Purdue Basketball Preparing For Matchup With Penn State, Led by Former Assistant Micah Shrewsberry
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 3 Purdue basketball (12-2, 1-2 in the Big Ten) will be up against a familiar face when it travels to State College, Pa., on Saturday to tip off against Penn State (7-5, 2-2). The Nittany Lions are led by former Boilermakers associate head coach Micah Shrewsberry.
Before accepting the head coaching position at Penn State, Shrewsberry spent the last two seasons with Purdue. He directed the team's offensive system and was part of a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten during the 2020-21 season. Shrewsberry also has experience coaching with the Boston Celtics and at Butler.
Every conference matchup poses a tough challenge, but even more so when Purdue coach Matt Painter is forced to go head-to-head with a friend and former colleague. It's a game that both coaches have looked forward to, but that doesn't mean they'll enjoy pitting themselves against one another.
“You don't enjoy it, you don't want to see somebody that you've been with, that you've had success with, had struggles with," Painter said. "You go through a lot during the season, you go through a lot during the career. But the people you're with, you enjoy those wins together and the agony, and when you're miserable after losses.
"You're together after that, and you're trying to figure things out. Now, when you're on the other side of things, it's a little different. I would think he would have an advantage, because he understands what we do.”
The Nittany Lions run a methodical offense that breaks defenses down to take advantage of any small wrinkle that shows itself. Penn State ranks last in the Big Ten in both field goals made and field goal attempts but has won their last two matchups, one at home against Indiana and another on the road against Northwestern.
Painter also praised the Nittany Lions' defense, emphasizing their ability to put teams in binds, something the Boilermakers have struggled with in close matchups this season. In a 74-69 loss to Wisconsin on Monday, Purdue turned the ball over 12 times.
The players are learning from their defeat at Mackey Arena, looking to mend the mistakes ahead of Saturday's game. If not, Shrewsberry will have every chance to lead Penn State to victory in front of a home crowd.
“He knows some of our weaknesses as a team," Purdue senior forward Trevion Williams said. "I know one of our weaknesses that he's probably going to pick out is just ball pressure.
"We've been having trouble pretty much all season just taking care of the ball and getting clean catches, stepping people off. So I would assume they would bring ball pressure that way, but we've done some practice, we're preparing for it.”
The Boilermakers have been no stranger to traveling this season, but this is just the team's second true road matchup of the year. The first ended in Purdue's first loss of the season — a 70-68 loss to Rutgers that ended on a half-court heave at the buzzer.
The next five games for the Boilermakers will be among the toughest stretches of the season, with four contests being on the road. Three of Purdue's last four victories against Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center have gone to overtime.
“There's nothing like the experience of being on the road, you've got to get out there," Painter said. "We've only played one true road game obviously, we lost that game. That's what we're trying to do. They just got a road win. They've been able to go on the road in our league and get a win, and now we're trying to get our first one, too.”
The Boilermakers will look to find their groove early against the Nittany Lions. Against Wisconsin, Purdue posted a season-low 24 points in the first half. Without a roaring crowd to back the team, it's imperative to start fast and execute on both ends of the floor.
“It starts as a collective. We've just got t0 come out, and we got to jump on them right away," Williams said. "We gotta come up with energy, and that's across the board. It can't be just five guys. It can't be just us finding our group of guys that's gonna go out there and play, or the group of five that has the momentum. It has to be across the board. Everybody has to have energy, and I think we'll be fine."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.