Feb 27, 2013; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions players celebrate during the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State defeated Michigan 84-78. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

From the opening tip, both teams played intense basketball. The Wolverines, B1G conference’s youngest team, rode high flying Glenn Robinson III and big three point shots from Tim Hardaway, Jr and Trey Burke to an early 17-10 lead. Brandon Taylor was huge for the Nittany Lions early, though most of his efforts didn’t show in his final line (7 pts, 1 rebound). Taylor had a put back to close the margin to three, and then hit a three pointer to tie the game with 3:30 left in the first half.

Penn State used a combination of 3/4 and full court pressure to keep the game close until D.J. Newbill (17 points, 5 assists) hit two free throws to give the Lions a 34-32 lead. From that point on, it looked like Penn State was going to waste another good start and end up with a loss on Senior Night. After ending the first half with two turnovers, they allowed Michigan to open the second half on an 8-0 run. With 10:18 left in the game, Penn State trailed by 15.

Jermaine Marshall (25 points, 6-10 3pt FGs) took over from there, scoring 9 of the next 15 points. Marshall and Newbill are 2nd in the Big Ten in scoring backcourts (30.8 PPG), behind only Burke and Hardaway (34 PPG). When it mattered most, Marshall and Newbill put the Lions on their back. Marshall hit a three pointer to get them within seven, and the Newbill’s three got Penn State within five. Marshall capped a 23-8 run to tie the game at 74-74 with less than five minutes left. Trey Burke then had a costly turnover with 4:23 left; the country’s leader in turnover to assist ratio (4:1) ended up with six giveaways.

Feb 27, 2013; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein reacts during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State defeated Michigan 84-78. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Marshall then benefited from a generous blocking call, hitting two free throws to give Penn State the lead. With the Bryce Jordan Center rocking at its loudest since GoGo Gadget, Penn State relied on free throws and an acrobatic layup by Marshall to close it out. Senior Sasa Borovnjak was responsible for three of the team’s last four made FTs and had nine points and five boards on the night. Penn State, who shot only 242 free throws in B1G play compared to 418 by its opponents, made 20-27 free throws (Michigan was 13-20).

Michigan, who has lost their last four road games in the B1G schedule, will try to rebound against top ten ranked Michigan State. Penn State travels to Minnesota, who just upset #1 Indiana, on March 2nd. They will travel to Minneapolis as underdogs once again but nobody will doubt their ability to pull off the upset after Wednesday night’s game. The Nittany Lions, a team who has been credited all season for playing hard while win after win escaped them, have finally gotten their first W of 2013.

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While Penn State continues trying to avoid being the 2008 Detroit Lions of the B1G conference, it is important to look for silver linings: The Nittany Lions have played tough since a disappointing effort at Nebraska, losing their last two games but only by a combined ten points. Eight of the past ten meetings between these two teams have been decided by five points or less and Penn State has won at Assembly Hall three times in their last five visits.

THE LAST TIME OUT

The Nittany Lions played perhaps their best 40 minutes of basketball last weekend against one of the best teams in the country but eventually fell to the Michigan Wolverines 79-71. Trey Burke (or former Penn State transfer Trey Burke, as ESPN loves to remind everyone) led his team with 29 points and continues to dominate B1G play. Sasa Borovnjak set a career high with 17 points and is averaging 15.5 points over his last two games and has shot 60 percent from the field over the past ten games.

If nothing else, Penn State showed it is not afraid to play on the road, a positive since four of their last six games are away from the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lions led early and went into halftime tied 32-32 against the #5 ranked Wolverines. The 71 points was Penn State’s highest in a B1G road game since 2010 at Northwestern.

ABOUT THE ILLINI

Illinois is led by a pair of senior guards, Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson. Richardson, the team’s leading scorer in B1G play at 14.7 per game, has averaged 17.3 over the past eight games. Paul, leading the team with 16.4 PPG for the year, is one point away from 1,500 for his career. Illinois has also played to the level of its competition, defeating top ten teams Indiana, Ohio State, and Gonzaga this season but losing to Purdue and at home against Northwestern.

THE MATCHUP

The Illini come in to their matchup with Penn State on a four game winning streak. As previously mentioned, they have been wildly inconsistent this year. They rely on their guards, which plays into Penn State’s strengths since D.J. Newbill and Jermaine Marshall have carried the team so far this season. Consider me the president of the Borovnjak fan club, but he could be the key to the game. The Serbian will be at a height and consonant disadvantage against Illinois big man Nnannna Egwu but is a much more skilled player overall.

