Actually, this isn’t even a preview of any kind. This is more of my general thoughts on tonight’s game. Check out KJ’s preview if you’re looking for numbers and matchups.

Penn State is playing against two top 15 teams this week. They would have had the chance to have a huge impact on how the Big Ten regular season title shook out, but Ohio State has already finished 14-4 with the 1-seed for the BTT. It starts tonight (on ESPN2), with the last road game of the year at the Breslin Center.

Penn State can win this game. Getting over the winless hump has obviously lifted a huge boulder off their shoulders, and they’ve been playing like it (albeit against Northwestern). However, PSU is not going to win if Talor Battle scores 30 points from jacking up 25 footers. I’m sure if you’re reading this that you remember I broke down the game tape from the first meeting. The flat out refusal by Penn State to even pass the ball to the low block was appalling. It cannot happen again tonight. There needs to be movement by both the players and the ball throughout the entire court, not around the perimeter.

After the first MSU game, the coaches stressed to the media how they’ve been trying to make a more concerted effort to get the ball inside. It has paid off as the Lions have won 3 of their last 4. They’ve only averaged 15 3PA those 4 games, instead of the 50 total they threw up in 2 games against Minnesota and Michigan State. Jeff Brooks and Andrew Jones have averaged 10 and 9 points respectively over that stretch, well above their 6 and 5 averages in conference play this season. These averages CAN continue tonight. MSU doesn’t have the shotblocker down low to intimidate the Lions. Why PSU was so timid the first game will always remain a mystery to me (and even then, PSU had the lead in the 2nd half playing that atrocious style of basketball). But the biggest factor for PSU is the Talor Battle effect. It is no secret Battle has haunted the Spartans, as he has scored 20, 29, 31 in his last 3 games while making 16-31 threes, many well behind the 3 point line. Izzo has his team preparing for him.

Talk about opening up the floor. Izzo practiced his team to close out on shooters 25 feet away from the hoop. Considering Travis Walton is no longer on the team, the Spartans have nobody who can stop Battle (or Tim Frazier) from penetrating. The Lions need to attack and play aggressive tonight on offense. Do not settle for 3’s. Make the extra effort to attack the rim. Tim Frazier needs to be on the floor, too. I wouldn’t mind seeing him start. He needs to get 20 minutes tonight, minimum. He is also a better defender against Lucas than Battle is, so hopefully Tim can at least keep Lucas from getting whatever the hell he wants like he did in the BJC. Lucas scored an easy 24 points on 10-15 shooting. I don’t care if Lucas gets his points, considering how inconsistent the rest of the Spartans are. Just please make him work for it.

But if the PSU’s guards are able to penetrate and force the defense’s hand, this PSU team can give MSU fits. Babb and Jackson can hit the open jumpers. Jones, who has done a much better job catching passes and finishing with authority, will be able to get buckets around the tin. The x-factor, as always, is Jeff Brooks. We all know he can score on anybody if his fragile psyche stays in the game and he plays down low. If he wanders around the perimeter and gets down on himself after a few bad plays, it’ll be yet another disappointing step back for Jeff. I wish someone will compile a 5 minute highlight tape of Jeff’s career just for Brooks to see for himself what he can do when he plays like a man in the paint. His size and quickness is nearly impossible to guard, and he’s so much more effective mixing things up.

We’ll see. I expect a very entertaining and close contest. I believe picking PSU to cover is an easy bet. However, I waited forever to come out and publicly slam DeChellis, then he went on to coach the team to 3 out of 4 wins. This optimistic post could totally backfire and PSU could get run out of town. MSU is playing at home with much more to play for. Izzo has got to be thrilled to have such a great opportunity to cure his team’s turnover bug with PSU, who still never forces any turnovers. Also, MSU’s domination on the offensive glass certainly is disturbing for DeChellis as well. That’ll need to be contained.

I got to admit, though, this is one of the first games I’ve been looking forward (and had the motivation to blog about!) in a long time. It’s a little refreshing after such a sad season.

If Penn State ever overcomes its losing basketball tradition, it won’t be because of a coaching change or monster recruiting class.  It’ll be from a cultural shift in the hierarchy of the athletic department — a decision to make winning a priority by investing resources and energy into the program instead of being satisfied flirting with the NCAA bubble every eight years.

