After a Pep Talk, Penn State Routs Michigan
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Penn State's Micah Shrewsberry knows he can lean into the challenge speech only so often. He also knows how his team will respond, which the Lions did Sunday to rout Michigan 83-61 in one of their best Big Ten performances this season.
Penn State closed the first half with an 18-0 run and stretched its lead to as many as 32 points in the second. For much of that time, Shrewsberry stuck with his starters, who were playing well and needed to recapture that feeling. The Lions (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) begin February with a trip to No. 1 Purdue on Wednesday and also play road games at Maryland, Illinois and Ohio State.
Shrewsberry sees an NCAA Tournament team lurking within the Lions. So after their 20-point loss at Rutgers last week, the coach upbraided them publicly and privately, called their defense "soft" and said "right now, we don't have any pride."
The harsh tone seemed to work.
"I challenged them after that game at Rutgers," Shrewsberry said Sunday in State College. "But that's what families do. They get on each other, they challenge each other, they fight, they do what they need to do, but they're still family. ... There's nobody else I'm rolling with than these guys."
The 22-point margin of victory was Penn State's largest ever over Michigan and its biggest in the Big Ten this season. The Lions outscored Michigan 42-11 over a nearly 15-minute stretch, shot 61.3 percent in the first half and 43.3 percent from the 3-point range for the game.
More importantly, though, the Lions defended much better. They collapsed and double-teamed Michigan All-American Hunter Dickinson, holding him to season-lows in points (6) and rebounds (2). Though that freed guard Jett Howard to score 21 points, Shrewsberry liked how energetically his team played defense even away from Dickinson.
"There's a time when you've got to take a stand [defensively]," Shrewsberry said. "... We have to keep playing that way. It's no secret, but we have to do it every time."
Same for the offense. Shrewsberry likes to say that teams playing good defense deserve to have shots fall. Penn State shot 4-for-26 from 3-point range against Rutgers, underscoring their lax defensive effort.
But the two worked together Sunday against Michigan. Shrewsberry said the post-Rutgers conversations also included playing with more purpose offensively. Jalen Pickett (25 points) doesn't need that talk. Others did.
Seth Lundy (22 points) and Andrew Funk (19) combined to shoot 8 for 18 from 3-point range. And seventh-year senior Michael Henn, playing for his fifth program, made his first start for the Lions after a strong week of practice. He added 10 points, going 4-fof-4 from the field, to get a nod from his coach.
"Mikey has played for a lot of different programs, so there's a lot of different habits to break," Shrewsberry said. "... If he continues [to play like that], he'll continue to play."
Noteworthy
- Penn State's 14 wins match its total from last year with at least 11 games remaining
- The Lions improved to 11-1 at the Bryce Jordan Center this season
- Pickett had his ninth 20-point game of the season
- The 20-assist game was Penn State's first in the Big Ten this season. Pickett had eight
- An underrated stat: The Lions outscored Michigan 28-22 in the paint
- Funk scored his 1,500th career point
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
