THEY SAID IT...

It's the end of the line for this year's Penn State's basketball team, final stop - N.I.T. Championship. Dan did a great job crystallizing exactly what's on the line for this year's group of dedicated seniors and with the clock showing 40 minutes on their college career, it's time for them to finish the job they started when they first came to Penn State.

Here's how the game is being talked about in Happy Valley, Waco, Tx. and around the country....

NY Times

A win would mean Penn State’s first title in 10 N.I.T. appearances. The Lions have played in the semifinals five times, making the championship game once before, in 1998. Penn State has never won an N.C.A.A. championship in men’s basketball.

Centre Daily Times

The 14 force Bears turnovers per game and love to fire out on the break. They’ve scored 76 points per game and are as athletic a team as Penn State has faced this season. “If we were running races, they’d probably beat us,” DeChellis said. “But we’re playing basketball, and we’ll just try to have to neutralize that as best we can."

The Daily Collegian

Jones controlled the glass, and at the end of the game found himself at the line icing the game and sending the Lions to their first NIT championship since 1998.

It will also be a chance to coronate a record-setting season with a postseason championship.

"Early on, I don't know if we saw this coming," Cornley said. "Now that we're here, you always wanna take advantage of it. To end our season 27-11 is a record that I don't think any of us saw coming, but it's here now."

Waco Tribune-Herald

Tonight at Madison Square Garden, the National Invitation Tournament championship is there for the taking for a senior class that has risen from unimaginable lows to a national stage.

After four straight impressive wins, the Bears hope to finish off their remarkable NIT run with a title win over Penn State at 6 tonight.

Dallas Morning News

Drew has shed a tear or two, realizing there were times the Bears simply didn't have the talent to compete with the best of the Big 12.

So it should come as no surprise that Drew became emotional when asked Wednesday for his lasting impressions of his seniors. With back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history and a date with Penn State in tonight's National Invitation Tournament championship game, the Bears have come a long way.