NO WAY AROUND IT

I've been wanting to write a long, expansive post these last few days, but every time I try, I feel like my main point is being diluted.  Maybe that's because I'm not the best writer and I often struggle making any point, but after thinking about it, maybe it's because I didn't actually have a main point. 

There's much to be said and written about these Nittany Lions.  At the beginning of the long season, some people thought they were good, but not this good.  Some people thought they good, but a lot better than this.  Now 28 games into the season, they sit at 19-9, with an 8-7 Big Ten record.  "Like it or lump it," to quote my mother Karen, that's where they are.  Penn State is your picture-perfect example of a bubble team.

Forget about all of the mock brackets, forget about all the 'what ifs's, and 'what could have been's.' The Lions have to win their remaining three regular season games if they want to be seriously considered for the NCAA Tournament.  In year's past, that wasn't just a long-shot, it was basically impossible.  The Lions didn't have the personnel, talent, or drive and even though we're 28 games into the season, we still don't know if that personnel, talent or drive is there. 

At times, it's obvious that this team can beat anyone in the nation.  However, using last Tuesday's game against the Buckeyes as an example, at times this team looks as lost and unmotivated as ever.

There's no way around it, the Nittany Lions are backed against a wall. The squad has three legitimate must win games left, or they'll be basking in the mediocrity of the NIT Tournament. I for one am very interested in how this team will respond to a must win game.  Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time Penn State was in a must win game that had tournament ramifications on the line.  2001 is the most likely answer.  If that's so, it's been 8 whole years since this team has HAD to win.  Well that time has finally come, and it should be exciting to watch.

Can you imagine Jamelle Cornley's demeanor in a game he HAS to win?  Can you picture Talor Battles motivation when he knows the NCAA's are depending on it?  I can, and if I was anyone else in the Big Ten, I wouldn't want to play these Nittany Lions.

Tournament aside, tomorrow is Senior Day at the Bryce Jordan Center.  Come out and support four seniors who have had, albeit very different, significant impacts on this program over the past four of five years.  Come early, be loud, wear white.  Tip off against Indiana is at 6 p.m.

MY FRUSTRATION...GRAPHICALLY

If I were writing this post two nights ago immediately after Penn State's 73-59 loss to Ohio State it would appear slightly different. Shoehorned in between the dense collection of curses and death threats would have been some coherent thoughts, maybe even a shimmer of wit...whatever I could have managed through my sobbing. Instead, I decided to let the frustration simmer the last couple of days and express my grief through Microsoft Excel.

Penn State is too close to a tournament bid to start whining about what they did wrong specifically against the Buckeyes (shot selection, transition game, rebounding), but it is useful to see if any trends are developing as it heads into the final home stretch with three games left on the docket. Most coaches will agree, the most important stretches of a game, especially one as volatile as college basketball, are the first and last minutes of each half. Momentum and confidence are most readily established during these stanzas, and punctuating each half with a strong beginning and end is the most assured way to get a victory.

After the monumental win over Illinois last week, few fans were expecting the kind of start that Penn State opened with when the Lions fell behind 19-2 to begin the game against Ohio State. A look at the stats disagrees with your optimism however, and shows that the slow start is exactly what we should have been expecting from Penn State.

This graph shows that Penn State has not led after five minutes of a game since its 72-68 win against Michigan State and that the Lions have only jumped out to an early lead in four Big Ten games so far this season. It's true that the start against Ohio State was by far the worst of the year for Penn State, but when you habitually fail to show up in the first five minutes of a game, it will cost you, as it has in four of the last six games.

Still, the Lions roared back on Tuesday night and seemed to firmly put that bad beginning behind them.

As this graph shows, the last five minutes of the first half has been pretty erratic for the Lions. In six of its 14 conference games, Penn State has taken momentum into the locker-room by outscoring its opponents. The Lions are 4-2 (67%) in those games, and 4-5 (44%) in games when they have been outscored in the last five minutes before halftime.

Shifting to the last twenty minutes of the game, this graph shows how Penn State fares in the opening minutes of the second half. The Lions, although they had an advantage in six of their 15 conference games, never outscored the opponent by more than five points in the first five minutes. Much like the first five minutes of the game, this is an area that the Lions need to put more effort into.

Finally, and perhaps the most misleading of all trends, the final five minutes of a game.


This chart is difficult to read because several of these games were already decided for much of the time being displayed, leading to inflated results. Like the end of the Michigan game at home, when the Lions were well in control but the Wolverines just continued to bomb threes.

I guess the main idea to grasp from these charts is that, with one exception, Penn State has been consistently inconsistent in its performance during the most crucial times of the basketball game - the first and last five minutes of each half. All season long, the Lions have been little more than a wild roller coaster ride during these telling time spans, equal parts aggressor and punching bag. The lone exception is the first five minutes of the game.

