No. 2 seed Longhorns on PSU dance card
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Saturday: Penn State vs. Texas, 7:45 p.m.
Records: Nittany Lions (23-13); Longhorns (27-8)
TV: CBS
Region: Midwest
Series record: First-ever meeting
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Micah Shrewsberry stood on the court at Wells Fargo Arena and waved a towel in the air.
Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk ran through the courtside seating to greet the fans who were in the first row of the lower bowl.
In the aftermath of Penn State's blowout win over Texas A&M to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, everyone was in the mood to celebrate.
How long that jubilation amid a historic season will be tested Saturday night when No. 10-seed Penn State aims for an upset against No. 2-seed Texas.
With a win, the Nittany Lions would reach their first Sweet 16 since 2001, but they'll need to get through a battle-tested Longhorns team first.
"They're a really good team, really good," Pickett said Friday. "They really get to the glass. They have really good guards. They can shoot it. They're disciplined. Their bigs are really athletic. We're going to have to do our part to try to keep them off the glass, keep our turnovers down, like almost every game. But it should be a dogfight and we're looking forward to it."
Penn State put itself on the doorstep of the Sweet 16 in impressive fashion with its 76-59 win over Texas A&M, with guard Andrew Funk torching the Aggies for 27 points and eight 3-pointers and Pickett living in triple-double territory with 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Texas A&M couldn't find an answer defensively as Shrewsberry pushed all of the right buttons.
Texas, though, presents a formidable foe.
The Longhorns let No. 15-seed Colgate hang around in their matchup Thursday night before ultimately pulling away for a comfortable 81-61 victory.
Texas boasts an athletic roster, and the disparity between a Big 12 team that was ranked No. 2 in the country at one point this season and a Patriot League outfit was on full display.
Guard Sir'Jabari Rice, Texas' top reserve, got hot and stayed hot and finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 7-of-10 shooting from three-point range.
Guard Marcus Carr was steady, too, with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, while forward Dylan Disu handled things inside with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
That made for an efficient night for the Longhorns.
"They were really comfortable yesterday," Shrewsberry said. "Colgate went under a lot of screens so they were able to stop behind screens, get their feet set. And basketball is such a confidence game that once you do that, once you hit one, you start feeling pretty good. Every game is different, but they shot the ball well in here, so they should come in here feeling like we can do it again. So you've got to break their rhythm early. You've got to do nothing to give them confidence, either. You can't foul them. Can't let them get into transition; now they are feeling good. Those are things we have to do."
Penn State, though, continued its run as one of the hottest teams in the country against Texas A&M.
The Nittany Lions have won nine of their past 11 games with the lone losses coming in an epic collapse against Rutgers and to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Shrewsberry has gotten balanced contributions over the course of the season. While Pickett and Funk starred Thursday, it might be forward Seth Lundy and guard Camren Wynter tonight.
Shrewsberry has worked to mold the nation's most experienced team into a group where each player knows his role.
And most importantly, he's made sure that the Nittany Lions are enjoying their historic run. Penn State has enjoyed the fruits of Shrewsberry's efforts.
Now the task is whether those can last at least one more weekend.
"It definitely feels amazing to be here in this position wearing a Penn State uniform," Lundy said. "It's like a dream come true. It's the NCAA Tournament, but wearing that blue and white, it feels a little bit more special. I'm excited for our fans as well. Our fans have been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and to get to this point is like a big relief. We still got more games to play, so we're going to try to do our best tomorrow night."
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions 247 with Fight on State.