Jan. 5, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It has been more than two weeks since the Nittany Lions last played inside the Bryce Jordan Center, a place that has been good to the Blue and White in 2014'15.
Following two-straight road games to open Big Ten play, the Lions will kick off their home conference slate against Michigan on Tuesday inside the BJC (7 p.m. on BTN).
Penn State has been superb on its home floor this season, going 7-0 in the non-conference season. The Lions have averaged 67.1 points per game while shooting 42 percent from the field in the seven home victories. The Michigan game marks the first of nine conference games in the Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions return to action after a cold shooting night at Rutgers in a 50-46 setback to the Scarlet Knights. Penn State's approach to practice in the days since the Rutgers game has been simple. Head coach Patrick Chambers said on Monday that the Lions can only dictate the things they can control.
"We can't think about March," Chambers said. "We have to think about what we can control. And what is that? Our attitude, our effort. And if we take care of that, the score will start to take care of itself."
After shooting north of 50 percent at No. 4 Wisconsin, the Lions shot a season-low 29 percent from the field at Rutgers. Penn State had its fair share of good looks at the basket, but shots that normally go in did not fall on Saturday night. Chambers said that he wants to see fewer 3-point attempts (Season-high for a 40-minute game at Rutgers - 27), and he wants to see the ball in the paint when perimeter shots are not falling.
"We had a lot of open looks," senior D.J. Newbill said. "I feel like our offense is working the best it has ever been. We just didn't hit shots. It was probably one of those nights...You think about it that night, and the next day you watch film and try to get better. You have to move on. In the Big Ten, you are playing every two or three days. You can't sulk and you can't get too high or get too low with these losses. We've got to try to get better and learn from it."
Defensively, the Lions were superb in the second half at Rutgers, limiting the Scarlet Knights to just four made field goals in the final 20 minutes. Now, Chambers wants to see 40 consistent minutes of effort on defense and on the glass as the Lions turn attention to a matchup with Michigan.
"You are going to go through peaks valleys," said Chambers. "Look, we didn't really face adversity in the non-conference. In the games we did; they were all one-possession games. We overcame all of that. Now, you are 0-2 and faced with a little adversity. We got better today. We competed hard. We got after it...We have to continue to get better. That's it."
Michigan enters the matchup with an 8-6 overall mark and a 1-1 record in Big Ten play. The Wolverines outlasted Illinois, 73-65, in overtime during their conference opener. Despite a halftime lead, Michigan dropped a 64-51 decision at Purdue on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Zak Irvin and junior Caris LaVert are Michigan's top scoring threats. Both Irvin and LaVert come into the Penn State game averaging 14.6 points per game. Both players lead the team in three-point shooting as well. Irvin has 38 made threes on the season, while LaVert has 26. Sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. is the third Michigan player averaging double-figures at 10.2 points per game.
Michigan is ranked 12th in the Big Ten in scoring at 66.9 points per game. The Wolverines are ranked ninth in scoring defense at 62.6 points per contest. Michigan is also 14th in rebounding margin (-2.1).
"Looking at Penn State, it seems like they have guys who have been there for years...we know they will be excited to be back at home," Michigan head coach John Beilein said.