Disturbingly, Penn State has gotten the jump on its opponent after the opening tip only once in the last eight games, a dangerous way to play when absolutely every win counts. It was especially disappointing to see the Lions, despite coming off of a huge win at Illinois and a six-day rest, get blown out of the water by Ohio State in the first few minutes of Tuesday's game. The Lions have shown that on any given night, they can play with any team in the league, but there are only three nights left in the regular season, and they can't afford to sleepwalk through a single minute of any of them.

SUPER FAT TUESDAY

Erin Andrews isn't the only one excited for tonight's game against Ohio State (17-8, 7-7). For only the fourth time this season, the Lions will be playing in front of a national audience (Big Ten Network doesn't count) on ESPN. This is not only exciting because the game will be in HD against a team I absolutely despise, but I won't have to run to a bar after work praying that they'll turn on the Big Ten Network (this is not only bad for my drinking habits, but also my wallet).

The game, which is set to tip-off at 7:00 pm, is part of ESPN's Super Tuesday, which features a couple of key "bubble-breaker" match ups across their networks. Calling the game will be my personal favorite announcer Brett Musburger along with Steve Lavin. Andrews will be calling the shots from the sideline.

The Lions, who will be trying to make their case for a tournament berth, will get a great chance to showcase their talent to the committee (I'm guessing not all committee members have the BTN). This is also an great shot to inch closer to a first round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, which has never happened to PSU. The Buckeyes have lost three straight and have turned their focus from winning the Big Ten, to just making the tournament.

Step aside Mardi Gras, Penn State hoops is stealing the national spot light tonight (well, unless Andrews really wants some beads).

OH DANNY BOY

Besides having an awesome first name, Danny Morrissey is one of those players that you genuinely root for. You don't just root for the team, you root for him to succeed. Although it feels like he's been playing since the Lions Sweet 16 trip, the 24-year-old senior only has a handful of games left and Nittany Nation will severely miss him once he's gone.

The 6'3", 190-pound shooting guard is a red shirt senior this year, and although his playing minutes have been declining since 2006, it's impossible to measure what he's meant on and off the court to the Nittany Lions.

Besides being the Lions top three-point scorer the past three seasons, Morrissey has been one of the Big Ten's toughest shooters to guard. Since he entered Division One basketball, Morrissey has 27 career games with three or more treys and has scored in double-digits 37 times. Unfortunately, after 30 games and 231 points as a true freshman, the shooting guard suffered a patella tendon dislocation in his left knee at a team practice early in the season his sophomore year. By the end of that week, Morrissey underwent surgery and was granted a medical red shirt by the NCAA.

Although the senior came back better than ever in 2006-2007 (44% from three point range), his shooting touch has declined over the past two seasons. To his credit he's been suffering from a sore and swollen right knee, however Morrissey has only put up 9 points on 3-16 shooting during his last five games.

This 'un-Morrissey' like behavior out of the Cleveland, OH native has had many people basically writing him off the team for the remainder of his tenure at Penn State. This, I could not disagree with more. Even when his shots aren't falling, Morrissey has been one of the most energetic and vocal guys on the Lions squad. Often over-sized on the floor, the co-captain has never been one to back down from a charge or to hang his head after missing a shot. He wasn't just born with that sweet stroke, he's known for being the first one in and the last one out of the gym after practice, as he's constantly working on his shot.

"I've seen minutes slip my whole career," Morrissey said to the Daily Collegian. "As long as I'm on the court and I contributed in some kind of fashion to us winning the game, that's really what I feel good about. If those guys play well, they'll get minutes. It just comes down to whoever's gonna get on the court and help us win a game. That's all I care about."

However, as the team heads to his home state of Ohio for a key match-up against the Buckeyes on Tuesday...I have a strange feeling he cares about performing a little more than he's letting on.

Although the emergence of Cameron Woodyard and Chris Babb have taken some of Morrissey's minutes during the second half of the season, you can be sure he'll be playing with something to prove Tuesday as it's his last game at Ohio State. Playing for his last shot at an NCAA tournament berth, the senior will have over 50 friends and family in attendance for the nationally televised contest. The six-day break after the Illinois win will also benefit Morrissey, as the season has played its toll on the guards knees.

As senior day quickly approaches, keep a keen eye on number 33 on the court. He still has a lot to prove and you can be sure that with less than a month left to play as a Nittany Lion, the senior will give you ever ounce of everything he's got. It's the only way he's ever played.

That's why I'll be one of the first to give this kid a standing ovation on Saturday for Senior Day. Rough season or not, he's earned it.

