Penn State Advances to NIT Third Round
by BSD on Mar 20, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
in Basketball
24 comments
On a night when Penn State was playing without their gutsy senior forward Jamelle Cornley, the Nittany Lions rallied with a total team effort to avenge the earlier season loss to the Rhode Island Rams. I didn't get to see the game, so all observations are just coming from the boxscore and game reviews I've read.
The Good
Andrew Jones stepped up big time with a double-double scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds. I've noticed the trend all season long that when he gets the ball in the post good things tend to happen. He's developed a nice baby hook shot and he's good at kicking the ball out when a shooter pops open. I'm particularly encouraged by the ten rebounds. He's bulked up nicely the past two seasons and if he can learn to throw that weight around he can do some serious damage for us next year. But he has to learn to pick his spots better. Last night he fouled out of the game.
Stanley Pringle had the hot hand scoring 19 points in the game.
Chris Babb has really come on in the past month. Last night he scored 13 points in 20 minutes. I've really been impressed with his tenacity on defense all season long and last night he had another steal. He's going to be a nice compliment to Talor Battle next season.
The Jackson/Brooks platoon netted 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. That is just awesome production from these two guys.
As a team the Nittany Lions shot 87.1% from the free throw line hitting 27-of-31 shots. Where was that all season? The precision shooting was what won the game as Penn State didn't score a field goal in the final 8:53.
Penn State out rebounded Rhode Island 37-26.
The Bad
Talor Battle sat out the final three minutes after reaggravating a hip pointer that has been bothering him all season. Ed seems to think he'll be good to go by Wednesday, but he's not going to practice between now and then.
Though the production from the younger players is encouraging, Penn State still needed 19 points from Stanley Pringle to win the game. That's production they won't have next year. But I'm feeling much better about this with Babb coming on late in the season.
The Ugly
Penn State failed to score a field goal after Stanley Pringle hit a jumper with 8:53 left in the game. Fortunately they got it done from the free throw line scoring their final 17 points from the charity stripe.
Final Thoughts
It's amazing to see this team really can score when they get away from the suffocating defenses and possession offenses of the Big Ten. The contributions of the younger players were particularly encouraging in this game. A few months ago I was really sweating over how we were going to survive next year without Cornley and Pringle. But now I feel Battle, Jackson, Jones, Brooks, and Babb in the starting lineup along with Woodyard, Frazier, Marshall, Ott, Oliver, and Borovnjak coming off the bench will give us a nice nucleus to be competitive.
Penn State will have to await tonight's game against Florida and Miami to determine their next opponent. If Florida wins, the Nittany Lions will travel to Gainesville next Wednesday. If Miami wins, they will host the Hurricanes in the Jordan Center.
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I'm going to miss these jokes
"Breaststroke, free style," Rubin said of his technique, "Let’s see Phelps do that one."
by ReadingRambler on Mar 20, 2009 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Poor Pringle
Once he pops, he just can’t stop.
by RNF18 on Mar 20, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't see what the big deal is...
that’s just how I chill.
pinkertonpark.com
by rahpsu92 on Mar 20, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Go MIAMI!
Yeah, I’m considering buying tickets and heading up to see the matchup if it’s held in SC. Any ideas when/how I can order tickets (internet, phone, etc)
"We hugged as grown men do. It was a great moment. Then, it was business as usual." -- LJ Sr.
by millzners on Mar 20, 2009 10:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Watch GoPSUSports
If Miami wins tonight, I imagine they will announce ticket information. They’ll probably give the season ticket holders first shot, and then they’ll open up for general admission sales on Sunday or Monday.
But honestly, the attendence looked poor against George Mason. And last night the attendance was only 6,600. Granted it’s spring break, but I bet you can buy tickets at the gate.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Mar 20, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not spring break
But if PSU does get a home game I would imagine that the attendance would be better because they have a few more days to sell tickets.
Kath?
by psuphiman80 on Mar 20, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Attendance
Actually, it was Spring Break last week.
I think the poor attendance for George Mason can be attributed to St. Patrick’s Day.
Last night, probably due to 1st day of NCAA games.
Next Wednesday, there will be no excuse not to fill the place for a trip to MSG.
by runlikeanantelope on Mar 20, 2009 10:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Lead in
Having less than 2 days to sell tickets for each of these games didn’t help. Especially since some of the fans that come to PSU games have to drive a bit for games (which not only takes planning, but makes weekday games more difficult). We’ll know tonight who the opponent is and where, which gives a lot more time to sell the tickets if it’s Miami(Fl). Plus, it won’t hurt that the opponent would be a major conference team.
by Laaaaazzz on Mar 20, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just the NIT effect..
Attendance is down for every major conference school hosting NITs.
Notre Dame drew 2,039 for their first round game and just over 3,000 for last night’s game.
Kentucky drew just over 8,000 for their first round game, which isn’t a lot, considering they drew over 23,000 for their last two SEC games.
If we host on Wednesday, the AD will have some lead time to get the word out, I would imagine the focus would be on getting a large student presence. Plus the added draw of an ACC team playing in the Beej in March would bring out a bunch of locals on a non-Big Dance night.