Now lucky for me, I addressed this topic already. In fact, I did so before the season and it was my first real post on this new site. I don’t know how anybody can say the AD doesn’t care when they’ve made all of those changes in the last 3-4 years. Ed DeChellis, while he might not have won on the court, got the AD to level the playing field against our own conference. If there’s anything to remember about ED’s era of PSU hoops, it’s that because he might’ve been the only one able to do so. That is why he probably was the best hire back when Dunn ‘resigned’. No one in their right mind should’ve taken the PSU job in 2003, unless they genuinely cared about the school and had the patience to wait for the AD to catch up the program to the level of competition on the recruiting trail in the Big Ten.

As far as our basketball expenses go, below is the compiled data for the 2008-2009 athletic year (from the Department of Education). The expenses are obviously the figures for each Big Ten school’s basketball program. The Salary column represents the average male head coaching salary at each school. The Coach column is the total number of coaches that went into the average salary figure.

There is no reason Ed should be allowed to coach another basketball season here at Dear Old State. His 7 years of basketball here have produced nothing but overmatched players (with few exceptions) playing aimless basketball. With the transformation happening off the court within the program, I understand and am a little more forgiving that DeChellis has been allowed to coach here for so long with such futile results. However, this 2009-2010 campaign has been a complete failure, which is even more amazing when you consider that many people didn’t even have the expectation to go to the NCAAs this season. There are no excuses to go 0-12 with a roster compiled of entirely your own players.

I’m not mad whatsoever about Ed’s extension right before the year. People think PSU honestly wants Ed to coach here until 2014, despite never getting to the NCAA tournament in 6 previous years. The reality of the extension, though, was to provide the fake appearance of Ed’s job security to recruits. It has burned PSU in the past. Last year was a great year for the program as we finally landed on the map nationally, even if the season ended in the Not Important Tournament. But it’s becoming more and more evident that the reasons for last year’s magical run were the players on the court, not the coaches.

I posted how futile our offensive ’system’ is by exposing how we played against Michigan State. I have never seen a team just straight up ignore the option of dumping the ball into the low post and forcing the defense to collapse just a little bit. This chuck and duck bullshit has been going on for too long. It is so frustrating to watch that I have stopped caring about the team. At least before this year, we had Claxton and Cornley, who would post up, demand the ball, and produce. This year, there’s nobody with that mentality or anybody with the ability. But what’s sad is if you look at the bigger picture, Penn State’s offense since Ed DeChellis has been here hasn’t been the problem. The defense, or lack there of, has.

Below is Ed’s conference games only, tempo-free profile since he’s been here. I could not find the data for Ed’s first season in 2003-2004, but frankly, I’m sure it was just as bad. Here’s some explanation of what the data stands for:

• PPP is points-per-possession, or PSU’s offensive production.
• O-PPP is the opponents points-per-possession, or PSU’s defensive production.
• EM stands for Efficiency Margin, which is obviously the difference between the two.
• Actual is Penn State’s Big Ten W/L record (and where they placed)
• Mean is what Penn State’s record should be, based on their EM. Better explanation here by John Gasaway, the originator of most of these stats.

As you can see, Penn State’s defense has consistently been the worst over the years (in a conference whose reputation is solely on that aspect of the game). The only time it has been average, PSU went on to win the NIT. For a while there, the problem was PSU never had the athletes to match up in this conference, but that hasn’t been the case the last 3 years. In fact, I find this team to be one of the most athletic teams we have had in a long time. I even said I thought this year’s squad had the potential to be one of the best defensive teams from PSU ever in the preseason, but that obviously has not been the case. You can also see in the table that PSU has actually won a lot more games than they ’should have’, based on their per-possession play. That basically means Ed’s already terrible 29-82 conference mark should actually be even worse (something like 21-90). I mean just compare the 2007-2008 team to this year’s. They have identical efficiency margins but the 07-08 team (which Gasaway coined as the most fortunate team since 2006) has 7 more wins.

I’m sick of watching this brand of basketball, if you can even call it that. Ed’s proven to be over his head coaching at this level. I don’t even care if PSU wins their last 6 games and finishes 6-12 in the conference. For this program to make the NCAA tournament, a new head coach has to be put in place. This team has underachieved and just looks lost most of the time. Players aren’t developing and the young players aren’t even given the chance. I can go on and on about my gripes with ED from the toilet paper soft non-conference schedule year-after-year, the numerous wasted scholarships on the recruiting trail, the apparent illogical player substitutions, his ‘use’ of timeouts, or his refusal to fight for his team over any sort of questionable call (1 technical in 7 years), but I’ll digress.

