Penn State embracing identity ahead of Texas NCAA Tournament tilt

Micah Shrewsberry is prepared to face a “really good opponent” on Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa. The Round of 32 matchup for his Penn State basketball program, the Nittany Lions will be tested on “both ends of the court.”

Meeting with the media on Friday afternoon, he outlined a Longhorns program that creates turnovers constantly. Rated No. 16 nationally in turnovers forced at 16.06, Penn State’s No. 4-ranked team in turnovers per game at 9.0 will be on the line.

And on the other end of the floor, Shrewsberry previewed a Texas team boasting elite, playmaking offensive stars that include guards Tyrese Hunter, Marcus Carr, Timmy Allen, and reserve Sir’Jabari Rice. The four make up the Longhorns’ top four scorers, all good for double-digit scoring on average this season.

“We will have our hands full defensively trying to slow these guys down. They got into a rhythm yesterday and did some good things on offense against Colgate,” Shrewsberry said. “So we will have our hands full, but it should be a great battle and we’re looking forward to playing another game.”

Embracing the underdog

What Shrewsberry didn’t mention might have been just as important for the Nittany Lions’ mindset heading into the game. And it has everything to do with the color of the jersey they’ll wear for the 7:45 p.m. tipoff airing on CBS.

Slated to don their road navy blue uniforms, the Nittany Lions have become intimately familiar with the look. They’re also familiar with the frame of reference that comes with wearing it.

Either playing on the road or as the lower seed for eight of their last 10 games spanning the past month, the Nittany Lions have been wildly successful during the same stretch, winning seven of eight of those games. The lone loss was delivered in the form of a 67-65 decision against No. 1-seed Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament. 

Not that the color dictates results, per se. But, in managing to string together an improbable run of success as an underdog, the Nittany Lions will once again have the opportunity to upend expectations against a Texas team that spent 17 weeks ranked among college basketball’s Top 10 this season.

Climbing as high as No. 2, the Longhorns have done so with a straightforward approach. Physically imposing and athletic, they feature good guards and can shoot. They don’t make many mistakes and have bigs that hammer the boards.

Creating a new identity

If it sounds familiar to Penn State fans, the Nittany Lions have grown familiar with similar resumes. Most recently shutting down a Texas A&M team featuring outstanding guard play and solid bigs, with good rebounds, Penn State’s successes have been grounded in its defensive performances.

The Nittany Lions have kept rebounding margins close, Purdue the largest outlier at a +7 margin. Among the plethora of talented guards Penn State has faced of late, only Maryland’s Jahmir Young has eclipsed 20 points. More important, none have been particularly efficient in the effort. The Nittany Lions set a team goal to force scorers to take more combined attempts than combined points scored. 

Pointing to Carr as a particularly worrisome piece of Texas’ successes this season, Penn State has not attempted to hide its focus on limiting his impact as a scorer and facilitator. 

“He can shoot the ball, he can score the ball, pretty much in every way. He tries to get his teammates involved as well,” said Seth Lundy. “So I feel like he’s a great overall point guard. But I feel like we contain him, then we can do a good job with them.”

Defensive path forward

Though Texas is among the top 10 percent of scoring offenses and in the top third of scoring defenses nationally this season, one consistent element has emerged through the Longhorns’ losses. 

At 74 points allowed in a Feb. 13 loss at Texas Tech, all of their losses have included opponents scoring at or above that number. In eight losses, on average, the Longhorns have allowed nearly 85 points per game. 

Locking in on the notion that Penn State’s successes have been unlocked on the defensive end of the floor Shrewsberry insisted that the path to the Sweet 16 will similarly be dictated by the stops it can create against the Longhorns.

“We’ve played through our defense recently. I think that’s where a lot of our turnaround has come. We’ve become more of a team that has a defensive DNA. That’s helped us win. That’s spurred us on,” Shrewsberry said. “We’ve had games in this stretch where we haven’t made shots and we’ve stayed in games because we are defending. So, it’s about getting shots each and every time. And we will take that shot no matter where it is, so if it’s a three it’s a three, if it’s a layup it’s a layup. We just want to run good offense so they can’t get into transition. I think that’s the number one thing.

“This group has played through our defense. Early in the year, if we weren’t making shots then I would be more worried about that. But, I think we’re pretty battle-tested right now.”