It may seem a copout to say a game between two teams that have occasionally been offensively challenged to say the least this season will come down to defense, such is the case Thursday night. Illinois is 14-2 when it reaches 70 points and PSU is giving up just under 68 for the season. The Illini have tightened up their defense lately, only giving up an average of 56.3 points during their four game winning streak. Illinois is also 14-1 on the season when shooting a better percentage than their opponent. The answer isn’t a quick start either, which has been a staple of Penn State in B1G games lately, as Illinois has four wins on the season overcoming a double digit deficit.

Tyler Griffey may be the wild card in this game; the senior forward is averaging 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds over the past four games and at 6’9” may cause matchup problems for the Lions inside. Griffey has also made two buzzer-beating, game-winning shots for Illinois at home, so keep an eye on him should this one come down the wire. I predict that it will, but the Lions come away with a victory, 66-65.

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Jan 16, 2013; Lincoln, NE, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter signals his team during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in the first half. Purdue won 65-56. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

If you want to play on Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” this game really was the best the times, and the worst of times. Penn State came out in the first half playing with a sense of urgency and a commitment to finding a third scorer early. Of the first 20 shots by the Lions, only two were by Newbill and Jermaine Marshall. Brandon Taylor was crashing the boards early and often grabbing two early offensive rebounds and totaling five boards by the midway point of the half. Taylor, the 2nd worst shooter in B1G Conference play, even hit a three to give Penn State at 15-10 lead with 8:33 left in the first half.

After two more Penn state buckets, both assisted on by Newbill, D.J. took and made his first shot attempt with 5:46 left in the half. His jumper gave the Nittany Lions a nine point lead (their largest in B1G play this year) at 21-12. Although Purdue would finish the half on a 12-4 run, Penn State still held a one point lead 25-24 fueled by a balanced attack that saw six Lions register at least two points.

Sasa Borovnjak led the team with six points on 3-6 shooting and held A.J. Hammons to just 1-4 shooting. However, he picked up two unfortunate and unnecessary fouls late in the half that would hamper his contributions the rest of the game. With 3:07 left, Hammons was going in for a dunk when Sasa tried to block his shot from behind, and just over a minute later was called for a reach in foul trying to deny an entry pass into the post, his third foul of the game. Without his presence in the post, Purdue started the second half pounding the ball into the paint with dribble drives and post-ups by Hammons and Hale.

Then, it was the worst of times: Purdue started the second half as hot as they finished it, opening with a 7-1 run to take a 31-26 lead with 16:34 left in the game. Penn State would rally and a Newbill layup actually tied the game 33-33, but the Nittany Lions offense sputtered after that, scoring only one field goal the next 5:25 of the game. Penn State would make one more run (eight of the 10 points scored by Newbill), but Nick Colella missed a wide-open three with a chance to cut the lead to three.

The two teams combined to shoot 2-30 from three point range and 18 turnovers. Jermaine Marshall had an uncharacteristically terrible game shooting 2-14, including 0-5 from behind the three point line. The Nittany Lions had three players (Colella, Borovnjak, and Jon Graham) foul out of the game and only shot 30.6% for the game. In what was billed as one of maybe two potential wins on their schedule left, Penn State couldn’t keep up the #attitude they started with in the first half.

Brandon Taylor stopped rebounding (his five rebounds in the first ten of minutes of the game would also reflect his total for the game) and kept shooting (what I hope were) ill-advised three point shots (1-6). There is no reason he should have the green light to keep launching anymore this season. Overall as a team, Penn State is settling for three point shots instead of forcing the ball into the paint. Let’s hope they can bounce back from another disappointing loss before their next game and possible last chance at a win, Saturday night at Nebraska.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Penn State found a new way to lose last Thursday night against Iowa: turnovers. The Nittany Lions had 11 turnovers in the first half and blew an early 10-3 lead against a beatable opponent on the road. They ended up with 17 for the game, after just turning the ball over four times against Ohio State. Coach Chambers ran a zone defense for most of the game, and although it held Iowa to 39% shooting from the field it also allowed a lot of easy baskets inside the paint.
On the other end, Iowa suffocated Penn State with hardnosed man-to-man defense. Iinstead of calling for picks or running screens to get a man open, the Lions settled for contested three point shots time and time again. D.J. Newbill (20 points, 1-4 3 pt FG) and Jermaine Marshall (15, 1-8) led the team in scoring and missed shots. Penn State continues to struggle to find its third scorer that Chambers has been begging for; someone needs to step up for the Lions, Tim Frazier isn’t walking through that door anytime soon.