Video from www.gopsb.com

SOMETHING BUILDING IN STATE COLLEGE

It's easy to take winning for granted when you're a fan of one of the most accomplished football programs in the country. Maybe that's why it's been so hard to understand the near-permanent struggles of Penn State's basketball program. Fans want to just point across the street from basketball coach Ed DeChellis' office towards Beaver Stadium and say, "Just do what they do."

What "they" do is a tried and true formula in college athletics - recruit, build good facilities and give the program its own identity with a strong coaching staff. Look at almost any consistently successful outfit in the college ranks and you'll find those three requirements in varying doses. As far as Penn State hoops goes, "two out of three ain't bad." The problem for the Lions has been getting good recruits to come and use those updated facilities and learn from that committed staff. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane examines why getting those blue-chippers might become easier for DeChellis and his coaches after the season that the Lions are putting together this year.

If you win, the recruits come. If they come, you win. If you lose, well. . . .

"It's hard. There's no excitement. There's no energy," DeChellis said. "You're not winning any games, but you're trying to recruit players. And they don't want to come because they say, 'You're not winning any games.' "

Full Text: Click Here

ITS A GREAT TIME TO BE PSU FAN

Let's be honest.  For the last few years forever, there hasn't been much to cheer about while following Penn State basketball.  There's been a few bright spots here and there, and although I'm not going to name them, you can count them on one hand.  There have also been many many games that just like the time you passed out on the toilet in college - you'd rather pretend never happened.

However, things have been different lately.  Starting with the team's surprise success last season when star Geary Claxton was injured, a soft, slow rumble of excitement began to follow this team.  Did Ed DeChellis finally have the right formula of guys he could work with? Was Talor Battle really as good as advertised?  Well, although their work isn't done yet this season, and they are certainly a LONG way away from securing a tournament berth...the answer appeared to be yes, and the follower's of this team are reaping the benefits.

I spent 2003 through 2007 at Penn State following basically every Nittany Lion team possible. However, I must admit that no matter how spoiled I was with national football coverage...I always secretly longed to see the basketball team grace the screen and/or pages of ESPN. Game after game, season after season I would hike up to the BJC, praying for the guys to pull of the big upset.  Well short story even shorter, it never happened. 

(My wishes did come true for a brief instant in 2006, thanks to some inspired play from Travis Parker, when PSU pulled off the unbelievable win over #6 Illinois on the road. ) 

However, other than that win, my dreams of waking up to see the basketball team on ESPN.com would never come to fruition during college.

This years squad whistles a different tune.  The Lions are currently 19-8(8-6),  which is good enough for 4th in the Big Ten.  Slowly and ever so cautiously, people have begun to notice.  

Yes, this season has had as many roller coasters as Six Flags, but the ups have heavily outweighed the downs.  ESPN has had two stories about the Nittany Lions THIS WEEK, which is two more they may have had during the past 4 seasons.

Although their work is still cut out for them, beginning with next week's contest against the Buckeyes, it's hard not to smile while watching this team.  Despite the three game losing streak and the impossibly hard to watch offensive performances (*cough Illinois cough*), it's a great time to be a PSU fan...and I'm certainly loving every second of it.

Read about the Lions on ESPN here:

ESPN.com Bracketology

ESPN writer Andy Katz on PSU's key road win...

BENCH PLAYERS COME THROUGH TO SPARK UPSET

Shon Morris, the analyst for Wednesday night's game against Illinois easily had the call of the night late in the second half after the Illini committed a flagrant foul. Play-by-play announcer Wayne Larrivee said that Talor Battle appeared to be hurting after he was taken to the ground by an Illinois defender and Morris, without missing a beat, chimed in, "He's hurting so good, Wayne."

John "Cougar" Mellencamp references aside, Ed DeChellis must have been feeling the best out of all the Lions after finally finding some productivity from his bench. One of the biggest roles a coach has is to find the right combination to give his team the best chance to win, understanding that that combination could change from night-to-night or even minute-to-minute. Wednesday night, Eddie D pushed the right buttons when he gave freshman Chris Babb a season-high tying twenty minutes of playing time, including the final seven-plus minutes.

Babb responded with seven points (just one off of his season-high, but nearly 20% of the Lions' scoring on the night) as well as a monumental steal that led to a Stanley Pringle layup to give Penn State a lead it would not relinquish. In total, the Lions' bench players produced 13 points and only had two turnovers in 57 combined minutes. By comparison, the five starters had 25 points and eleven turnovers in almost triple that time.

For much of the year, Danny Morrissey and David Jackson had been the sixth men. Now, with Jackson seemingly taking over the starting role from Jeff Brooks and Morrissey's knee bothering him, Babb might have become the first man off the bench after his clutch play against the Illini.

Andrew Ott deserves some praise too after playing inspired basketball on Wednesday. The big man chipped in four points, four rebounds and one huge block in just 12 minutes.

