Pickett's triple-double leads Lions to key home win over Butler

It's not exactly a great win, since Butler was picked to finish eighth in the Big East, but it certainly would have been a bad loss for Penn State.

Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk made sure it didn't happen.

The Nittany Lions were in complete control in the first half against the Bulldogs, only to see the visitors bite back with a strong start to the second half. Butler even grabbed a two-point lead with 13:55 to go.

Penn State then took over, sparked by Funk, who hit a couple of big 3-pointers during a game-changing 12-2 run. The Lions used that burst to go on to a 68-62 win over Butler at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park.

Pickett finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, for just the second triple-double in Penn State program history.

Who had the other triple-double for Penn State?

Funk hit a 3-pointer to reclaim the lead for Penn State, 43-42, and later hit another to make it 48-42. Those big shots stunned the Bulldogs, who had fought hard to come back, and Penn State wound up getting hot on its way to building the lead to 64-50.

The Bulldogs made a late push, closing within 66-62 in the final minute, but the Lions held on.

Pickett shot just 2-of-10 from the field and had six points at halftime, then made some adjustments at the break -- with a little help.

"I was kind of fortunate a little bit that (director of player development) Mike Green played point guard, so for him to pull me aside and tell me stuff that I need to do better and for him to instill that confidence in me today, it was really big," Pickett said.

What was Funk's reaction to Pickett's triple-double?

"He walked into the locker room, I didn't really believe him at first because I was like, ‘Wow,'" Funk said. "But he's incredible. It's fun to play with him. He's a fun guy to play with. (He) makes my job a lot a lot easier, and I got a couple more shots for him to make him look good. I think he probably could have had a couple more assists honestly if I would have made some shots or made some layups. But, like I said, he makes my job a lot easier, and he’s a really good teammate. Really fun to play with."

What does this win mean for Penn State?

The Lions entered the day at No. 33 in the latest KenPom rankings, a solid number that bodes well for the team's hopes of making a run toward the NCAA Tournament.

But there's a whole bunch of work to be done to pull that off, and a big part of that work is beating other power programs that could result in very good wins. Now, Butler was only 120th in the KenPom rankings entering play, so this may not necessarily be a giant resume builder for Penn State.

Still, it could end up being big if Butler does go on to have a good season. And a loss could have ended up being big for the Lions if Butler ends up having a down season.

All that aside, Penn State got the win and improved to 3-0, and there continues to be a lot to like about this Lions team.

Pickett led the Lions with 15 points, while Funk and Camren Wynter had 11 apiece and Seth Lundy 10. The Lions had made 34 3-pointers in their first two games, and in this one they hit 10-of-24 from deep.

Penn State's next game is Thursday at 11:30 a.m. against Furman in the Charleston Classic.

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SHREWSBERRY COMMENTS

Here are some of coach Micah Shrewsberry's postgame comments, from the Penn State release:

Opening statement:

"It'd be easy to really talk about the end. And, you know, we didn't perform well at the end. I  think we'll be better. I think that’s because that is us not playing together. Let's get a little bit  loose at the end, and as for stretches, I thought we played really well. I thought we really  guarded. I thought we got them into the shots we wanted them to take. We kept our defense,  we kept our shell intact, but we didn't have to over rotate too much, which keeps us in great  blockout position. So, you know, for the third game in a row, we will rebound somebody. And those are things you talk about, right? When you have a small team, your base defense has to  be really solid. If we were gambling for steals or running through steals now and you have  nobody at the rim and they're just getting layups—we're not giving people layups, we're  making them take the shots we want them to take, they're going to make some, and they're  going to miss some too. When they do, we're in the right position to rebound that. I thought  our guys did what they needed to do. They really knuckled up on guard. On the other hand, we played off our defense a little bit, instead of playing off of our offense. Though when we  played off of our defense, we got stopped. At that point we got the crowd going. Then we  made some shots when we needed to finish the job."

On Pickett's abilities:

"He rebounds at a high level. That’s where some of those numbers start to creep up on you,  that you don’t realize are there. We’ve made an emphasis for the team that rebounds are  what we have to be successful in. It doesn’t just fall on Caleb [Dorsey] or Kebba. They have to  do a good job of guarding the post and boxing their guy out and if they don’t get it, they  don’t get it. They are all doing a good job. As for the assists, he just sees the floor now. He  starts to do things as he starts to play in the post or off picks. He’s adjusting as the game  goes. There may be things he misses early on in the game, but he makes the switch pretty quickly after learning about it. He’s also really good at seeing the defense and trying to take  advantage of the opportunity."

What is Caleb Dorsey's confidence like at this stage?

"He’s really young. As for games played, he’s a second semester freshman. The minutes that  he has given us and he’s never played in clutch before and he’s never started games. He’s just  battling. Before he walked out into the game we noticed he’s been jumpy two games early. Today, he stayed down. So, each game, each day he’s going to be improving. On the other  hand, he’s going to make a three, he’s going to be open for those threes. If he can do just  enough to open the floor up, to give our guys those layups—Jalen—and opportunities for  players to get those layups then he’s doing his job."