ABOUT THE BOILERMAKERS

Purdue is led in scoring by junior guard Terone Johnson at 12.7 points per game, but he has struggled in their past two losses scoring only four and five points in losses to Indiana and Northwestern respectively. Freshman center A.J. Hammons is second on the team in scoring at 11 points per game and leads the team with 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game as well. He leads all starters with 51.3% field goal percentage and has scored 49 points over the past two games for Purdue. When these two teams met a few weeks ago Hammons led the Boilermakers with 12 points and added 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Senior D.J. Byrd and freshman Ronnie Johnson also have major roles with the team, averaging 10.2 and 9.3 points in 30 minutes of playing time per game. Byrd shoots 37% from three point range and Johnson leads the team in assists. Johnson also led Purdue in scoring with 13 points in their last game versus Penn State. Purdue relies heavily on its starting five, only two players coming off the bench average more than 15 minutes per game.

THE MATCHUP

Two of Purdue’s next three games are against ranked opponents, and given that Penn State has played so poorly lately Nick Colella’s PSU-Erie team would give them a run for their money, this could be a trap game for the Boilermakers. That is, sadly, what this season has boiled down to for the Nittany Lions men’s basketball team. 44% of the people who voted on our latest poll feel Coach Chambers can lead the team to two or more victories before the regular season ends, if that is to be, this is a must win.

Penn State does have a legitimate chance to pick up a “W” here, but some disturbing trends need to end immediately. First, Brandon Taylor has clearly developed an overwhelming fear of shooting inside the arc. In the past three games Taylor has attempted exactly four field goal attempts the old fashioned way compared to 17 three point shots, of which only four were successful. Taylor is a 6’7” forward who has the fewest free throw attempts (14) of any player (averaging at least eight minutes per game) on the team. Only a Ross Travis jump shot induces more cringes during a game than watching Taylor launch another unsuccessful 30 footer.

Taylor isn’t the only one who needs to forget that chicks dig the long ball. Penn State has fallen in love with the three point shot despite only hitting 27.7% of their attempts. D.J. Newbill is 1-16 in B1G play from behind the three point line and only Nick Colella is shooting better than 30%. The Lions have had the most success on offense when their two guards are driving into the lane creating their own shot or opening up a wide open look for their teammates. Standing outside the line and launching up a shot whenever you touch the ball isn’t what they had in mind when they set up the peach baskets in Springfield.

Watching Penn State basketball can be frustrating because they don’t possess the talent required to compete with the heavyweights in Division 1 hoops, but it is downright unwatchable when they don’t at least match the other team’s effort. I just haven’t seen much #attitude from the team lately. The Lions have been outrebounded (offensively and total) in four of the last five games.

Picking Penn State to lose isn’t original, and lately even picking Penn State to cover hasn’t been a smart bet. However, I’m going to go out on a limb here and pick a Nittany Lion victory. Their big men are going to need to set up if they hope to contain Hammons, and they need to protect the ball. I’m calling a big game from Sasa Borovnjak (who is shooting better than 50% for the season, by the way) on both ends of the court and a Nittany Lion victory, 65-59.

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The Lions got off to a fast start in the first half, and always felt in control, even when falling behind 15-14.  PSU responded with an 11-0 run, keyed by three consecutive 3-pointers (1 for D.J. Newbill, 2 for Nick Colella) to open up a 25-15 lead.  Those three pointers were part of a run where 5 straight Penn State field goals came from beyond the arc.  Brandon Taylor had the other 2 for the Lions.  PSU would lead 39-28 at the break, with Newbill leading Penn State with 11 points.  Colella had 9, all on three pointers, of course, and Sasa Borovnjak continued his strong play with 8.  PSU dominated the glass with 20 rebounds to just 10 for the Dukes.

