Nov. 16, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Thanks to a balanced attack and consistent defensive effort, the Nittany Lion basketball team christened the 2015-16 with a victory on Saturday afternoon.
The season-opening win over VMI kick-started a span of four games in 11 days for the Lions. Penn State returns home on Tuesday at 5 p.m. (ESPNU) for a matchup against DePaul as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Big Ten and BIG EAST announced a series of eight games between the two conferences stretching between Nov. 17-20. The first Penn State-DePaul matchup since 1984-85 will also be part of Tuesday's College Basketball Tip-Off Marathon.
"We have to continue to get better," head coach Patrick Chambers said. "We have to commit to whatever defense we are playing. We have to do a better job of rebounding. DePaul is a very good rebounding team. That's going to challenge us."
The Nittany Lions turned up the wick defensively in the early stages of the second half of Saturday's season-opener. Penn State held VMI to just four points in the first 11 minutes of game time in the second half, something Coach Chambers was pleased to see.
On offense, the Lions had three players reach double-figures ââ'¬" Shep Garner, Payton Banks and Brandon Taylor ââ'¬" on a day where Penn State tallied 30 of its 62 points in the paint. The next step for the Nittany Lions on the offensive end of the floor is finding a way to produce more assists. Chambers wants to see more guys make the "extra" pass to get great looks on a consistent basis.
"On offense, I thought we could have shared the ball a little more," Chambers said. "We passed up some great looks. We had good looks, but passed up on some better ones. We are going to continue to work on those things to better prepare us for the Big Ten."
In the offseason, Chambers talked at great length about Penn State's ability to play inside-out this season. Saturday's opener was living proof of the type of balance and post play the Nittany Lions hope to achieve moving forward. However, Tuesday's matchup against DePaul will be an early challenge for the Lions in the paint. DePaul's front line stands at 6-foot-6, 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11.
"They had a come-from-behind win against (Western Michigan)," Chambers said. "They battled. They are tough. They are just as big as us, which is going to be interesting to see. VMI was a little bit smaller than us. I'll be interested to see if we can get all of those paint points we got in our post ups."
Following the DePaul game, Penn State will head to Pittsburgh on Friday for a 7 p.m. tip against Duquesne.