LIONS WIN UGLY AGAINST ILLINOIS

It is often said that for team "A" to upset team "B," the former must play an absolute perfect game. That was certainly not the case when the Penn State Nittany Lions, assuming the role of team "A," outlasted the sixteenth-ranked Fighting Illini 38-33 on Thursday night in Champaign. Neither team would claim any style points in this turnover plagued, brick-laden affair, but Penn State would claim its second road victory over a ranked team this season and thrust itself into the discussion for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Perhaps we were all a little premature when we said that Penn State had turned the corner after upending Michigan State in East Lansing last month. That game fit the generic description of the underdog playing way over its head to pull off the upset. Wednesday's game was different from the upset of the Spartans in that the Lions did not play a good game offensively, but still found a way to get a win on the road against a ranked team in February. It was exactly the kind of win fans had been waiting for. A win that exclaimed, "Penn State can beat you anywhere at any time." And even if that proclamation doesn't turn out to be exactly true, the players now have the confidence to believe such a statement, and that means more than it's absolute validity.

Suddenly, Ed DeChellis's claim that the Lions had to win four out of their last five to get a bid to the tournament doesn't seem so far-fetched. Not with the next game coming against a reeling Ohio State team; and not with return match-ups against Indiana, Illinois and Iowa - three teams the Lions have already beaten this season - to end the season.

Earlier this year, the Lions strung together four straight conference victories, only to suffer three straight double-digit defeats to completely reverse any momentum they had gained. Now, after back-to-back wins against teams ranked ahead of them in the Big Ten standings, the real challenge will be to avoid a similar slide and play their best ball of the season as the calendar turns to March.

TIME TO MAN UP

No way around it, no pretty way to disguise it, and certainly no way to sugar coat it...the Nittany Lions will need to man up Wednesday night on the road against # 18 Illinois. Their tournament hopes depend on it.

You don't get to the tournament by receiving votes. You get there by winning.

NEWEST VIDEO FROM NITTANY NATION

With only three home games remaining this season, the Lions will look to end their 3-game losing streak tomorrow against Tubby Smith's Minnesota team. If the game is anything like the last time the men's team played on Valentine's Day, it will certainly be exciting.

During the 2006-07 season, #1 Ohio State came into the BJC in the middle of a snowstorm and squeaked by with a 64-62 win. In front of a large crowd that was treated to free tickets and a National audience on ESPN, the Lions furiously rallied from a 20 point deficit in the second half, only to have Mike Walker's game-winning three clank off the front end of the rim as time expired.

Let's hope a large crowd shows up again tomorrow to show this team some love on V Day.

The newest video from Nittany Nation is out, and can be seen here...

KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON

Well, the backup never came last night in Penn State's loss to Purdue. If anything the team, which once again failed to score more than 30 in a half, looked even more tired and lifeless than against Wisconsin last Saturday.

It's no secret that star guard Talor Battle is currently in an awful slump he can't seem to shake, and when Battle struggles the team struggles. Although the sophomore had six assists, he failed to score any points for the first time this season. going 0-7 from the floor with three turnovers.

However, his struggles stem farther than anybody can see from watching the Big Ten Network. According to an article by David Jones posted on Pennlive.com, Battle is currently struggling with things off-court which clearly have had an impact on him and his presence on-court. Read the entire article to see exactly what i mean.

Read the entire article here...

How coach Ed DeChellis is going to keep the team motivated and hungry on the court is a key question at this time. After the Lions win against Michigan State, fans were looking at the remaining schedule wondering who could possibly beat this team. Now, only two weeks later, it's tough to pick out a winnable game.

I personally am doing my my best to keep the Nittany Lions in good spirits. Maybe some of them just need some extra reps in the gym, maybe some need some positive reassurance. But what if maybe...just maybe, all they really need is a friend?

Bam! Like an injection into A-Rod's left buttock, I come flying in. By friending all of the Nittany Lions on Facebook this morning while at work, I did more than any late-night gym session ever could. I showed that I care.

By Talor Battles response, I know he cares too.





I expect the W's to come back beginning with an explosive and motivated performance at home against Minnesota on Saturday. You can thank me later.

CALLING FOR BACKUP!

It's a common theme among war movies; the scene where the ground troops are locked in a deadly gunfight with the enemy, calling for help to anyone who will listen. Cheers and whistles breakout when the American planes fly over, spraying the enemy with gunfire, thus saving the troops on the ground.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Penn State's big three (Jamelle Cornley, Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle) are in a firefight right now, constantly battling Big Ten's biggest and quickest enemies. The three are averaging 47 of PSU's 68.5 points per game at this time. However, they're calling for backup right now...to anyone and everyone on the PSU roster who will listen.

