I haven’t truly giggled like that in a long time.
Penn State’s Andrew Funk hit a three from the logo and I just started to let out a pure child-like giggle.
The type of giggle where you question if this is really happening. The one you only experience when you step off Space Mountain at Disney World. The delirious state where you begin to wonder if you can actually trust your eyes on what you’re seeing.
And by the time I snapped back to reality, Funk had hit another three.
Funk’s very real performance just put the rest of the country on notice that this team isn’t just about Jalen Pickett. It’s a lethal package that will leave you dazed, confused, and before you know it, suffering a 17-point loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the hands of the Nittany Lions.
Those are the types of performances that can do some serious damage in March and it was largely Funk doing the damage with those threes.
Considering the stage, his 27-point night was the best single game performance for any Penn State basketball player in recent memory – and maybe then some.
It was the type of performance you spend 12 years waiting for. The anxiousness that had built inside myself and many other fans all day slipped away largely before the first half had even ended, allowing for a moment of the scars of yesteryear to dissipate and a brief moment of reflection that we were all witnessing Penn State dancing in the tournament.
By the time we snapped out of it, Funk knocked down another three and it turned out we were actually witnessing the greatest night of transfer’s college career – so far.
The fifth-year senior hit eight shots, all of which went for three, going 8-for-11 from the field. But he didn’t do it without assistance from Pickett.
As the team’s single most important player in recent memory, Pickett tallied 19 points, but equally importantly offered eight assists, a game-high. Those eight assists nearly matched the entire total from Texas A&M. The All-American was effective in drawing multiple Aggie defenders to him, while opening up the Lions’ offense for three after three after three from Funk and co.
The highly-touted SEC finalists were a team that as many national analysts said didn’t deserve the 7-seed, rather something closer to a 5-seed.
But it was the blue-and-white who looked like they should have been a 5-seed.
All season long, this Penn State team has largely lived and died by the three. On Thursday, they thrived by it. Led by Funk’s performance, the team eclipsed the single-season Big Ten record for threes in a campaign, add 13 to that total while advancing to Saturday’s Round of 32 where they will take on the Aggies’ rival in the No. 2-seed Texas Longhorns.
Texas will be no easy task but if Penn State can put together a little more magic again, those national analysts would be hard pressed to find a team that can compete with the one Penn State fans witnessed on Thursday. It was one of the most convincing wins of the season for a team rising at the right time.
And we’ve now hit a point where Penn State hasn’t just reached the tournament. They’ve won a tournament game.
For as much angst as the last 12 years have caused all of us, it was nice to let the guard down on an important night, even if you had to rub your eyes to make sure you were actually seeing what was unfolding in front of you. It was nice to pause and believe in this program for a moment.
And thank god we did because we almost missed Funk hitting those threes, Penn State coming together and maybe, just maybe, the start of a very fun March.
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