DES MOINES, Iowa โ Jalen Pickettย knows how easily Penn State basketball could have found itself anywhere but here.
When March began, Penn State had just one quality win away from State College โ Dec. 10 at Illinois. The team was also coming off a monumental collapseย at home against Rutgers.
Then came March 1 and a trip to Northwestern.
Within minutes, Penn State basketball was in trouble again, facing a double-digit deficit and a hostile crowd.
But Penn State wasnโt ready to see the season end. It overcame that deficit to stun the Wildcats.i
It hasnโt stopped since.
Penn State enters its first NCAA tournament since 2011ย hot after five wins in six games. More importantly, it enters its first-round matchup with Texas A&M as a true team.
โThat (the Northwestern game) was basically just us rallying together and showing each other we can,โ Pickett said. โI think that was a moment for us, showing we can go anywhere, play in any arena and get a win. Itโs been a crazy ride and weโre still trying to go.โ
In Texas A&M, Penn State basketball meets a team thatโs almost a continuation of what it faced in Chicago at the Big Ten tournament. No. 17 A&M ranks in the top 25 in offensive rebounds, and it gets rebounding from multiple sources. Of course, Penn State comes off of two games with Indianaโs Trayce Jackson-Davisย and Purdueโs Zach Edey, two of the nationโs best interior threats.
โIt helps,โ Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberryย said. โWe talk about the kind of shots that we need to force and everything else. You’ve got to finish it on the glass. It’s been a challenge for us. We’ve been a good defensive rebounding team all season but now you’re going to get tested by one of the best teams in the country.
โPlaying Illinois, who was a good offensive rebounding team that will send a bunch of guys to the glass, similar to how Texas A&M does, and following up with Indiana, Northwestern is a really good rebounding team. Purdue is a good rebounding team. We have had a chance to practice, but youโve got to do it. That’s the name of the game. You have to do it every single time and you can’t be satisfied with doing it once. You box out once and get a rebound. The next time it’s not okay to miss; youโve got to continue to do it. That’s our challenge for forty minutes.โ
Penn State basketball has met each challenge successfully for the past three weeks because of the culture itโs ย developed. Over the course of the past two seasons, Penn Stateโs journey has featured players from multiple backgrounds forming as one unit, creating one of Americaโs most experienced teams.
โThroughout the season, you can see guys holding each other more accountable for different things that maybe we wouldn’t get on each other for in the beginning of the season,โ Cam Wynterย said. โThat just shows you how much we trust each other and we listen to each other. These last couple games you can see the trust that we have just by holding each other accountable, whether it’s a defensive assignment or where we are supposed to be. Coach doesn’t have to get on us anymore, it’s more each other.โ
In Chicago, that experience was on full display. All four of Penn Stateโs games in the United Center were decided by four points or fewer, and up until the final against Purdue, Penn State made the plays needed to win. Even in that loss, Penn State was the stronger side over the final five minutes, giving the team confidence that it can make its stay in Des Moines last the weekend.
โYou watch this tournament every year and you see how close every game is, games you didn’t think were going to be close and games you thought were going to be close and whatnot,โ Andrew Funkย said. โA lot of it comes down to one possession. And just even thinking back to that and even the three weeks prior to that, we’ve been playing in very high stakes games that were very close down the stretch. Building on that experience and having that to look back on is definitely going to be important for us as we go through this tournament.โ
