There's something to be said for desperation as motivation, and Penn State has been on both the bad and good ends of that in the past few days.
Michigan State, coming off two straight losses and trying to avoid an 0-2 start in the Big Ten, was desperate for a win Wednesday night and beat the Nittany Lions, 67-58, at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Micah Shrewsberry admitted his team played tight in that one, which was obvious.
The Lions found themselves in the desperation position Saturday afternoon, having lost two in a row and knowing they could not afford an 0-2 start in league play.
Penn State had a huge task at hand playing No. 17 Illinois on the road, but the Lions turned in their best performance of the season -- at just the right time.
Penn State overcame an early deficit and wound up pounding the Illini, 74-59, in Champaign, Ill. It was the Lions' first win over a ranked opponent this season, and will serve as a huge victory on the resume if they end up on the NCAA Tournament bubble down the road.
Illinois (7-3) came in ranked 10th in the NCAA NET rankings, and was coming off an overtime victory over No. 2 Texas (85-78) at Madison Square Garden. The Lions (7-3) had dropped to 79th in the NET rankings, so this not only is a marquee victory, it's a massive road win that will carry a lot of weight.
Here's what Shrewsberry had to say about his team after the big win:
"The resolve that we have after losing two games, to come in here in one of the hardest places to win in our league, they showed toughness."
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 10, 2022
🗣️ @Coach_Shrews, on @PennStateMBB's win at No. 17 Illinois pic.twitter.com/NMOpEM4vKL
And here's how the Lions celebrated in the locker room:
MOOOOOOOD 😤#WeAre pic.twitter.com/FKu3oncvrr
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) December 10, 2022
Andrew Funk hit 6 of 9 from 3-point territory and finished with 20 points for Penn State. Jalen Pickett also pumped in 20 points, while Seth Lundy had 16 and Myles Dread 15. Dread was inserted into the starting lineup and hit 5 of 9 from 3.
The Lions shot 50 percent overall (27 of 54) and also 50 percent from 3 (12 of 24). Penn State got only three points off its bench, but the starters were enough to carry the load.
Illinois pulled out to a 19-14 lead 8 minutes into the game, but the Lions showed resiliency and played great the rest of the first half and led 47-38 at the break.
Penn State's offense went cold for some long stretches in the second half, but the defense stepped up numerous times to hold off the Illini. The Lions went on to lead by as many as 19 points and were never threatened down the stretch.
THE ESSENTIALS