The Lions back court of Battle and Pringle have combined to make only 14 of 54 shots (25.9%) in the last two losses and 2 of 22 from three point range (9.0%). While Cornley has put up 29 points in the past two games, only 4 of them came in their home loss against Wisconsin (he had 4 at the half).

Unfortunately for the Lions, who have been playing with this three-man offense most of the season, the remainder of the season is a remake of the last bridge scene in Saving Private Ryan. They're out-sized, playing in enemy territory, and as "experts" say: "simply overmatched". Luckily, the end of this season doesn't need to replicate the end of said movie, where Tom Hanks perishes on a bridge. If Penn State's backup can come in time (preferably tonight), the Lions have a fighting chance of seizing back their momentum in the Big Ten and solidifying a tournament berth.

It's not like the Lions are pleading for backup into deaf ears. Danny Morrissey likes playing in Mackey Arena and is due for a huge game tonight. This is evidenced by his shooting 14-20 from three-point range and is average of 15.6 points for his career on Keady Court. The senior will be the first to tell you he's having a sub par year after shooting a combined 71% from beyond the arc in the last two seasons.

Andrew Jones III is another Lion who needs to step up his play if the Lions are going to advance into the post season. The 6'9" forward, who is listed at 245 lbs., is only averaging 5.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Decent numbers, but not for someone who is playing 23.9 minutes per game. Coach Ed DeChellis needs his other big man to step in and take control of the lane - something Jones has seemingly been tentative of all season. However Jones did grab 11 rebounds (8 offensive) earlier this season against Purdue, so he should have another big game tonight against the Boilermakers.

Hell, the Lions will even take help from David Jackson, who has been disappointingly inconsistent since his highly touted arrival in Happy Valley last season. Although averaging over 20 minutes a game, the sophomore is only netting 4 points and 3.2 rebounds a game. It appears the forward wants to pass immediately every time the ball comes his way. However, after scoring 6 points on perfect shooting last game against the Badgers, Jackson may be ready to breakout of his shell and show Nittany Nation what he's made of.

If the Lions are going to upset #23 Purdue in West Lafayette tonight they'll certainly need the backup they've been waiting for all season. Let's just hope it gets here in time.

EVERYBODY GET BACK IN THE BOAT

Wake Forest, Clemson, Xavier, Arizona State, Gonzaga, Purdue (three times), Syracuse and Ohio State (twice).

Those are the list of college basketball teams in the this week's Top 25 polls that have experienced back-to-back losses at least once this season - an unfortunate fate that befell Penn State this past week. Rather then yell, "The sky is falling," because our previously soaring Lions are headed into the toughest stretch of their schedule with no momentum, let's look at some positives.

Penn State currently sits sixth in the conference, just one spot away from a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Moreover, Jamelle Cornley and company are just one measly game out of sole posession of second place behind the Michigan State Spartans.

How about that minefield disguised as a schedule? The Lions are 3-1 against remaining opponents that they've already played once this season and could get to 20 wins just by holding serve at home. Although dates at Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State may appear daunting, home-court advantage has been anything but a sure thing this season. Previously unbeatable Wisconsin has already lost four times at the Kohl Center this year alone, where it had been 113-8 since 2001. Michigan State did the unthinkable, losing two in a row at the Breslin center to Northwestern and Penn State.

The above information is not to ignore the fact that Penn State's offense has been atrocious the last two games, looking completely lost without the normal scoring contribution from Talor Battle, or that it continues to get little to no support from its bench players; it's just to say that it's not all doom and gloom.

The team hardly resembles the squad that just two weeks ago was running up a four-game in-conference winning streak, but that same talent is there. If I were coach Eddie DeChellis, I would make sure the offense runs through Cornley. Get the big man a touch every time down the floor. Not only is he the most versatile scorer on the team, but having him touch it on the block will slow down the halfcourt set and inject some composure into an offense that has looked scattered against strong man-to-man defense the last two contests.

Secondly, Danny Morrissey needs to contribute. Imagine a three-point specialist that is fifth on the team in three-point percentage (!) and is 2-for-9 from three point range in his last four games. If he isn't shooting well, he isn't really giving much to the team, chipping in less than two rebounds and two assists per game. I would rather see his minutes split between Chris Babb and Cameron Woodyard.

Lastly, Eddie needs to find a way to affect Battle. My plan to get an, "In Talor We Trust," tattoo across my back has not been shelved, but the sophomore needs to learn how to balance his role as leading scorer and point guard. All the great point guards knew to make sure their teammates were getting off offensively before they looked to get their own game cooking. I know it's a bit different seeing how Battle leads the conference in scoring, but he needs to reailze that the more baskets he sets his teammates up for, the more that will take the defensive (and mental) pressure off of himself.