FWIW, if Florida wins we play in Gainesville on Tuesday where they only had 4,350 in attendance for their first NIT game…
by jtw126 on Mar 20, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kentucky didn’t play at Rupp because of a scheduling conflict… they played at their old barn which holds only 7500.
by PennStateBasketball on Mar 20, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
There won't be any issues with getting tickets
I’ve been to the last two games, to be sure I’ve bought them a day ahead of time in the HUB but it hasn’t been necessary. I think they may be bought off of ticketmaster as well once the matchup is determined.
Also about the not making any FGs in the last 8:53, don’t be too concerned, they started to foul us pretty heavy at that point and we shot from the line around 20 times from that point on (and kept making them !!!)
by Rogue Nine on Mar 20, 2009 10:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Hey Mike,
I’ve watched Miami a bit this year since it is Mrs. T-Mill’s alma mater. I even saw them in person back in november. If they win and you want any preview info I’d be more than happy to provide it.
A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance
HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boliermaker Blog
by BoilerTMill on Mar 20, 2009 10:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Here's a preview
Guard McClinton. Actually, that’s all I know as I have only seen them once, which is weird for a CBB junky like myself.
by STU Boy on Mar 20, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow
I think we were up like 20-5 at one point and really just played our game the entire time. I was never really worried about the game and at one point, I was just downright bored. Great game.
I was most impressed with the ball movement (really good) and getting out of the press. Rhode Island had a really impressive full court press that slowed us down getting out of the back court which gave us many times with less than 10 seconds left on the clock by the time we set up and got around to trying to score, but it didn’t matter. The scrambling around men was nuts and exciting and really good.
And honestly, I didn’t even notice Battle went out. THAT’s how good the extra-curricular guys are getting. Hope he’s ok though.
by AdamShell on Mar 20, 2009 12:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
What was the difference this time?
Isn’t this the same Ram team that beat us in the 3rd or 4th game of the season? I’m sure this is one of those losses that may have kept us out of that other tournement that I’m not supposed to watch on my computer at work.
by psu85 on Mar 20, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The difference is...
The confidence of this team, big men especially later in the season. A few guys have made huge strides and URI just couldn’t handle it.
Kath?
by psuphiman80 on Mar 20, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Ugly...
may not be ask ugly as you think based on the box score. Thanks to CN8 I actually got the game (which led to the unfortunate rehashing of our loss to Iowa and how it kept us out of the tourney about 10 times). Although I was quite appreciative of the opportunity to watch it from my couch.
I would put the Ugly as the full court press which gave us WAY too much of a problem last night and resulted in a number of turnovers. This is something we should watch out for in the next game for sure, especially with the longer lay off.
Honestly, though, from the 5 minute mark in RI seemed content just to send us to the line and make us earn the points from there in an attempt to lengthen the game and let the coach’s kid rain down threes nearly half court. I was incredibly impressed with the play of Andrew Jones and I swear once Brooks gets some confidence he will provide solid minutes next year. He missed a little hook shot (after a spectacular move) that rimmed out and based on his body language and facial expressions it looked like someone just killed his dog. Hopefully Battle wears off on him a bit, that kid can miss a shot by 100 feet and not think twice about heaving up the next one with the game on the line.
Just my two cents.
We are not normal. We are legends.
by NittanyAlum02 on Mar 20, 2009 1:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
full court press
yeah, they took a 15 point deficit and nearly tied us just by FCP. there were some really aweful plays when one of our young guys got the ball and URI would trap them in the corner. If not for our foul shots we would have definately lost b/c of the FCP.
"We hugged as grown men do. It was a great moment. Then, it was business as usual." -- LJ Sr.
by millzners on Mar 20, 2009 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Student Section
There was a huge difference in the student section between the George Mason game and the Rhode Island game. We were never really in it at all during the George Mason game. Their band was really loud screaming things, but we didn’t start screaming back until the last minute or so.
Last night, we were loud the entire game. I swear the RI coach yelled at us at one point too. He was looking our way screaming something, but I couldn’t tell what he said. It was after an airball chant at one of his players, so we might have gotten to him.
As far as attendance goes, the student section was pretty filled up both nights. I got there about 20 minutes before tip-off for GM and it was tough to find two seats together. I arrived 45 minutes before tip-off last night, and I watched our section fill up nicely. The general admission tickets, though… that’s another story. We didn’t even start to get into the upper deck and behind either basket was pretty much empty.
Both games have been student white-outs and they’ve been handing out t-shirts to students who didn’t wear white. Hopefully the student support will be there if we get to play Miami.
As a side note, after the announcer said we may play at Florida next Tuesday, I was walking out and passed by our band. One girl screamed, “Guys, we might get to go to Florida!!!” Some guy responded with, “That’s not a good thing! We want Miami to win” haha
by Ncfootball on Mar 20, 2009 1:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the update
Great to see lots of student support for PSU hoops!!
"The sea was angry that day, my friends." G. Costanza
by NJ lion on Mar 20, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Left Right
I agree we were much more into this game than against George Mason (except for the last couple of minutes and OT). The Left-Right-Left-Right SIT DOWN! Chant must have gotten to them a little bit. I’m pretty sure whenever they see anything Penn St on the TV they’re going to shout an obscenity and turn the channel, it had to have been humiliating.
by Rogue Nine on Mar 20, 2009 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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