Aside from his inexperience with Zoom, there’s been plenty for Jim Ferry and his Penn State men’s basketball team to adjust to over the course of the 2020-21 season.

“Obviously the Zoom’s been great. I’d never heard of Zoom until the pandemic,” Ferry said Tuesday. “That technology’s been great, but the biggest thing is the flexibility. You have to be flexible. We have to adapt things quickly and adapt to change. Who’s practicing today, who’s not practicing today?”

There’s no doubt the Nittany Lions have had to adjust to some bumps and bruises throughout this season. After Ferry took over as interim head coach following Pat Chambers’ resignation just weeks before the season, the Nittany Lions started out fairly hot, but quickly lost their first five Big Ten contests.

After the slow start in conference play, the Nittany Lions then hit an extended break in January due to multiple COVID-19 cases.

Ferry added that rough stretches such as these were grueling on every member of the team.

“So the mental health side of it, really understanding, having a connection, and keeping a pulse on your team of where they’re at,” Ferry said. “I was talking to a friend of mine in the business last night. We were both just sharing how difficult it was for the players. I don’t think people truly understand… it was so different for these guys, not being able to see their families and friends.”

As difficult as this year was at times for Penn State, the team’s newfound willingness to change things on the fly and adjust will be key in the always chaotic Big Ten Tournament. After finishing the regular season with a nail-biter win over Maryland Sunday night, the Nittany Lions turned around and got a plane to Indianapolis Tuesday.

Ferry’s No. 11 seeded Nittany Lions will open the tournament against No. 14 Nebraska, and a win there would mean a date with No. 6 Wisconsin. A win over the Badgers, and Penn State would take on No. 3 Iowa the following day.

Over the past few weeks, Ferry and his staff have done their best to manage the group’s endurance amid a fast-paced schedule and in anticipation for the postseason in college basketball’s best conference.

“We’ve really shortened our practices up a little over the last couple weeks,” Ferry said. “We got back from Maryland at 1:30 in the morning so we didn’t practice yesterday. We had to get up early to get tested, though, but I kind of gave them that day to rest their bodies and minds. This morning we practiced probably about 45 minutes.”

With a fairly well-rested squad, the Nittany Lions have proven all year that they can hang with just about any team in the Big Ten. Penn State has split two games with Nebraska over the past few weeks, and won its first meeting with Wisconsin by ten points.

With an up-and-down regular season behind them, the Nittany Lions know anything can happen in March.

“We stuck together the whole year and now it’s tournament time, and that’s what I said all along” Ferry said. “We finished tied for tenth, let the smoke clear, find out who your matchup is, and then get to work. That’s where we’re at right now. The guys are excited to get to the floor tomorrow night.”