However, there are plenty of arguments for why Penn State won’t fire Ed after this season. First, they just gave him an extension last year. I’m skeptical that they would be willing to buyout that 4 year contract like everybody else. Also, Talor Battle and his class will be seniors next year. I always had the feeling since the start of the offseason that Ed was going to get 2 more years (after last season) to get to the NCAA tournament with his guys. The expectation wasn’t to do so this year anyway, so Curley and company might still allow Ed the opportunity next season. Also, we’re Penn State, where coaching stability reigns supreme. I like that we are willing to give coaches their fair share of time here to build a program, which is opposite of the schizophrenic atmosphere of coaching changes in college athletics these days. But I will also admit we are loyal to a fault.

Here is why I think it would be a big mistake to give Ed an 8th year. While you always run the risk of a mass exodus of players with a new head coach, I’m willing to bet that doesn’t happen if a new coach is brought in next month. Battle is the only player who will have bigger and better opportunities elsewhere, but does he really want to sit out a year to wait for just one year at a school? Or jeopardize an NBA career by going too early? His brother would also have to wait, too, assuming he would want to be released from his LOI if Talor leaves. Throw in the fact that the low-income family has already moved to State College and, IMO, Battle and Buie have no choice but to stay in 2010-2011. Also, I’ve always had the feeling that all the players on this team genuinely like each other and there’s no off-the-court chemistry issues (unlike the holdovers from the Dunn era). I think they would all stay if a new coach is brought in, or at the very least, only a few would leave on their own accord. You also give the new coach a cupboard to work with. He would have 5 senior scholarship players and an entire team returning with the addition of Buie. Not only would he have the opportunity to have some moderate success right away, but he also gets the opportunity to have a full year to fill 5 scholarships with his first recruiting class. It is a great time after this season to make a transition to a new coach.

But say PSU keeps DeChellis. What are the odds that a 2-16 or worse team is going to have an NCAA-like turnaround next year with the exact same players? I think it would just delay the inevitable (if you look around the conference, PSU isn’t the only team returning plenty of guys next season). The situation then plays out like this. Battle and his class leave along with tons of experience. Buie, with 3 years of eligibility, will have plenty of opportunities to transfer. The 5 scholarships for 2011 are filled with Ed’s guys, and they probably ask for their release with a new coach. The new coach could be left with just 7 scholarship players and only a few weeks to fill the 2011 class. That is a 2 year rebuilding project, at least, since we do things the right way here (that means no shortcuts like Calipari). The little stability that Ed has generated is all for nothing.

Yes, this is all speculation. But this analysis is something athletic directors have to consider when evaluating their programs. Keeping Ed for next season is a mighty big risk, but firing him now could come with a pretty big price tag. Throw in the fact that they’re going to have to pay more for a new coach, no matter who it is. It’s quite the dilemma. Many people feel strongly that PSU will act either way. I have no idea how it will unfold. All I know is Tim Curley can’t be pleased with the return he’s getting on the investments made on the program in recent times.

I guess we’ll find out his decision in a month.

Editor’s Note: If you don’t want to spend the time reading this novel, you should just scroll down to the end and read the final counts.

Possession #1 – 7 passes around the perimeter leads to a badly missed 3 from Babb. Nobody posted up once to call for the ball. Entry Pass Count – 0. Center Touches – 0. Shot Clock Usage – :28 seconds

Possession #2 – Jeff Brooks receives the first pass and drives into the lane. His penetration forces Derrick Nix to help, leaving Andrew Jones open on the low block. Brooks sees it and passes the ball. Jones fumbles the pass out of bounds for an unforced turnover. Poor execution on both players’ account. EPC – 0. CT – 1. SCU – :09.

Possession #3 – Ball screens and dribble handoffs for 20 seconds. Nobody posts up once. Battle is left with the ball 30 feet from the hoop. His forced drive marked the first time the ball crossed the 3 point line. He doesn’t even make it past the foul line before he loses the ball. Turnover #2. EPC – 0.  CT – 1. SCU – :28.

Possession #4 – Miscommunication on MSU’s part leaves Chris Babb with the ball at the wing and an open baseline. Good recognition by Babb to drive and draw the foul. He made 1 of 2 at the line. EPC – 0. CT -1. SCU – :14.

Possession #5 – Another questionable switch by MSU leaves Kalin Lucas on Jeff Brooks. Brooks actually posts up, which leads to the first entry pass by PSU. Good recognition by the team on the mismatch, but Brooks misses the shot because of good help defense by Nix. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :21.