PSU were flying out of the half, pulling away to lead by as many as 22, at 66-44 with 10 minutes to play, but trouble soon found the Lions.  Much like they did with Delaware State a couple weeks ago, the Lions were unable to hold the big lead, and allowed the Dukes to slowly chip away, aided in part by officiating that let very little go down the stretch, and ultimately cost the Lions Colella and Jermaine Marshall to foul outs.  Duqane Duquense pulled to within 5 on a Quevyn Winters 3-pointer with just under a minute left, but would get no closer.

Newbill would lead Penn State with 23 points, and also grabbed 12 of the Lions 46 rebounds for his first double-double at Penn State.  He had 6 as a freshman at Southern Miss before transferring.  Borovnjak continued his strong play since entering the starting lineup with 14 points, but did not score in the final 15 minutes of the game.  Senior Nick Colella had 15 points on 5 three-pointers, both of which are career high for the former walk-on.  Senior guard Sean Johnson lead the Dukes with 19 points before fouling out.  The teams combined for 65 free throws, many of which came in the 2nd half.

Penn State heads off to Madison and the Kohl Center for a date with the Badgers on Thursday night at 8:30 on BTN.

Follow VBR Lead Editor Matt de Bear for all the latest on Penn State,

As was the case with Army last weekend, Penn State was flying out of the gate, taking a 21-3 lead just 8 minutes in.  The Hornets would fight back to draw within six points at two different points of the half, and would trail by only 8 at the break, 37-29.  The Lions were lead by 12 D.J. Newbill points in the first half.

December 10, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Patrick Chambers reacts on the sidelines against the Duquesne Dukes during the first half at the CONSOL Energy Center. Duquesne won 66-59. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Things appeared to be well in hand for PSU in the second half, leading by as many as 16 with 12 minutes left, and never by fewer than 10, until less than 3 minutes remained in the game.  A combination of poor shots, poor rebounding, and poor free throw shooting allowed Delaware State to pull back to 67-64 with 36 seconds left.  A back court turnover by D.J. Newbill lead to a quick dunk for the Hornets to pull within 1.  Two Newbill free throws put the Lions up 69-66 with 20 seconds to play, but a Tyshawn Bell three with 12 seconds remaining tied things up.  Nick Colella was unable to convert a driving layup as time expired, sending the game to overtime.

Neither team found a rhythm in the extra session, but an Albert Thomas layup at the 3 minute mark put the Hornets up 71-70 for their first lead of the game.  Tahj Tate would add two more to push the lead to 3 with 2:30 to play, before Penn State finally found their offense.  A Newbill layup and Borovnjak free throw pulled the Lions even, before another Tyshawn Bell three put the Hornets back up.  Jermaine Marshall quickly countered with a 3 of his own, and a Newbill layup gave Penn State the lead. Two Brandon Taylor free throws iced it with 14 seconds left.

On the day, Newbill lead the way for Penn State with 22 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Sasa Borovjnak drew his 2nd start of the season, adding 14 point, 8 rebounds, including 8 of 10 from the charity stripe.  Freshman Donovan Jack added 8 off the bench in his 12 minutes of action.  Junior guard Casey walker lead Delaware State with 24 points, shooting 5 of 13 from the 3-point line, and keying the Hornets 1st half comeback to keep them in the game early.

Penn State will be off all week for finals, before returning to the Jordan Center next Sunday versus New Hampshire.

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As has been the usual this season, Purdue was led in scoring by none other than super senior Robbie Hummel. The versatile playmaker shot 8 of 16 from the field and scored 26 points to go with 8 rebounds and a season high-matching 6 assists. The dude has been on an unbelievable run as of late and it’s admirable the way he is carrying the Boilers into the postseason despite the loss of Kelsey Barlow to suspension. Still, it hurts to see Hummel destroy Penn State like this. I felt a little better about it when he gave his grandparents a shout out after the game. They have been to every home game of his for the past five years.

“In the last half of conference play, Robbie Hummel’s been one of the best players in our league,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter. He may be playing like the best period right now.

It was Tim Frazier who kept Penn State in the game for the first 20 minutes. Frazier was hitting on his entire arsenal with runners, pull-ups and even a three-pointer all going in. Of Penn State’s 32 first half points, Frazier scored or assisted on 25 of them. It would be a shame if he wasn’t considered a first-team Big Ten player this season.

In the second half, Frazier naturally regressed and could not continue to connect on every single attempt. It wasn’t long before Penn State was completely out of the game. Still, Frazier finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds and the 6 dimes he needed to tie Talor Battle’s single season PSU assist record of 189.

