NCAA Tournament 2023: 10 biggest storylines to watch for 1st day of games

6. Texas A&M’s compact defense looks to deal with Penn State’s barrage of 3s

It’s always fun to have the vintage “offense vs defense” matchup in the NCAA Tournament but Texas A&M has been a little more balanced than expected overall. The defense has been “good” but not “great”, while the offense has greatly improved, thanks to sophomore breakout star, Wade Taylor (16.5 ppg and 4.0 apg).

But in order for the Aggies to advance to the Round of 32, they’ll have to get past arguably the best three-point shooting team in the country. That’s been the identity of the Nittany Lions, who won 8 of 9 games to get on the right side of the bubble, including wins over Indiana, Illinois, and Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament.

As a team, they shoot 39% from three-point range, making over 10 a game. Outside of big man Kebba Nije, everyone else in the main rotation can shoot the ball, including three at over 40%. Jalen Pickett shoots the least of the group from deep but literally does everything else, averaging 17.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and 6.7 apg.

If Pickett goes off, it’ll be a long night for Texas A&M. But they do have a defensive stopper in guard Dexter Dennis, a former AAC Defensive Player of the Year and starting guard. That individual matchup could very well decide the outcome of the game, as well as how many 3s Penn State makes.