Revenge is a dish best served cold, so the saying goes. While it was certainly cold outside the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday evening, the action certainly was not inside as Penn State men’s basketball started the week with a thriller. A little more than a week after getting embarrassed on the road against Iowa, Penn State won a double-overtime classic, 90-86, that should give head coach Micah Shrewsberry confidence in knowing there is still plenty of fight in his team.
Playing their first home game in nearly three weeks (a game against Minnesota was postponed), five Nittany Lions scored in double figures in the winning effort. But before the game could get to a second overtime, it needed to first get to a first overtime. Iowa’s Keegan Murray did just that with a tip-in at the buzzer on what could have been a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer for the Hawkeyes.
5️⃣ MORE MINUTES!
Keegan Murray puts it back just before the buzzer to send @IowaHoops to OT at Penn State. pic.twitter.com/6zlWwUhhMC
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 1, 2022
Mesmerizing 😱@keegan3murray // @IowaHoops pic.twitter.com/8GMMLIJQ1E
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) February 1, 2022
No doubt about it, that was a big-time play by Iowa’s star player underneath the basket. Murray led Iowa with 21 points scored and he added six rebounds to his stats sheet as well. But Penn State got the kind of balance Shrewsberry has been hoping to see from his team in a full-team effort. Five different players scored in double figures with John Harrar having a career-high 19 points to lead the team. Myles Dread was among the double-digit scorers, and his clutch three-point shot with nine seconds to go in the first overtime helped set the stage for the second overtime.
ARE YOU SERIOUS @mylesd12_ 🤯 @PennStateMBB pic.twitter.com/CSaZfkNVtg
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 1, 2022
We were gone for 20 days so obvi just want to soak in more time in the BJC, ya know?
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 1, 2022
After a frustrating week on the road with blowout losses to Iowa and Indiana, Shrewsberry was left with some serious questions about his team’s resolve. Well, for one night, those questions were answered for the head coach with authority.
“The way we started the game, things didn’t always go well for us. But we kept fighting back, we kept fighting back, we kept fighting back,” Shrewsberry said in his opening remarks in his postgame press conference after the win. “You get a lead and they send overtime and you have to fight back, you have to bounce back. It goes to double overtime, you got to bounce back, you got to fight back. And these guys did it all night long. I’m proud of these guys, and how we responded.”
"It took everybody to do it, and I'm just proud of our resiliency."@Coach_Shrews chats with @TheAndyKatz following @PennStateMBB's 2OT win vs. Iowa. pic.twitter.com/qzxau5HejV
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) February 1, 2022
WHAT. A. GAME.
Penn State returns home with a flair for the dramatic, winning a wild 90-86 double-overtime thriller over Iowa – https://t.co/wEQjauRixs#WeAre pic.twitter.com/XqQ9rmAVKk
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 1, 2022
Maybe this will be the spark Shrewsberry needed to get things back on track for his program this season. As Shrewsberry mentioned in his postgame press conference, the Big Ten doesn’t throw you any softballs the rest of the way, but having a win like this to restore some confidence is certainly a plus.
Now it’s time once again to hit the road for Penn State’s next game, and it will be a big challenge. Penn State travels to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday evening.
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