The only other player in double figures for PSU was Jermaine Marshall, who scored 10, but was 3 of 10 from the field after a run of relatively efficient games.

Jon Graham and Ross Travis could not continue their streaks of improved play. Graham recorded 3 fouls in just 13 minutes and was 2 of 2 from the field for 4 points and zero rebounds. Travis fouled out in only 23 minutes and was 0 for 1 from the field with 2 rebounds. Not a progressive day at all for either of these two. Instead, Sasa Borovnjak picked up the slack with a 4 for 5 night for 8 points in 22 minutes. I’m guessing I will have to wait until next season for Sasa to actually get the ball as much as he deserves it.

During the Wednesday morning shoot-around, Cam Woodyard suffered a fracture in his right foot and PSU learned they would be missing him for the remainder of the season. Woodyard as well as Billy Oliver will be honored on PSU’s senior night on Sunday versus Michigan.

Woodyard’s loss was perhaps balanced out by the fact that freshman Trey Lewis finally returned from his back injury. Lewis was not spectacular, but it was promising to see him go 3 of 8 from the field for 8 points in only 19 minutes. The hard-working Nick Collela continued to shoot poorly in this game (0 for 4 in 17 minutes), so that should open up Lewis for a starting spot in the backcourt next season beside Frazier and Marshall.

On defense, Penn State could not contain the Purdue three-point attack, which has been red hot as of late. The Boilers rippled the nets for 9 of 22 shooting from beyond the arc. D.J. Byrd himself was 3 of 7 from back there are finished with 14 points. Ryne Smith dropped in 3 of 6 for 9 points. Attacking on the inside was point guard Lewis Jackson, who hit on all 6 of his field goal attempts to score 12 points and 5 assists. Slasher Terone Johnson added 13 points and 5 rebounds for the Boilers.

In Saturday afternoon’s Penn State win, Nebraska never came closer than the 10-point halftime deficit. Tim Frazier played perhaps the best game of his college career with 23 points on 7 of 9 shooting in addition to 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Despite Penn State’s efforts in garbage time, Frazier just barely failed to record a triple-double. He certainly didn’t hurt his Cousy Award chances, though, and if he continues playing like this, Frazier should be a lock for first team all-conference. That is, as long as voters can look past the lousy play of Penn State as a team and realize that Frazier has done as much with less-than-stellar teammates as anyone could have possibly hope for.

Speaking of those teammates, Cammeron Woodyard scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, and aside from a pair of free throws, everything was on three-pointers. Woodyard was 4 of 7 from the field, 4 of 7 from beyond the arc and 4 of 7 picking up girls at a house party on Saturday night. Two of those stats are true, but all of them make Woodyard seem like a better player than he really is. (more…)

Jermaine Marshall netted 10 of his 12 points in the second half and coach Pat Chambers saw his team battle to within five points of the lead in the second half, but Draymond Green and the Spartans overcame the scare and ended up winning handily. Green proved too quick for Penn State double teams down the stretch and battled through the Nittany Lion defense for two and-one buckets in the final 10 minutes of the game. The senior forward and leader of the Spartans also showed off his distribution skills with a nifty pass out of the low post to find freshman Branden Dawson for a layup and the foul. The conversion brought the Michigan State lead back up to 68-52 and put the outcome beyond doubt.

Green finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, while Dawson added 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for Michigan State. After the Spartans took a 33-19 lead into the half, they appeared poised to run away with the game after Dawson followed an Austin Thornton three-point jumper with a steal off of a lazy Tim Frazier pass. Dawson cruised in for a layup to put Michigan State ahead by 18 points.

However, Penn State would finally kick their offense into high gear moments later. Nick Collela knocked down a trey from the left wing to get things started and Marshall blew past his defender for a three-point play. Two possessions later, Marshall spun off his man in the post for an easy layup and suddenly Penn State was down by just 11. Michigan State freshman guard Travis Trice hit a jumper to crash the Nittany Lion party, but Penn State would keep the run going until Marshall hit an 18-footer to bring Penn State with five at 52-47. (more…)

Tip-off is at 6:30 PM ET

The last time the Penn State basketball team took the floor, they lost to Iowa on the road 77-64. It wasn’t even that close, though. Penn State was more horrendous than horrendous in the first half and shot 27% from the floor. For the game, the Lions attempted only 7 free throws. Such has been life on the road for Penn State in this season of hardship. While losses have not been hard to come by at home, at least most of the games in the BJC are competitive. On the road, Penn State hasn’t lost by single-digits since Duquesne beat the Lions 66-59 on December 10.