Lots of people have thought that DeChellis was a coach that could make this program competitive by giving it an identity and bringing in talented players. He's rarely, if ever, had any pressure to deal with since stepping onto campus. Now, with his team balanced on the fence between success and disaster, let's see if he really is a coach that can make Penn State a relevant team in the Big Ten. Let's see if he can push the right buttons to pull off another big road win against a ranked team (Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State) and get this program back to the NCAAs for the first time since 2001.

YOU READY?

The latest 'pump-up video' was released today by Alex Cohen of Nittany Nation.

It's amazing the effort that Nittany Nation is doing to generate excitement off and on campus.
The students are ready. Are you?

Click for the video, then watch it with a friend...

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS

Although Penn State is coming off a 20-point loss to ...'deep breath'...Michigan on Thursday night, the team is actually still in better shape than most thought they would be entering Sunday's game against Wisconsin. If I was told the team would return 1-1 after this road trip, I would still eagerly await Sunday's contest believing The Lions were fresh off a win against the Wolverines and a humbling loss against the #9 team in the country.

Instead, the Nittany Lions received their coveted big-game road win with an impressive and eye-opening performance against Tom Izzo's Spartans. Although the Lions will most likely not receive any AP votes in the newest rankings next Monday, they maintained their pace to receive their first tournament berth since 2001.

Although it's cliché and Ed DeChellis even admits he's over saying it, the Lions will most likely benefit from this loss in the long run. Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle went a combined 6-29 from the field, and continued to put up contested shot after contested shot. Hopefully both of them learned that you're not hot 100% of the time and that the team can't rely on 30 foot three's all game as they did against Michigan State. Yes, both guards have the ability to hit those shots...but you can't expect to shoot lights out every night. At some point the offense needs to slow down, re-group and run their sets.

It's clear that although the guards have been the spark to this team most of the season, Jamelle Cornley has been the rock. The senior scored 25 points and shot 10-12 from the field against Michigan (putting him at 18-22 against UM combined). I'm sure the team will look long at hard at game tape as they'll find more ways to get the ball inside to Mel. There were many possessions Thursday night where Cornley never touched the ball and if this season is expected to carry on after the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, this clearly cannot happen.

Although Wisconsin will enter the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday with a 3-6 conference record, it's obvious that they cannot be taken lightly. Fresh off a home win against #22 Illinois, the Badgers will look to carry their momentum forward as they'll need a strong February showing to make the tournament. Although they lost six in a row prior to their win against Illinois, the Badgers, who won the Big Ten title and tournament last season, held the lead in the final 3 minutes of regulation in five of their last seven losses going into Thursday.

Penn State basketball fans better fasten their seat belts as the Big Ten conference schedule is heating up and there's still a long road to travel before a tournament berth is guaranteed. Looking back at the Big Ten scoreboard, it's obvious any team can be beaten on any night.

Penn State teams of the past may have lost by 20 to Michigan, only to lose four of their next five and deplete themselves of any chance of a post season and/or fan base they have. However, the team and the media has preached all year that this IS NOT the same Penn State team you grew up watching. Hopefully a sold out Bryce Jordan Center will have a chance to witness that first hand on Sunday.

FULL HOUSE IN THE CARDS?

Right underneath winning you'll find playing in front of a sold-out home crowd on the list of "Things You're not Accustomed to Seeing Penn State Basketball Do." But in this pleasantly surprising season that has the Lions tied for third place in the conference with eight regular season games remaining, all of your presuppositions for Penn State hoops are being erased.

An article in Friday's Daily Collegian discusses the possibility of a sold out Bryce Jordan Center for this Sunday's tussle with Wisconsin. Perhaps it's the Phillies' World Series Trophy tour that's stopping in State College or the marketing department creating buzz with a, "Wear Your White" campaign, but the team is looking forward to playing in front of its biggest home crowd in years.

"It's gonna mean everything to me," Cornley said. "When I first came here on my
visit in fall of 2005, I came into the gym and looked around the arena and
thought, 'This is a lot of seats.' "

As of Thursday afternoon, Ticketmaster listed the best available seat for one person as section 225.

Full Text: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/02/06/the_lions_could_sellout_sunday.aspx

MICH-AGAIN

Jamelle Cornley couldn't do anything but sit and watch (and listen) as his team was serenaded by the Michigan student section with chants of "We Own Penn State," as the final seconds bled away in a 71-51 loss to the Wolverines on Thursday night. It was the team's first lost in five games, but fifteenth loss in sixteen trips to Ann Arbor.

There's only so many ways to score points in a basketball game and Penn State's options began and ended with Cornley on Thursday. The senior accounted for nearly half of his team's offense, pouring in 25 points, including an uncharacteristic 3-of-4 night from behind the three-point arc. The Nittany Lions shot just 32% from the floor as a team and missed 17 of 25 three-point attempts, while Michigan connected on a 47% clip and enjoyed a 31-9 advantage in bench production.

