NCAA Tournament Scouting Report: Texas A&M Vs. Penn State
The Texas A&M Aggies return to March Madness for the first time since 2018 under fourth-year coach Buzz Williams. After rattling off 15 wins in conference play, including a pair of top-15 victories over Tennessee and Alabama, the Aggies garnered a No.2-seed in the SEC Tournament.
The early non-conference woes hampered A&M's seeding at the national level. Despite finishing the season ranked No. 17 in AP Poll, the Aggies grabbed the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region. They now will face a challenging climb from Des Moines, Iowa to Kansas City, Mo., en route to a hopeful Final Four bid in Houston at NRG Stadium, a mere 100 miles from College Station.
First up is Penn State, which impressed in the Big Ten Tournament with wins over seventh-seeded Illinois, second-seeded Northwestern and third-seeded Indiana. The Nittany Lions proved they'd be a tough out after nearly completing the comeback against top-seeded Purdue at the United Center in Chicago. After nearly missing the big dance altogether, Penn State captured the No. 10 seed in the region and could be a sleeper to make the Sweet 16.
To scout the Nittany Lions (22-13), AllAggies.com checked in with Mark Wogenrich of Fan Nation's All Penn State for an inside look at Penn State's resurgence late in the year.
Question: For Texas A&M fans, when was the moment that everything clicked for Penn State? The Nittany Lions became an easy team to root for during the Big Ten Tournament, but what was the turning point?
Wogenrich: Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry has pointed to the team’s 74-68 loss to Maryland in February as the pivotal moment on their schedule. That was the Lions’ fourth straight loss, dropping them to 5-9 in the Big Ten. Since then, Penn State essentially has played three weeks of NCAA elimination games.
They went 8-2 with six road or neutral-site wins. Even the losses were epic: Penn State blew a 19-point, second-half lead in a loss to Rutgers and rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit to Purdue in the Big Ten title game to have a chance to win. The Lions developed major callouses over the past three weeks.
Question: For Texas A&M fans, who are the top Nittany Lions to watch for Thursday, and how would you describe the team’s strengths?
Wogenrich: Point guard Jalen Pickett, the team’s first All-American since 1955, is having one of the best seasons in Penn State history. He averages 17/7/6, is adept at backing defenders into the paint (Illinois coach Brad Underwood called it “booty ball,”), set the program’s single-season assists record and still shoots 38 percent from 3-point range.
Seth Lundy is their best defender and 3-point shooter, averaging 40.5 percent. That’s a theme. Five Penn State players average at least 36 percent from the 3-point range, and Lundy and Andrew Funk (40.5 percent) finished 1-2 in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage. Penn State is going to rise and fall with the 3; in its 22 wins, the team’s 3-point success rate is 41.5 percent. In its 13 losses, Penn State shot 33.6 percent from behind the arc.
Question: What’s been the biggest weakness for Penn State? It feels like teams always talk about strengths, but where are the flaws of the roster
Wogenrich: Penn State lacks size and a post-scoring threat. Its tallest player is a still-learning 6-10 freshman, Kebba Njie, and its best lineup has five 1,000-point scorers, the tallest of whom is Lundy at 6-6. Purdue’s 7-4 center Zach Edey twice went for 30 and 13 against Penn State. Opponents with effective bigs who can rebound offensively are successful against Penn State. And the Lions have trouble scoring if the 3-point shot isn’t falling.
Question: When you look at the Big Ten final, this was a Nittany Lions roster that pushed Purdue, especially in the paint. Does playing four games to force their way into the final make them more battle tested?
Wogenrich: As mentioned before, they’ve been battle-tested for three weeks. Penn State’s season looked over after the Maryland loss. Then Pickett scored 41 against Illinois, 32 against Minnesota, and the team’s last 14 points against Ohio State. Camren Wynter, one of three transfers who start, made back-to-back buzzer-beaters in wins over Northwestern and Maryland.
The Lions won five straight games by four points or less in March. Penn State has the nation’s oldest roster, including one reserve (Michael Henn) who played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with UC Davis. At this point, not much phases them. But if the Lions aren’t hitting 3-pointers, their tournament will be short.
Tip-off from the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines is scheduled for 8:55 p.m.
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