Penn State basketball looking to find formula for success on the road against No. 11 Wisconsin

Appropriately donning a hoodie for his midweek press conference, Micah Shrewsberry referenced an old Bill Belichick quote as he broke down his efforts to help Penn State improve its record on the road.

“You can’t win until you keep from losing,” Shrewsberry said.

The Nittany Lions enter Saturday’s trip to play No. 11 Wisconsin with a 1-5 road record this season, and a 1-4 mark in the Big Ten.

In previewing the contest, Shrewsberry rattled off a number of ways the Nittany Lions have beaten themselves on the road.

Against Michigan State, Penn State allowed its transition defense to lapse. At Iowa, it allowed too many second-half offensive rebounds. Against Indiana, the Nittany Lions took far too long to get out of their starting blocks.

“You don’t have to play perfect, but you have to be resilient when things don’t go your way and kind of stay together,” he said. “You can’t beat yourself, I know that much.”

Penn State’s scoring totals often leave little margin for those kinds of lapses.

The Nittany Lions failed to crack the 60-point threshold in each of their last three road games. In total this season, they’re averaging 59.7 points per game on the road.

KenPom rates Wisconsin as the fourth-best defensive team in the Big Ten, ranking 44th overall in defensive efficiency. So Penn State’s task won’t be getting any easier.

“It’s always hard to win on the road, especially in the Big Ten and going to a place like Wisconsin,” guard Jalen Pickett said. “They’re one of the better teams in the league. You have to come prepared and focused.

“We haven’t had a good showing on the road in a couple of games, so we need to have a good game.”

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Shrewsberry’s notion that the Nittany Lions will be rewarded for resiliency away from home is backed up by Penn State’s only road win of the season.

The Nittany Lions bested Northwestern, 74-70, in Evanston. Penn State trailed by 10 points in that game with less than 10 minutes remaining, but roared back, hitting several big shots down the stretch.

“I think that’s what you kind of have to do,” Shrewsberry said. “Can’t turn the ball over, can’t beat yourself on the road. You can’t turn the basketball over like we’ve done at times in the past, you can’t give up a bunch of offensive rebounds like we did against Iowa, you can’t get off to a slow start like we did against Indiana.

“Those are things that kinda doom you.”

The Badgers enter this game having lost on the road to Illinois 80-67 on Wednesday. Wisconsin has lost twice at home this season, falling to Providence in November and Michigan State in January.

If the Nittany Lions want to stay close, they’ll have to slow down arguably the Big Ten’s best player in Johnny Davis. The sophomore guard averages 21.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Veteran ball-handler Brad Davison and junior forward Tyler Wahl also average double figures for Wisconsin.

“We gotta get the job done somehow, some way,” Penn State big man John Harrar said.