It was a night to forget for guards Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle who shot a combined 6-29 (20%) and had six of the team's 13 turnovers. Jeff Brooks and David Jackson continued their season-long "deer in a headlight" impersonation combining for zero points, three turnovers and five fouls in 32 minutes.

Penn State's last lead of the game was a two-point cushion with 15 minutes left in the game, but the Lions were outscored 17-3 over the next seven minutes as Michigan blew the game open.

The loss was especially frustrating since the Wolverines had no answer for Cornley inside, yet the Lions' offensive attack regressed into a series of one-on-one battles ending with contested jumpers instead of running the offense through Cornley and allowing him to control the paint and the pace of the game. Ed DeChellis even mentioned that same point on his way to the locker room at halftime, yet no adjustment was made in the second half.

This game is not a deal-breaker, Crisler Arena proved a tough place for Duke to play earlier this year as well, but Penn State better get this loss behind them quickly with the Wisconsin Badgers coming to town on Sunday and the Lions getting ready to face ranked teams in three of its next five games.

Anytime you score 50 points in a game and one player has half of them, you're not going to have a good chance of winning. It just really sucks that this loss had to come with former coach Jerry Dunn on the other bench and those fishstick-breathed Michigan students mocking our team until the final buzzer.

ROAD WARRIORS AT IT AGAIN

The last thing Penn State fans need is another reason to hate the University of Michigan.

The second-place Nittany Lions will take their conference-best four-game winning streak into the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor Thursday, its second of five road games scheduled in the month of February.

The Wolverines and Lions certainly represent two ships passing in the night. Behind CollegeHoops.net's national player of the week honoree, Talor Battle, Penn State is streaking to its best record in years while Michigan is plummeting after a hot start, dropping five of its last six conference games, and in the unfamiliar role of spoiler against the Lions.

To add insult to injury, two of John Beilein's players have suffered flagrant-foul ejections in each of its last two contests (both losses) against Ohio State and Purdue. The Wolverines' leading scorer, Manny Harris, was tossed out of the team's game against the Boilermakers early in the second half after an vicious elbow delivered to the face of Cris Kramer. While Harris has avoided a suspension, teammate Zack Novak wasn't as lucky after his ejection for an excessively hard foul against the Buckeyes earned him a one-game benching.

This is a dangerous time to catch the Wolverines, as it will be as desperate a team as the Lions will face all season. Penn State has only won once in 14 trips to Ann Arbor, but the Nits broke winless streaks of 15 games at Indiana and 16 games at East Lansing already this season.

The first time these two teams met this season, Penn State led by as many as 26 points on its way to a comfortable 15 point win. The Lions shot 58% from the floor that night and were led by Jamelle Cornley who left Michigan defenders absolutely dumbfounded. Don't expect it to be that easy in Ann Arbor, but this is a game the Lions must have to sustain momentum and keep pace with the upper crust of teams in the conference.

The four-game winning streak that the Lions are riding is the team's longest in 13 years. As a matter of fact, Thursday's game has a little extra meaning for those of us old enough to remember that team 13 years ago and what happened when it took on the Michigan Wolverines.

The Nittany Lions basketball program had never had its stock rise so high. Not only did Penn State have a competitive basketball team in just it's fifth season in the Big Ten, but the school had just cut the ribbon on the brand new Bryce Jordan Center, moving the team's home games across campus from venerable Rec Hall in mid-season.

The Nittany Lions had one of the best back courts in the nation with sharpshooter Pete Lisicky playing the two-guard and current assistant coach Dan Earl running the point. Inside were forwards Glenn Sekunda and Matt Gaudio and the shot blocker extraordinaire, Calvin Booth.

Remarkably, all five starters were averaging double figures as the Nittany Lions raced out to a 13-0 start, the best in school history, and a #14 national ranking. Penn State had everybody wondering if they were for real and were granted a huge stage to showcase their talent on when CBS made the Lions' game against Michigan a national broadcast in late January.

Simply put, the Lions choked.

Penn State was down by as many as eleven in the first half and committed 21 turnovers in the game, rarely looking like the team that had played so efficiently all season. Still, trailing by one, the team had a chance to keep the perfect season alive when Earl's runner in the lane was swatted away by Maceo Baston at the buzzer.

Sure, there were excuses as to why the Lions came up short:

Lisicky was nursing a bum ankle that had kept him out of the team's last game and wasn't as effective as he usually was...Sekunda claimed after the game that he was wide open on the last possession and Earl should have passed it instead of trying to loft a teardrop shot over the Wolverines' center...and many more could havea, would haves and should haves.

The bottom line was that Michigan had cracked the Lions confidence and the team would drop six of its last fourteen games before a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament to Arkansas, the victim of a classic 12-5 upset.

