Penn State basketball: Three takeaways from lopsided loss to UMass
The first loss of Micah Shrewsberry’s tenure as Penn State’s basketball coach was an ugly one.
The Nittany Lions collapsed in the second half, falling to Atlantic-10 foe UMass on the road, 81-56.
“We weren’t ready for the intensity that they started the game with or played with,” Shrewsberry said. “And that’s on me. I gotta get that cleaned up.”
1.) Game gets away from the Nittany Lions in second half
Penn State used the free throw line and the the offensive glass to stay within four points of UMass at the halftime break.
The Nittany Lions had done just enough in the margins to stay within reach, in the hopes that they could improve on their 37 percent conversion rate from the field in the first half.
They did no such thing.
Instead, Penn State turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes of the second half, and UMass had a double-digit lead by the under-16 timeout. The Nittany Lion offense never got going enough to make it close.
“We didn’t start the way we needed to,” Shrewsberry said. “That’s something where we gotta grow as a team. I think our leaders need to be better in terms of, when we start this second half, now it’s possession-by-possession in what we do. It’s still a learning process.
“Sometimes you gotta sit through a game like this to learn.”
2.) 3-point line unkind to Lions
Despite the lopsided scoreline, there’s a reasonably simple explanation for this Penn State loss.
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The Minutemen got 27 more points than the Nittany Lions from beyond the arc, connecting on 13 of their 29 three-pointers — a 44.8 percent success rate. Penn State made only four of its 15 triples, shooting 26.7 percent.
Shrewsberry said postgame that he was most concerned with the defensive effort the Nittany Lions turned in.
“I didn’t think we brought it at the energy level we needed to guard these guys,” he said. “Like I said, that’s on me. These guys got beat by 20 in their last game. If we don’t know that they’re going to come out with a little bit more fire — that’s on me to have these guys better prepared and better able to function.
“Our defense has to be our backbone. It gives you a chance to win. I felt like when we got down, we got un-solid, instead of more solid.”
3.) Buttrick batters Penn State
A nice chunk of that three-point production came from UMass forward Trent Buttrick.
His name might sound familiar to Penn State fans. He spent four seasons in Happy Valley, never averaging more than 7.4 minutes per game until he stepped into a larger bench role last season.
Buttrick transferred to UMass following the 2020-21 campaign, and got one over on his old program Monday night.
Buttrick led all scorers with 19 points in the game, contributing nine rebounds and six assists while connecting on three of his eight triples.
“The first half was a little weird,” Buttrick told the CBS Sports broadcast about playing for his old team. “But in the second half, it was go-time, you know?”
