Pushing support, Penn State ready to 'put best foot forward'

Micah Shrewsberry was still basking in his Nittany Lions’ 75-71 win at Ohio State on Thursday night. Needing another road scalp to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes on life support, Penn State finally put the Buckeyes to bed late to do so.

Naturally, then, with the program still fighting for its first March Madness berth since 2011, the postgame attention quickly turned to what’s next.

Set to host Rutgers on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center (6:30 p.m., BTN), Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions are fighting for a realistic opportunity to reach their year-long aspirations. But in a season that has at times veered too far toward the big-picture of drawn-out projections, Shrewsberry and his program have worked to block out the implications and ramifications that plagued the first two weeks of February.

“We’ve been focused on what’s directly in front of us and what’s happening,” Shrewsberry told Penn State’s radio broadcast team of Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi. “The wins that we’ve gotten have been good. But nothing that happened in the past is important. And nothing that’s happened in the future is important. It’s only what’s directly in front of us.

“We’re gonna get ready for Rutgers, which is our next game and our next opponent and the most important game of our season. So, we’ll start preparing, we’ll get our guys ready, we’ll get our guys rested.”

Penn State set to host Rutgers

Three days later, that moment is set to arrive for the Penn State basketball program. And, the Nittany Lions are eager for the opportunity. 

Riding a three-game winning streak, taking down Illinois on Valentine’s Day, followed by wins at Minnesota and Ohio State, two teams playing “desperate” basketball, Shrewsberry said he’s been proud of the effort that has delivered the Nittany Lions to this point. 

Against a Rutgers program that relished in extending a 12-point game into a 20-point win in the first meeting on Jan. 24 in Piscataway, N.J., though, Shrewsberry insisted recent successes won’t be enough. Rather, despite the Knights’ 3-5 record since that point, and the loss of junior forward Mawot Mag (8 points, 7 rebounds) to a season-ending ACL injury within the same timeframe, Penn State is gearing up for another tough test.

It has done so guided by a mindset that has taken hold in recent weeks. Pressure and frustrations have flipped into positivity. 

“I would say throughout the season, you could see it take a toll on us a little bit. But I think the last couple of games, we’ve just tried to get back to having fun and just enjoying the process with each other, and not worrying about the next game,” Cam Wynter said last week. “We’re just worried about the one coming up. We started saying, ‘Let’s just go 1-0 today.’ So I think that’s kind of our mindset and it’s helped us a lot these last couple of games.”

Needed boost

Returning home for the first time in 12 days, Penn State also has hope for help beyond its control.

With the lower bowl of the BJC nearly sold out, and tickets being sold on the sidelines in the upper deck, the potential of a boost from Penn State fans is one Shrewsberry framed as a two-sided equation. For the Nittany Lions, a continuation of winning play will be necessary to get the best out of the crowd. But, he said, the opportunity to embrace this specific group of players is something to be understood and appreciated.

“We’re excited about going home and playing. And we have to play well. There are no guarantees, just because we’re home, that magic is gonna happen. We got to make it happen,” Shrewsberry said. “And we have to play the right way. We got to defend the right way against a really tough team. But, we’re looking forward to it. 

“We hope everybody’s there and really wants to rally behind this group. This is a group of kids you want to rally behind. They’re awesome kids, they love the game, and they love working on their games. They’re great ambassadors of Penn State, they’re hard-working guys, and they are good students. And, they’re taking it seriously in the classroom, on the court, in the community. This is a group you should want to rally behind. This is a group that Penn State should be proud of. And, we’re going to put our best foot forward again on Sunday.”