Dec. 2, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nittany Lion basketball coach Patrick Chambers knows that his team has just grazed the surface of its potential for the 2014-'15 season.
Looking for a fifth-straight win, Penn State (6-1) enters Wednesday night's ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup against Virginia Tech (4-2) inside the Bryce Jordan Center with two things on its mind - defending and rebounding.
"Defending and rebounding, we've got to do a much better job," Chambers said. "We've got to do a better job of building a wall being in our gaps and getting on bodies when shots go up. It's little detailed things to create better habits. Some possessions we have three guys doing the right thing, and then two guys aren't. We need to get five guys on the same page."
Offensively, the Nittany Lions have been strong through seven games in 2014-'15. Penn State is averaging 76.0 tallies per game and shooting 45.1 percent from the field. The Lions have four players averaging 9.0 points per game or more, led by 25.0 points per contest from D.J. Newbill, who leads the Big Ten in scoring.
While Chambers is undoubtedly pleased with the offensive output from the Lions, he wants to see more on the defensive end of the floor. He cited glimpses of the type of effort necessary to be successful in the Big Ten from the second half against Akron last week when the Lions limited the high-powered Zips to 21.2 percent shooting and 27 points in Penn State's 78-72 win.
"That's what I say to these guys, we have not played a 40-minute game yet," said Chambers. "We're not even close to the team that we are going to be come January. Not even close. Once we start defending and rebounding and understanding the importance of it all, I think it's even going to better for us (on the offensive end of the floor)."
By no means have the Lions been bad on the defensive end, but the coaches and players know they can play better. Opponents are averaging 70.3 points and shooting 38 percent from the field against the Lions. Penn State is plus-1.8 rebounds per game for the season.
"I think we can play better as a team in terms of rebounding," junior Brandon Taylor said. "And we need to work on playing harder. We can play a lot harder, and we can play tougher defense."
Virginia Tech enters Wednesday's matchup having won two-straight games. The Hokies knocked off Miami (Ohio) (78-63) in their final game at a tournament in Mexico before topping Morgan State (83-63) on Sunday. Junior guard Adam Smith enters as the team's top scorer at 14.3 points per game. As a team, Virginia Tech has shot 51.4 percent from the field through six games.
Penn State and Virginia Tech will be meeting for the eighth time on Wednesday and the third time since 2007. The Hokies own a 6-1 edge in the series. The Nittany Lions are 5-8 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Penn State will again wear its throwback pink and black uniforms that debuted at Bucknell on Friday.
"I like the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It's kind of like which one is the better conference, so hopefully we can come out with the W," Taylor said.