Photos: Kathy Leister
Highlights: Rich Flanagan
Story by Rich Flanagan
PHILADELPHIA-Jalen Pickett knew if he drove into the lane that the ball would’ve been rejected several rows off the court into the Palestra crowd.
Analyzing how to score on a big man like Purdue’s 7-foot-4 junior Zach Edey is one of the most foreboding tasks in college basketball but the Penn State fifth-year senior had the leading candidate for Naismith Player of the Year right where he wanted him. It was the matchup that would define the night and for at least one half, Pickett had Edey and the crowd full of Penn State fans in the palm of his hand.
In his calculated approach, Pickett sized up Edey, got a slight opening on a stepback and fired away from three. He hit the floor and when the ball went through the net, Edey’s dumbfounded look and Pickett’s jovial celebration led the boisterous crowd to believe an upset was in the works. Pickett nailed the free throw and what was only a five-point lead seemed destined to become 10 in a matter of seconds. Pickett came into the contest as the only player nationally averaging 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and he unsurprisingly led Penn State in each one of those categories: 26/9/8.
PURDUE VS. PENN STATE - HIGHLIGHTS BY RICH FLANAGAN
On the other side, Purdue came into this game at the Cathedral of College Basketball as the No.1 team in the country but had taken a loss to Rutgers earlier in the week and survived a difficult challenge from Ohio State only three days prior. Edey recorded his 13th double-double in 15 games with 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Boilermakers to a 76-63 victory over the Nittany Lions on Sunday night but Purdue head coach Matt Painter would have been remiss if he didn’t reflect on Pickett’s stellar performance this season.
“He’s been the best guard in our league,” Painter said. “Think about how good Pickett is: he had 26 points. I think that shows how good he is as a player. He’s got a bright future.”
Seth Lundy, the former Roman Catholic standout who won a pair of Philadelphia Catholic League titles on the floor at the Palestra, banked home a three-pointer from the top of the key and this had the makings of another Nittany Lions masterpiece inside that hallowed arena like the one against Iowa in 2020 and the other six years ago when former Cahillites Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens combined for 32 points to down Michigan State. Pickett had scored on an underhanded scoop shot earlier in the half similar to how legendary stars like Wilt Chamberlain got their points in their vintage style 70 years ago.
He hit a fadeaway jumper from the baseline in a more new school fashion then combined the old and the new taking Edey to the right elbow then going up and under the big man’s arm with windmill scoop off the glass and Penn State (11-5, 2-3 Big Ten) had a 37-31 lead at the break. Painter spoke about how he was able to walk around the Palestra during the team’s shootaround and take in the history of the building, but when it was time for tipoff, he knew this wasn’t a standard, neutral site game.
“That was a neutral court, but I don’t think we would call it a neutral court when there’s 95 percent Penn State fans,” Painter noted. “The one thing about being on the road is it gets hard, and it gets loud, but you learn to play well and give yourself more of a chance.”
The Nittany Lions faithful burst with deafening excitement but as quickly as they roared with applause through the first 20 minutes, their elation was quashed within minutes. Purdue (15-1, 4-1) scored the first 12 points of the second half and Penn State went 0-for-8 from the field in the first four minutes.
It was an uncharacteristic turn of events considering how the opening half had gone and Pickett, who had 18 of his points in the first, felt things rapidly unraveling.
“They’re a good team but that wasn’t Penn State basketball,” Pickett said. “We’re a gritty team and we really like to guard. We did a good job in the first half and that’s why we had the lead, but we come out flat too much. We have to fix that.”
PURDUE VS. PENN STATE PHOTO GALLERY BY KATHY LEISTER FOR PSD
Freshman guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer combined for seven three-pointers and 32 points to complement Edey. Loyer sank a trey from the wing then Edey scored six consecutive points, which included an alley-oop, and the Boilermakers were up 56-44 at the 11:07 mark.
Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry, whose team shot 36 percent from behind the arc and only made one more three-pointer than Loyer and Smith combined to make, developed a gameplan in an attempt to limit Edey but, as many opponents would attest, it was to no avail.
“Zach is such a difference maker,” Shrewsberry said. “You’re not going to see anything like that in college basketball or in basketball, period. He just asserts himself on the game and the other guys do a great job of doing great things around him.”
Jalen Pickett and Penn State could not slow down Purdue after halftime (PSD Photo by Kathy Leister)
The Nittany Lions never got the game back within single digits and the magic that they had created in previous Palestra matchups just simply couldn’t be conjured. Edey went to his patented hook shot time and again and fluidly finished with ease. When he was doubled, he found Loyer and Smith, who in some cases, eventually found their big man for lobs. Pickett found success by continually getting into the lane and hoping to force the defense to collapse but Edey’s size and length allowed other Boilermakers defenders to stay home, and Penn State left the City of Brotherly Love stifled by big man’s overwhelming presence and its inability to mount a comeback in what was essentially a home game in an arena it has known success.