Nobody wishes that kind of ending for this year's team, but the 2008 Lions could learn a valuable lesson from that 1996 squad. It only takes one bad game, one momentary lack of focus for all your momentum to disintegrate and there's no telling if you can get it back again before it's too late. Battle and company must play just as sharp against Michigan as they did against Michigan State, and continue to show why this team refuses to be identified with any of the underachieving teams that came before it.

THE GREAT AWAKENING

I have a confession to make. It's been eating away at me for a while now, and it's something that I have to alleviate from my conscience right now.

I've been selfish.

I've been taking all the joy from this magical ride that Penn State has been on and keeping it locked up inside me, instead of sharing it with all of you. Every improbably victory, every Jamelle Cornley double-double, every electrifying performance by Talor Battle and every hair-whitening performance at the free throw line has been absorbed by my greediness instead of reflected onto all of the hungry, success-starved fans of Nittany Nation that have waited for me with this. And it's got to stop.

This is too big for one fan to hog to himself, it's probably too big for all of us to understand right now and it's too big to be overlooked.

Penn State basketball...welcome. We've been waiting for you.

We, the fans, have been waiting through a seemingly endless winter that has seen the program in full hibernation mode, poking its head out only seldomly to test the temperature of the Big Ten and always finding it too warm for its liking. But when the 2008-09 season tipped off, the Lions, trying to replace one of the program's best talents ever after the graduation of Geary Claxton, emerged from it's snow covered cave in bermuda shorts and sunglasses, ready to face the full glare of a conference currently ranked second in the country.

Predictably, the team bullied a limp non-conference schedule, suffering setbacks only to Temple and Rhode Island who are a combined 37-15 on the season and have an average RPI ranking of 55. Still, there was nothing in this early-season success that indicated this year would be different from the last few seasons. An impressive win in Atlanta on national television over the Yellow Jackets at least raised an eyebrow, but it was immediately followed up by a loss at home to the Owls to help bring fans' expectations back down to Earth.

When the team boasted an 11-2 mark as it readied itself for Big Ten play, it was the fourth season in a row that Penn State posted a winning-record in non-conference play, but the team had yet to post a winning record overall for a season since the Sweet Sixteen run in 2001.

In the time that spanned that riot-inspiring until this season, Penn State basketball has had little to hang its hat on. Incoming recruits could be wooed with banners that showed a .346 winning percentage since 2001 including a jaw-dropping 7-68 record on the road. The Bryce Jordan Center had gone from the crown jewel of Big Ten basketball arenas when it opened its doors in 1996 to a venue referred to as "soulless" by ESPN's Pat Forde, and one where home-court advantage was only a rumor.

It would take up far too much time to provide a detailed chronicle of Penn State's hoops odyssey, but suffice it to say that the program seemed to be stuck in a samsara of college basketball. A cycle of suffering that had no end in sight...until now.

This team can break the cycle. This team has swagger. That's an overused word in sports these days, but a suitable replacement term has yet to be found that connotes the exact same idea. Swagger is much more than confidence and much more refined than cockiness. Pounding your chest after burying a contested three-pointer on the road or releasing a primal scream as you throw down a two-handed dunk after a turnover are characteristics of swagger, but they don't tell the whole story. To get that, you have to watch this team play.

It's impossible to tell how far this squad can go. A NCAA tournament berth seems to be well within its grasp, maybe even a run into the second weekend and beyond. But this season, as much as it is about the team is also about the fans. We've waited a long time to have a team that looked as hungry for success as we were and even longer for one that could acheive it. So don't tread lightly. Don't hold your breath when you see the the five road games coming up on the schedule. Don't fear for the worst...expect the best.

Sometime soon, history will put this season in perspective. It could be the turnaround we've all waited for, or maybe just another temporary flare up. But for now, let's just live in the moment and enjoy this run with the recklessness of a Battle pull-up three-pointer, the emotion of a Cornley offensive rebound and the fulfillment of a starving nation of fans finally getting a taste of the success we've craved for so long.

TAKE NOTICE

For all of you who have been counting down until the Blue and White spring football scrimmage, it's time to hone in on the guys on the hard court. The Nittany Lions are now 17-5, (6-3 in the Big Ten), tying them for 3rd best in the conference. Penn State is riding a 4 game winning streak and has wins over both #13 Michigan State and #12 Purdue, the top 2 ranked Big Ten teams.

The Lions are being led by sophomore point guard , Talor Battle. Leading the Big Ten in both scoring, and assists, Battle is solidifying himself as one of the best guards, not only in the conference, but the entire country. His 29 point performance against Michigan State this past Sunday was disgusting. Battle continues to develop into a very special player for this Penn State program. To honor his recent play, Battle was named "National Player of the Week" yesterday. You can check out the article here.