Penn State Basketball: Penn State defeats No. 13 Virginia Tech in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Penn State Basketball got back on track with a 63-62 win vs. No.13 Virginia Tech on Tuesday Night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

After a shaky start to the season, Penn State basketball was able to pull out a much-needed win at home against the 13th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. This followed a brutal loss to the Bradley Braves in the finals of the Cancun Challenge last week.

The one-point win for the Nittany Lions was fueled by the return of center Mike Watkins, who hadn’t played this season due to academic and legal issues. It was a roller coaster of a game for Penn State Basketball, so let’s dissect what went right and what went wrong:

What Went Right:

Interior Defense:

Everyone kept saying that Mike Watkins would have a huge impact on this team when he returned, and we saw that first hand Tuesday. Watkins played 21 minutes off the bench, and his presence inside disrupted Virginia Tech tremendously.

The Hokies only shot 12/31 (38.7percent) from two-point range. This was a team that ranked in the top-ten in offensive efficiency per KenPom.com coming into tonight. In addition, Penn State held Virginia Tech to only 25 second-half points, which is impressive.

Center Mike Watkins had two blocks and and three steals, while center John Harrar had three steals and a block. It was certainly a great game on defense for the Nittany Lions.

Offensive Rebounding/Forced Turnovers:

Penn State was everywhere in the game. They had 14 offensive rebounds, and eight steals (15 forced turnovers total). Junior forward Lamar Stevens had five offensive rebounds and senior guard Josh Reaves had three offensive rebounds. As previously mentioned, Mike Watkins and John Harrar combined for six steals. Josh Reaves also had a couple of steals himself as he always does.

Every time there was a loose ball, Penn State pounced on it. Guys were on the floor non-stop, and the Nittany Lions matched the aggressiveness of Virginia Tech. These offensive rebounds, steals, and even jump balls forced are in the category “hustle plays”, which I saw many Penn State fans tweeting about throughout the game.

On a night where Penn State shot pretty badly overall, their grit and scrappiness played a tremendous role in allowing them to come out with a one-point victory. The coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for this as well because good habits like this are caused by a culture, not just talent.

Bench Play:

For the first time in a long time, Penn State had A TON of help off the bench tonight. Freshman guard Myreon Jones, who’s been getting minimal minutes scored 18 points off the bench to lead the team. He shot 7-of-11 from the field, and 4-of-8 from three-point range. It’s nearly certain that Jones is going to be receiving more playing time going forward.

In addition to Jones, freshman guard Rasir Bolton had 11 points on 4-of-10 from the field, and 3-of-6 from downtown. Trent Buttrick and Mike Watkins combined for 5 points putting Penn State’s bench scoring total to 34. This accounted for 53.9 percent of Penn State’s points tonight.

What Went Wrong:

Three-Point Defense:

Virginia Tech shot 53 percent from three-point range in the game. Many of thosemade shots were due to leaving shooters open which isn’t ideal when you’re playing against a top-15 team in the country. The Hokies aren’t exactly Wright State. They’re going to make open shots.

Fortunately for Penn State, their interior defense and ability to force turnovers made up for the three-point shots they allowed.

Shooting:

It’s pretty amazing that Penn State got this win despite shooting 43.9 percent from the field, and only 31 percent from three-point range. The Nittany Lions took 29 three pointers in this game, and only made nine. Over half of their total shots were from downtown.

If Penn State continues their scoring woes, they’re definitely going to have some tough games ahead of them, no matter who they play. I don’t expect this scoring/shooting slump to continue, but Penn State is currently ranked 89th in adjusted offense, according to KenPom.com. This isn’t ideal, and needs to be improved.

Turnovers:

Penn State may have forced 15 turnovers, but they had 16 turnovers themselves. This included six from Josh Reaves, and four from Rasir Bolton. Going forward, this needs to be improved. Smart play is always key, especially in college basketball.

Overall:

This was a massive win for Penn State to move them to 4-2 on the season. The Nittany Lions needed this win to essentially save their season after having two bad early losses to DePaul and Bradley.

The return of Mike Watkins will be crucial going forward for Penn State, as they head to College Park to face Maryland on Saturday, and then play Indiana at home next Tuesday. Those are two very tough games, and the Nittany Lions need to win at least one to avoid digging themselves in a deep hole to begin conference play.

The Penn State basketball game at Maryland this Saturday can be seen on Big Ten Network at 5:00 p.m.