Penn State Basketball's Secret Weapon: 'Booty Ball'?
Illinois coach Brad Underwood evidently has seen enough of the Penn State offense he called "booty ball" that beat his team three times this season. The Lions and Jalen Pickett did it again Thursday, topping the Illini 79-76 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Pickett, Penn State's All-America guard, scored just 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting but ran the offense with his signature ball-control style that bleeds shot clock, generates tough paint points and finds open 3-point shooters.
It's a style that could further frustrate opponents in the NCAA Tournament, should the Lions get there for the first time since 2011. Obviously it has frustrated Underwood this season.
"They go to booty ball, and it's really, really hard to guard," Underwood said at the United Center in Chicago after his team's third loss to Penn State this season. "When you can keep possession of the ball for 12, 13 seconds and just keep backing up, and you have no recourse in how you guard it because you can't touch them, it becomes very challenging."
"Booty ball," per Underwood, refers to Pickett's skill and will to back into defenders with the ball before moving it at will. Pickett is a master at the strategy, averaging 17 points and 7 assists per game because of it. He employed the move to deliver a critical basket in Penn State's second-half surge.
But it's certainly not new. Penn State has been playing this game the entire season. Picket scored 41 points against Illinois in February using it. And despite his physical style, Pickett has attempted just 88 foul shots this season (he was 4-7 Thursday).
Yet Illinois clearly struggled with the concept and execution against Penn State. To add context, Underwood noted that "they have the rule in the NBA that eliminates that, but they don't in college."
"Like coach was saying, just backing you down, backing you down, you can't really do anything about it," Illinois' Coleman Hawkins said. "You can't touch them. You wall up, [the officials] call it. Then you try to help, and [they] spread out to a 3-point shooter.
"So it's just difficult trying to find that in between where you can still guard the booty ball and still guard the shooter. So I think that's been the toughest part of playing them."
Pickett, who finished with eight rebounds and eight assists, worked his craft expertly. He scored nine points in the second half as Penn State went on 14-3 run that included key 3-pointers from Andrew Funk (20 points) and Myles Dread. Funk made five of his six 3-pointers in the half. Pickett's charge, or back, precipitated them.
Asked about the term, Pickett smiled.
"I play a physical game," he said. "I don't know about 'booty ball.' I kind of want to change that word, but I play a tough game — just getting down to my spots, being aggressive down there."
Pickett noted that Illinois tried to run a similar offense with Hawkins, and Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said Illinois did the same thing in the paint.
All's fair, which is why Underwood called Shrewsberry "an unbelievable coach."
"Just taking advantage of what we're allowed to do," Shrewsberry said, "like we've been doing all season."
Ultimately, Underwood said, Penn State was a thorny matchup for his team, an edge the Lions could extend into the NCAA Tournament. They have plenty of built-in advantages.
"They're really old, the oldest team in Power Five, and they've got a really good player that is a matchup problem," Underwood said. "They're extremely well coached. ... It's all about matchups, and they're a tough matchup for us."
They also have Pickett, Penn State's first All-American since 1955, and "booty ball."
"He's a good player, it's hard to stop, it's hard to deal with," Shrewsberry said. "That's why he's an All-American."
Tenth-seeded Penn State plays No. 2 Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
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