Penn State Basketball: Are the Nittany Lions going dancing?

After one of their more recent successful regular seasons, Penn State basketball found itself securely “on the bubble” of the NCAA tournament. Listed by many “bracketologists” as being one of the last few teams in, the Nittany Lions’ opening game against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament became very significant to their post-season dreams.

Win and in for Penn State basketball

According to Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s leading bracketologist, the Nittany Lions were in the “last four in” category, along with fellow Big Ten brethren Rutgers.

Going into tonight’s contest against Illinois, Teamrankings.com gave Penn State a 25.6% chance of getting an at-large bid with 19 wins. The percentage has now jumped to 60.9% with their mark of 20 wins.

So while they are all-but-assured of getting their ticket punched, one more upset victory against Northwestern on Friday virtually guarantees Penn State basketball’s first appearance in the “Big Dance” since the 2010-11 season.

Why more wins are crucial for Penn State basketball

Just a few weeks ago, after blowing a 17-point lead to Rutgers, it seemed as though the Nittany Lions’ dreams of dancing in the madness of March were destroyed.

One thing that this Penn State basketball team has though is resilience. They rebounded from that loss to win on the road against Northwestern 68-65. Then on Senior Night, the Nittany Lions staged one of their greatest comebacks, overcoming a 16-point deficit to defeat Maryland by one, 65-64.

Now, after their third victory of the season over Illinois, Penn State virtually punched their own ticket to the NCAA tournament.

If they can manage another victory or two, the discussion will have turned from being a bubble team to one of seedings and location.

Therefore, the game against Northwestern takes on a bit different reason for importance.

As it stands now, they were in what is considered the “play-in” group, meaning they would play either Tuesday or Wednesday. The win against Illinois most likely bumps them up into the category of “last four byes”.

Stringing a couple of more wins would not only help with seeding but also could help with their region and the locations of the opening round games and subsequent Sweet 16 round locales.

The East region would give Penn State fans the best chance to travel and watch the Nittany Lions in both the opening weekend and, if they’re lucky enough to advance, in the Sweet 16 weekend. They have an opening round group at Albany for the first weekend and the regional final is in the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.

While we won’t know exactly where they’ll land until Sunday, if they can earn one more victory we will know for sure that they’ll be playing their first game on Thursday or Friday, as opposed to Tuesday or Wednesday.

After the grind of the Big Ten tourney, those extra days of rest and one less game played will be crucial.

So, get your brackets ready, ladies and gents. WE ARE going to the Big Dance!