Sunday Column: Defense Must Lead if Starless Lions Plan to Dance

Penn State hosted No. 14 Wisconsin on Saturday and did what it has done for much of its basketball season – gave as good as it got against a quality Big Ten opponent. 

Then the Nittany Lions did what they haven’t often done – finished the job. And they did so mostly on the defensive end, which should be their emphasis going forward if they are going to have any shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Yes, the offense should be commended for this one, Myreon Jones (20 points), Izaiah Brockington (18) and John Harrar (17) in particular. The Nittany Lions put up 81 points on a good Badger defense, four more points than any Big Ten team had scored against that bunch previously this season.

But it was relentless, aggressive, smothering team defense, led by Harrar and tenacious point guard Jamari Wheeler, that allowed the Lions to take control of the game in the second half and hold on when the offense, as it has often done late in games this season, lost some rhythm.

Consider this: the Nittany Lions made only four shots in the final 10 minutes of the game. Two of them – a Jones three and Harrar’s blind, over-the-shoulder prayer of a layup as he was being dragged to the ground – came in transition, set up by steals from Wheeler and Harrar, respectively. Usually, that’s not going to get it done.

Instead, they scored 17 points at the free-throw line, most a product of Wisconsin trying to extend the game and mount a comeback that never materialized.

At no point during those final 10 minutes – or for most of the half, really – were the Nittany Lions ever in serious danger against a team that had beaten them 13 straight times dating back to 2011. Part of that was the Badgers putting on a putrid showing from the 3-point line (3-15 in the half, 7-28 for the game) but part of it was a swarming defense that doubled and recovered, poked away passes or dribbles, rebounded and sparked opportunities on the break.

Defense has never really been Jim Ferry’s calling card, and this team hadn’t been playing stifling defense for most of the season, even while giving the likes of Michigan and Ohio State all it could handle. Penn State entered the game having allowed an average of 79.3 points (second-worst in the league) in eight conference games, six of them losses and half of those losses by four points or fewer. They’ve had some strong possessions, to be sure, and were second in the conference in steals per game heading into Saturday, but the second-half lockdown of Wisconsin felt different, and fueled their attack on the other end.

More defensive performances like Saturday’s will be welcome if Penn State is going to navigate a tough upcoming stretch of games, including a rematch with the Badgers on Monday. Because although the Nittany Lions have shown they can score on anyone this season, they haven’t shown they can do it reliably, mostly because they have yet to identify a go-to guy at that end.

Yes, Jones has been electric (44%) from 3-point range this season, and his mid-range game is no joke, either. Brockington has been more known for producing SportsCenter highlights (he had another thunderous dunk Saturday) but he has been able to score at all three levels and is superb in transition. And though you would have missed the only two points of his most recent game if you blinked, Seth Lundy is capable of dropping 20-plus on any given night, as he did against the Buckeyes earlier in the week.

None of those players, nor anyone else on the team, however, is a bona fide closer, at least not at this point in their respective careers. Talor Battle is on the bench, but there is not a Talor Battle, or a Tony Carr or Lamar Stevens or D.J. Newbill, on the floor – a player everyone in the building knows is going to take the shot but  still gets it off anyway. Instead, the players mentioned earlier, plus Sam Sessoms and Myles Dread, have all taken and made big shots at various points throughout the season. These players all played supporting roles for Stevens last year, and so far no one has clearly claimed his leading role. Offensive balance is a good thing in many ways, and one of the reasons Penn State has been so competitive, but it doesn’t help you when you need a hoop in the final minutes, or even one to stop a run in the middle of the game. 

The star doesn’t always need to take the shot. Often, the extra attention he commands from the defense can be used to your advantage. But knowing who that closer is instills not just the closer but the entire team with confidence. The Nittany Lions arguably have as much collective offensive firepower now as they had a year ago. They have three players on the Big Ten’s top 20 scoring list. What they don’t have is someone they can rely on in the guts of the game – at least not yet.

That’s why defense will be so important for the Lions, especially as the likes of Luka Garza, Trevion Williams and E.J. Liddell rotate back onto the schedule against a thin Penn State front line, as the pace of the games and the legs naturally slow toward the end of a February that is going to be packed with extra games because of rescheduling. Balance is never a bad thing to have on defense. Penn State will still need a closer to emerge if it’s going to do anything in March. But whoever that is won’t have to do as much heavy lifting if he and his teammates defend like they did Saturday.