They shied away naming names, but the finger-pointing was still there. Jan Jagla and freshman Marlon Smith both saw the same thing in Penn State's loss to Michigan on Saturday. At least one of their teammates was not running smoothly with the offensive plays, and there was nothing Jagla or Smith could do about it.

"We didn't do what we were supposed to do," Jagla said after the game. "We run plays and there's one or two guys screwing it up. That just doesn't work out well for us. We need everybody to be on the same page. Everybody needs to know what play we're running and where they're supposed to be."

But this late into the season, Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis isn't adding new plays; if he is, they're at a minimum. Everyone should know where to be.

In their past three contests, though, the Nittany Lions looked lost on offense. All too often, the shot clock became disturbingly relevant when the Lions failed to create a good look at the basket and had to settle for a last-second heave.

In turn, the disrupted offense was lightening the load for Big Ten opponents. Not only did the Wolverines have an easy time defending Penn State on Saturday, but the Lions' sloppy offense also allowed the Wolverines 16 fast-break points and 20 points off turnovers.

"I think, as players, we didn't show a lot of energy at all," Smith said. "We didn't play with any kind of effort. We were really effortless out there."

The freshman guard seemed confused by his team's play. He said they were excited to come home again after suffering two big losses on the road. He added that it wasn't DeChellis' fault either for the lack of discipline because the coach had worked the team hard all week.

But Smith's assessment of the game coincided with Jagla's. He, too, saw an offense that wasn't being run the way it had been in practice.

"It's kind of hard to describe," Smith said. "The pieces of the puzzle aren't put together yet. Everyone is on separate pages. We might be playing more like individuals instead of a team. It takes one person to really mess up, and that comes from a lack of communication."

Yet, team chemistry isn't to blame either. The players agreed that there isn't tension and that winning is still the shared goal. However, it may be the route to a win that is blurred among the players.

"I think we get along fine, especially off the court." Smith said. "I wish the way we treat each other off the court was the same for the way we treat each other on the court. Off the court, you can joke around and get really vocal and really comfortable. But when you get on the court, everyone seems to have their own personal goals."

With the hits the Lions have already had to endure between transfers and injuries, the last thing they can afford is a distraction among the men still on the team. Frustration with losses is one thing to have to overcome, but frustration with teammates could be a lot more detrimental.

"Honestly, I don't know why it's still happening," Jagla said about the miscommunication in the offense. "Some guys just forget stuff when they get out there. When the heat gets turned on and there's a lot of excitement, people just forget stuff. It's just something we have to work on as a team, to get everybody together and not have the same guy screwing up all the time."

From the sideline, it's hard to say who was screwing up on each possession. It could be any one of the six players who get legitimate minutes on the court. But don't count Jagla or Smith out of the equation, either -- they were in the press conference at separate times.