Penn State announces new date for postponed Minnesota matchup

Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry had been waiting for this.

Announced Saturday afternoon, the Penn State men’s basketball program found resolution to its postponed game with Minnesota earlier this month.

Originally scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 19, Penn State will now play host to the Gophers on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. The game is set for broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Since the postponement, Penn State has taken a decidedly downward turn in its recent stretch of games. Returning from a long COVID-19 pause that spanned much of the December schedule, the Nittany Lions returned to action following a 22-day layoff to notch a win over Indiana on Dec. 2.

One of three wins in four games to start the New Year, also topping Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., and Rutgers at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 11, Penn State climbed to the middle of the Big Ten standings. A loss at then No. 16-ranked Ohio State, playing without leading scorer Seth Lundy, kicked off a turn in the other direction.

First dropping a 61-56 decision in Columbus, Penn State saw its return to the BJC against Minnesota postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Gophers program, then followed it with uncompetitive losses at Iowa (68-51), and at Indiana last Wednesday night (74-57).

Penn State’s path forward

Dissatisfied with the program’s recent trajectory in his first season at the helm, Shrewsberry insisted after the most recent loss that trends needed to change.

“I got to be better. I got to help these guys be better. And I got to put guys in who are gonna play with the hunger, with a fight. And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna stick with the guys that are going to fight,” Shrewsberry said. “I told them at halftime, something’s clicked with this team where we’re not playing the same way. We’re not putting the same effort in, we’re not playing with the same fight, the same hunger, and we’re gonna change that.”

Penn State returns to action Monday when it hosts Iowa (7 p.m., BTN).

Whether it can produce any more changes to Penn State’s 2021-22 schedule remains to be seen, however. Also losing home games to Quinnipiac and Delaware State as part of the non conference schedule, Shrewsberry explained recently the efforts taken to pick up lost games from the slate.

Having missed four of Penn State’s first 19 scheduled games, the Gophers now back on track, Shrewsberry said the as yet-unscheduled Minnesota game had thrown off those efforts.

“We’ve looked into it. We looked into trying to do that, especially once Minnesota got canceled, you’re trying to find someone you can get on short notice. We weren’t able to do it. We’re at the mercy of the Big Ten of when we play that game. So we can’t go back and schedule a non conference game without knowing when they’re going to squeeze the Minnesota game in. And so that handcuffs us as well,” Shrewsberry said. “We can’t take the date away from the Big Ten that they may possibly put Minnesota in there. So we’re kind of stuck with what we got right now.

“I’d love to play more and give our guys some more games at home. It stinks that we get three straight on the road, but we gotta play it. Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves either.”

The game will kick off a double-header with the Penn State women’s basketball program, which hosts Nebraska at 7 p.m.