As if they hadn't had enough basketball for the night, some of the players on the Penn State men's basketball team were watching another game following their 75-71 win vs. Missouri-Kansas City on Wednesday.
They were watching the University of Pittsburgh beat Duquesne, a sneak preview of the team the Nittany Lions (3-2) will face next when they tip off against the Panthers (6-0) at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
It will be their toughest test since losses to Texas A&M on Dec. 3 and Clemson on Nov. 29. Though the aggregate difference in the scores of those two games was only 13 points, the results may have been a byproduct of getting down early to teams.
Starting slow is a trend for the Lions recently, trailing by 19 at halftime of the Clemson game, 15 at halftime of A&M game and 15-0 after 10 minutes on Wednesday. These slow starts are often accompanied by turnover binges, something Penn State Ed DeChellis said the Lions couldn't afford vs. a quality opponent like Pitt.
"We gotta go in there ready to take care of the basketball and play well early," DeChellis said Wednesday. "If you let a team like Pitt get up 12, 15-0 like this tonight, that's a little bit different story. If they smell blood, they'll come after you."
Pitt only beat 1-4 Duquesne by 11 points, but did hand Auburn a 37-point drubbing on Dec. 3. DeChellis said the Panthers will play 40 minutes of man-to-man defense and play aggressively -- a stark contrast to the zone defense UMKC presented, allowing the Lions to get shots off and stage a comeback win.
Clemson and Texas A&M also played especially aggressive defense, so it will be a test to see how the Lions adjust, and if they can avoid getting down early. Freshman forward Jamelle Cornley said it needs to avoid that type of turnover-prone, sluggish start that's gotten them in trouble.
"That's something that we're going to have to work on, that's something that we're going to have to nip in the bud pretty early before we start conference [play]," Cornley said.
Penn State's Big Ten schedule doesn't start until Jan. 5 at Ohio State, so the Lions have some time to remedy their problems. A potential answer could come from the bench.
Cornley, sophomore guard Mike Walker and freshman Milos Bogetic came in Wednesday to score 49 points and 18 rebounds Wednesday. But it was the zip and emotion DeChellis said they played with that was perhaps most valuable.
"You're down 15-0, you know you have to bring energy, you know you have to go out there and score," Walker said. "So it kinda gets you ready."
Cornley, who said part of his value is bringing that energy and a physical style of play to the floor, said that's not a situation the Lions want to be in. DeChellis said while he likes to have that energy off the bench, he also needs to have his team playing well to start the game.
What the starting lineup will look like once the Big Ten season starts may be different than what DeChellis has already put out there, but they will have -- aside from the Pitt and Ohio State games -- four remaining non-conference home games to sort it out.
Walker said the Lions can still, for the most part, achieve their goal of going undefeated at home against non-conference competition. Though they have already dropped one to Clemson, he said they need to stay focused.
But by the start of next semester, that schedule will have come and gone, and the Lions will be faced with a string of Big Ten teams Cornley said are capable of sustaining a lead -- if not extend it.
"In high school you could get away with it," Cornley said. "My personal high school we were a third quarter team all the time. In college it's a totally different story."
