Penn State upset bid falls flat against No. 1 Purdue

PHILADELPHIA – For 20 minutes, Penn State delivered a performance worthy of the venue it occupied Sunday night. Taking No. 1 Purdue toe-to-toe in the first half, Micah Shrewsberry’s Nittany Lions made hustle plays, defended, and emerged with a lead heading to the locker room for the effort.

Then it came undone. 

Backed by a raucous crowd at the Palestra, the Nittany Lions’ lead quickly became a deficit to start the second half. And, what’d been a legitimate opportunity for the program’s first win against a top-ranked program, a dream scenario melted into an uninspiring nightmare for Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry.

“This environment was unbelievable. I appreciate all the fans that came, everybody that showed up and tried to help us, tried to spur us on,” Shrewsberry told reporters afterward. “I told our guys to give them something to cheer about. Whether that’s our effort, whether it’s how we’re playing, give them something to cheer about, give them something that will help spur you on. We did that for 20 minutes. I didn’t think we did that in the last 20 minutes.”

Instead, Penn State fell for the second time in as many games, this time in the form of a 76-63 decision.

Here’s a look at what happened at the cathedral of college basketball and where the Nittany Lions go next:

Jalen Pickett’s first-half masterpiece

Penn State’s senior point guard did everything correctly against a Purdue team flustered by his impact.

So, Purdue worked to make Pickett’s life more difficult. Blanketed by Ethan Morton throughout the second half, Pickett’s productivity plummeted, unable to get shots off, let alone score with the same consistency.

“You got to make it hard on him. And then when you stay with shooters, it gives so much space to Pickett,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. “He’s been the best guard in our league. He’s really good.”

So, Purdue worked to make Pickett’s life more difficult. Blanketed by Ethan Morton throughout the second half, Pickett’s productivity plummeted, unable to get shots off, let alone score with the same consistency.

“Just go pick him up. Just try to wear him down. And then they had other people bring it up. So I don’t know if it did anything or not,” Painter said. “I thought we had pretty good defense the whole night, but it was definitely started by Ethan. 

“And think about how good Pickett is. We’re sitting there talking about these two guys and how great a job they did defensively. He had 26 points. I think it shows you how good Pickett is as a player. He’s got a bright future.”

The Zach Edey show

Penn State had no answers for Purdue’s 7-foot-4, 295-pound center, Zach Edey. Though limiting the junior to 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the first half, the Nittany Lions fell victim to an avalanche of his production to start the second half. 

Taking advantage of a vacant box, Edey dumped home 14 points in the first nine minutes of the second half, reversing a 37-31 first half deficit into a 54-44 advantage.

Shrewsberry lamented Penn State’s inability to challenge Edey as the big man repeatedly enjoyed bunny looks at the basket. 

“I didn’t think we were physical at all. Zach was rolling down the middle of the lane and nobody’s touching him. Nobody’s putting hands on him. Nobody’s stopping him from rolling. We’re on the perimeter watching,” Shrewsberry said. “That was the issue. He scored on some jump hooks, but it was the rolls on the pick and rolls. We got to be better in that way. That’s on me as the coach to figure out how to get better or who helps us.”

Penn State’s second half problem

Shrewsberry acknowledged that the second-half letdown might be justifiable under different circumstances. But, having suffered multiple flat outings after emerging from the halftime locker room this season, the head coach said something has to change.

“It’s something we got to address as a team. We gotta be better. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. I’m talking about it in the locker room of how we got to come out, how we have to play, how we have to do things with energy,” he said. “Sometimes I sugar coat it and dance around it, but we gotta be better. We gotta be better. 

“We need seniors playing like seniors… I thought that was a huge difference in the game. Zach was a problem. But their freshman played like seniors. I thought our seniors were like freshmen.”