That’s why this upcoming contest versus Michigan State in East Lansing doesn’t exactly look promising. However, even in “winnable” games, Penn State fans would be better served to pay attention to the development of players instead of the performance as a whole. Here’s what to look for from Penn State tonight.

• Any sort of post offense. After scoring 6 points against one of the Big Ten’s top defenders in Meyers Leonard, Sasa Borovjnak has scored just a single point total in his last four games. It really wouldn’t hurt to get him the ball more. Penn State is one of the worst teams in the country at effective FG%, so why not try letting the guy who sets up closest to the basket shoot some more? Jonathan Graham should be encouraged to be more aggressive as well, but please allow me to cover my eyes before he gets the ball.
• More Ross Travis, less Cammeron Woodyard. OK, this is more me just hoping than anything, but it would behoove Pat Chambers to get Travis on the floor more. For one, he is tall and athletic and Penn State needs that to guard Draymond Green. For another, although Travis doesn’t have a real offensive identity yet, he at least has upside, which is more than Woodyard can say. Yeah, I know Woodyard is a senior and everything, but he rarely impacts the team positively on offense and Travis just needs to play more.
• Set fire to the rain of threes. Yeah, an Adele pun. The point is that Michigan State is an elite defensive force and despite my desire for any sort of post presence, Penn State will probably have the ball in the hands of a guard 99% of the time. Scoring inside will be tough, especially if the Lions act like they are allergic to foul shots again. They will probably jack up a lot of three pointers. For any chance of success, Penn State will have to hope that Billy Oliver can shoot like he did against Purdue and not like he did in every other game. Nick Collela should also be spotting up on the perimeter, because I’d rather Jermaine Marshall and Tim Frazier drive inside and try to draw some fouls. (more…)

However, the Gophers finally go the monkey off of their back on Thursday with a potential season-changing win versus the Hoosiers at Bloomington. With every game now crucial to Minnesota earning an NCAA Tournament bid, there’s no way they fall asleep at Penn State, right?

Well, regardless of how you feel about “trap games” and the like, Penn State has a signature win of their own as well as a bizarre home court advantage that doesn’t seem to care how empty the Bryce Jordan Center is. The big win against Purdue happened two Thursday ago when students were still on break, yet the Lions played like they had an arena full of boisterous fans at their backs.

The good news, says Tony Mancuso of GoPSUSports.com, is that PSU has played well at home this season even when school is in session.

The Nittany Lions have played well on their home floor throughout the 2011-’12 season.  Penn State is 7-3 in the BJC.  The three home losses were decided by a combined 12 points, and the Lions were in a position to win all three games.

Unfortunately, one of those home losses was to horrible Lafayette (Kenpom #260), but the point is that Penn State hasn’t been blown out on their own floor despite playing Purdue and Indiana in their first two conference home games. Not bad. (more…)

(Source: TheHoop.blogspot.com)

Not Much of a Past

Sasa Borovnjak as a freshman only played in 18 games and had a high of 6 points and 13 minutes. He mainly played as a distant option behind Jeff Brooks, Andrew Jones, David Jackson, and Andrew Ott. Basically I am trying to say that we can’t glean much information about his play from his young Penn State career. He was mainly used as a third-string bench player whose bulk minutes came during temporary injuries or in garbage time. What we do know about is Sasa’s celebrated high school career. Sasa played his high school ball in North Carolina and finished his senior season averaging 26.1 points per game, while scoring 41, 33, and 27 points against some of the best high schools in the nation including the 33 point effort coming against Oak Hill Academy. If you couldn’t tell by his name, Sasa is from Belgrade, Serbia, and spent a year playing in the Adriatic League in 08-09 for Vojvodina Srbijagas (try saying that one time fast). The Adriatic League can be considered part of the Euroleague, which has enticed some players away from the NBA and produced such players as Manu Ginobilli and Vlade Divac. Not saying Sasa will be them or that the Adriatic League is the top of the heap, but you get the idea of the competitiveness of the leagues. In the Adriatic League, Sasa averaged over 12 points and 6 rebounds.