Penn State Basketball: 5 BOLD predictions for the Nittany Lions’ season
By Evan Smith
Penn State Basketball’s season gets underway Wednesday night, which is a perfect time to make some bold predictions for the Nittany Lions’ 2021-22 campaign
Penn State Basketball kicks off the season Wednesday night (hosting Youngstown State, Big Ten Network at 8:30 pm) and after one tumultuous offseason, it’s nice to see the ball actually bounce on the hardwood.
New head coach Micah Shrewsberry has already made an impact on the recruiting trail, but Wednesday night will be our first look at his Nittany Lions.
Here are 5 BOLD predictions for the 2021-2022 Penn State Basketball season:
Bold Prediction #1 — Penn State will CLINCH the B1G win in the B1G — ACC Challenge
PSU will host Miami (FL) in the final game of the Big Ten Conference – Atlantic Coast Conference Challenge (in the coveted 9:15 pm ESPNU slot, sigh…).
Penn State Basketball, to the surprise of many, is tied for the best conference winning percentage in tournament history. Seriously, look it up. The Lions own this tournament.
Despite high expectations for the Big Ten Conference, this is often a pretty close tournament.
It’s quite possible the Big Ten could be tied 5-5 going into the final three 9:15 pm games on Wednesday night.
Assuming Michigan (at North Carolina) and Wisconsin (at Georgia Tech) split, it all comes down to the game in Happy Valley to determine the tournament winner. Does that earn the conference anything? Probably not, but it’s never a bad idea to have a strong conference reputation heading into the NCAA Tournament when it comes to bids to teams on the bubble.
Book it now, a final from the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State Nittany Lions 81 — Miami (FL) Hurricanes 68. Big Ten wins 8-6.