QUICK READS

There's a lot being written about Penn State hoops as they enter their final week of regular season play. Even a spokesman for the team says that Thursday's game against the Illini might be the most important game since the 1991 Atlantic 10 Championship against George Washington. Catch up on your reading..


"Big basketball games in early March? NCAA tournament talk? It's all relatively new for success-starved Penn State. The spring football practice chatter will have to wait in Happy Valley: the Nittany Lions (20-9, 9-7 Big Ten) are making noise on the hardwood with their best season in years. Penn State hasn't been to the NCAAs since 2000-01, the last time the program reached 20 wins." - AP
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"Tied for fourth place in a conference expected to garner as many as eight NCAA tournament bids, the Penn State men's basketball team appears to be in a relatively stable position with just a pair of regular season games remaining." - The Daily Collegian
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"The mood was light and easy before Penn State's Monday afternoon practice. The Nittany Lions joked with each other as they shot baskets, at one point trying to see how many balls the net could hold at once. Ed DeChellis stood near midcourt and watched quietly, allowing his team a few more moments to relax before the most important week of his six years at Penn State began in earnest." - Centre Daily Times
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"Making his first start since high school Saturday, senior Will Leiner jokingly told Talor Battle he'd supply the sophomore's Big Ten-leading stats. Leiner, a former walk-on with nine career points to his name, started early when he ball-faked, got into the lane, then anticipated dishing off to a teammate if the center had stepped up higher." - The Daily Collegian
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