 8-of-12 shots from the floor, including a 6-of-10 mark from deep, Funk was but one standout piece of a performance that saw four Nittany Lions score in double-figures and 10 players score points. 

An effort living up to the billing he’d brought from his four years with Bucknell, Funk pointed outward when attempting to contextualize his outstanding shooting night.

“Obviously it felt really good coming in and getting the win like that and shooting the ball the way I did,” Funk said. “But, I don’t even know if I was in the zone. I think a lot of them were just really open as a result of playing with really good players alongside me.

“Coach highlighted it after the game. We had 24 assists, which is ridiculous. Playing with that many skilled guys, and if we’re going to share the ball like that, I think we’re gonna be really hard to guard. I think it’s kind of a testament to the way our offense runs and our unselfishness overall.”

New-look Penn State

Pickett, who arrived at Penn State and led all scorers on a deliberately snail-paced team last season, felt the vibe, too. At times the Nittany Lions’ best scoring option on a team with limited choices, the turnaround was pronounced and impossible to miss.

Save for a 90-point, double-overtime win against Iowa last season, the Nittany Lions’ debut easily out-classed anything they’d done in Shrewsberry’s first season at the helm. Now, stocked with playmakers and shooters who can stretch the floor and create creases within which Pickett can craft seemingly limitless options, he foretold of a good early pace and one that can still get faster in the coming weeks and months.

“This is how we want to play,” Pickett said. “Last year, we had to play slow due to, you know, less people, less players. So this year, I think we have a lot of guys we can rotate and it’s just gonna help us play a more exciting brand of basketball.”

Postgame Notes:

– Along with setting a new mark for made 3-pointers in a game, the diversity of those makes was notable, too. Seven different Nittany Lions hit from deep on Monday night, and another three (Camren Wynter, Evan Mahaffey, and Dallion Johnson) attempted at least one three but didn’t make any. 

– Penn State played well, but not without plenty of room for improvement. Per Shrewsberry in the postgame, the 11 3-pointers allowed to Winthrop were “too many” and offered a glimpse at some of the perimeter defensive issues Penn State is working to improve upon.