PSU Hoops Notebook: Shrewsberry talks Illinois, road games, B1G Tourney
Penn State had objectively its worst performance of the season on Sunday, losing 93-70 to last-place Nebraska at home.
Coach Micah Shrewsberry addressed the media via Zoom on Tuesday, previewing the Nittany Lions’ final week of the regular season.
They hit practice 91 on the year Tuesday, according to Shrewsberry, and he said it’s more about “fine tuning” their game than implementing anything new, especially making sure they put a full 40 minutes together.
Things don’t get easier for Penn State, traveling to play No. 20 Illinois in Champaign and Rutgers at the RAC in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Shrewsberry is turning the page, but there are at least some notes to take away from the melancholy mood following the blowout at the hands of Nebraska.
“There's good and bad. I know it's crazy to [hear], but there were a couple of good things that we did — we just didn't do very many,” Shrewsberry said. “But try and learn from it the best way possible, and then move on because we need to be in a good mindset heading into Illinois.”
The Nittany Lions face Illinois at 7 p.m. Thursday and Rutgers at noon on Sunday.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Shrewsberry’s weekly media availability.
Preparing for Illinois
The Fighting Illini were among the favorites to take the Big Ten once the season began, and they currently sit just one game back from the lead.
Seven-footer Kofi Cockburn is having a Wooden Award caliber season, averaging 21.7 points per game and 10.7 rebounds. Trent Frazier is one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten.
The Illini can also light it up from deep when things are going well, averaging 36.9% shooting from beyond the 3-point line.
Cockburn presents the biggest threat, as John Harrar is the largest player on the Penn State roster at 6-foot-9. Frontcourt depth has been an issue all year for Penn State.
Fellow 6-foot-9 forward Greg Lee has been in and out of the lineup with injuries throughout the year, and Shrewsberry said he’s still “day-to-day” despite playing some minutes against Nebraska for the first time since Feb. 5. Rotational big men Jalanni White and Jevonnie Scott have been inconsistent in both minutes played and production.
Harrar, who Shrewsberry described Tuesday as one of the best rebounders in the country, should hold his own in some capacity despite the size advantage. But finding production behind him could cause Shrewsberry to try some different things.
“Having size to combat [Cockburn] is a good thing. You have John, and you have an ability to combat it,” Shrewsberry said. “But then sometimes having size is not beneficial versus Kofi.
“If Kofi is going to win this matchup against your backup center, why not play a small guy against him and try and flip the matchup against him?”
Shrewsberry has experimented with smaller lineups here and there this season, and it seems like Illinois may get a heavy dose of it on Thursday,
“He's not a normal human being,” Shrewsberry said. “If he's gonna get rebounds over a guy that’s 6-foot-10, but the guy that’s 6-foot-10 can't do anything against him on the other end, what's the purpose of playing him except if he's got more fouls?
“You gotta throw rules out the door when it comes to Kofi because not many people have multiple guys to be able to match up against him.”
Road struggles
The Nebraska loss was rare for a number of reasons. The Cornhuskers were 1-16 in conference play coming in, and while Penn State wasn’t exactly playing like world beaters, the Nittany Lions were 10-4 at home.
Shrewsberry’s team’s performance has been abysmal on the road, however. The Nittany Lions have just one true road win in a comeback over Northwestern, sitting at a 1-8 record away from home.
“I don't know. I wish I did know [why],” Shrewsberry said of his team’s road struggles. “I think everybody kind of goes through the same peaks and valleys on the road. Even the best teams struggle.”
The first-year head coach ultimately said it comes down to focus. There are plenty more distractions and less people “on your side” in an opponent's arena.
Shrewsberry said it’s imperative for his team to win the “four-minute segments” between media timeouts as much as possible on the road.
Careless mistakes on both ends of the floor have doomed Penn State as well, something Shrewsberry is keenly aware of.
“I think our turnovers have been the death of us on the road. We need to really focus on those fundamentals... so we're not having those turnovers [and] we're not hurting ourselves. Maybe that helps us win those four-minute segments a little bit better.”
Not looking too far forward
With just two more regular-season games on the slate, Big Ten Tournament time is right around the corner.
Micah Shrewsberry said he’s not too worried about the tournament without focusing on what's directly in front of him.
“I'm more day-to-day. Let's improve today. Let's get better today. Let's see what we can do in this next game coming up,” Shrewsberry said. “The tournament will be here. We don't know who we're gonna play. We don't know when we're gonna play. All that will work itself out. But it's nothing I can do right now.”
Penn State is still fighting for seeding in the tournament. As of Tuesday, the Nittany Lions sit at 10th in the Big Ten and would square off with seventh-seeded Rutgers. That path would require four straight wins to win a Big Ten championship.
However, one game separates Penn State from Maryland and Northwestern for the 10th, 11th and 12th spots.
If the Nittany Lions wind up in 11th or 12th, they’d play the No. 14 or 13 seed, respectively. It would take five straight wins for the crown.
Regardless, Shrewsberry isn’t worried about who his team will play or how many games it’ll take to win an extremely unlikely Big Ten title.
“The moment you take your eyes off of what's right in front of you is the moment you drive your car off a cliff,” Shrewsberry said. “You gotta focus on what's ahead. You gotta focus on what's next.
“We're not trying to miss any turns because we're looking five miles down the road. We need to focus on the very next exit that's coming, and then get off that exit. Get some gas, get something to eat, get a large fountain Dr. Pepper.”
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