Possession #6 (Transition) – Battle, probably bored from the last 5 possessions, forces a 2 on 3 break. He gets caught underneath after he drives it all the way to the hoop, but right when it looks like he’s about to pull it back out, he makes a crafty spin move and puts up a reverse lay up. He misses, but David Jackson grabs the offensive board and lays it back in. Good job by Brooks and DJ crashing the boards. Poor job by MSU getting back and boxing out.

Possession #7 (Transition) – A mishandled MSU pass leads to a steal by Chris Babb, who recognizes Battle running down the court. Battle makes a pretty over the shoulder catch and slams it home.

Possession #8 – After some more Battle/Babb/Jackson exchanges around the perimeter, Brooks attempts to post up again. However, he does so roughly 10 feet away from the hoop and ends up receiving the pass about 17 feet away on the wing (not an entry pass). Brooks aggressively (or recklessly, depending on your perspective) drives the baseline against Durrell Summers. Summers knocks the ball out of bounds with 14 seconds on the shot clock, a blessing considering Brooks was going absolutely nowhere with the ball. The inbounds play was pass the ball back to Brooks, who’s 30 feet away from the hoop. Brooks catches the ball and motions for Battle to come get the ball. This exchange somehow takes 5 seconds. Talor Battle now has the ball 30 feet away with 9 seconds left on the shot clock. He looks to the coaching staff for direction, another 3 seconds wasted. After realizing he is on his own, he calls David Jackson out for a screen, but DJ slips and Battle feeds him the ball out of the double team. DJ has the rock near the top of the key about 22 feet away with less than :03 on the shot clock (which is audibly known by the student section). He has enough room to put up the shot, but he somehow thinks he can make another pass to Ott underneath. Shot clock violation. Turnover #3. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :35 seconds.

Possession #9 – Brooks drives this time from the corner on Draymond Green, a much better match-up. He gets into the lane and makes a nice kickout pass to David Jackson, who nails the 3. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :09.

Possession #10 – Battle forces a three early in the possession off a ball screen from Jackson. Poor shot selection from Talor, as he airballed the shot. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :08.

Possession #11 – Battle’s not in, but nothing really changes. Ott (or anybody else for that matter) never posts up. Frazier tries to split a double team and penetrate twice, but MSU plays good defense. Possession ends in a fall-away 24 footer from Babb. Clank. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :29.

Possession #12 – Battle beats Summers on a drive off the bounce and forces a foul. On the reset, PSU runs the same inbounds ‘play’ aka throw the ball into the backcourt. Mike Kebler, the defensive star apparently, nearly forces the easy turnover but doesn’t. Frazier and Battle are on the floor together this time, but again, nothing changes. Only 2 passes occur throughout this 25 second possession. Frazier to Battle back to Frazier. Frazier tries to penetrate again and force something, but he travels. Turnover #4. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :27.

Possession #13 – A foul as Battle brings the ball up leads to another opportunity for PSU to run an inbounds play. Once again, PSU is forced to throw the ball out to Frazier near halfcourt. After a few more perimeter passes, Frazier beats his man off the dribble (pretty easily in fact), but has no one to pass to. He misses a tough 8 foot runner in the lane. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :18.

Possession #14 – Battle forces the issue after a rebound, despite once again not having numbers. He still beats his defenders and gets to the hoop, but there’s no way he’s getting a shot up. He makes a nice dish to Jones in the paint, who gets fouled. The inbounds play goes to Brooks on the wing this time, but MSU wasn’t pressing the issue. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what MSU is doing here. They did not seem to be ready as the ball was inbounded. It took them a while for everybody to get on a man, and their confusion led to Battle being guarded by Draymond Green. After driving by Green on the break before the foul, Battle decides to pull up from 3 in Green’s face. Swish. EPC – 1. CT – 2. SCU – :14.

Possession #15 – Battle is coming off the ball, but Chris Allen is able to stay with him through some screens. Multiple exchanges around the perimeter once again. Andrew Jones gets a pass off a slip screen from Battle, about 12 feet from the hoop on the baseline. Jones makes a nice explosive move to the basket, but too bad he can’t explode vertically. He gets blocked by Raymar Morgan, and MSU gets the deflection. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :25.

Possession #16 – Not sure what the hell MSU is doing this possession, either. Summers and Allen miscommunicate right away and leave Battle wide open. Deep 3 is good. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :11.

Possession #17 – PSU tries to find Battle coming off a double screen, but it’s well-defended. After a few more exchanges around the perimeter, Battle gets a little daylight and puts up a long 2-pointer. He is fouled on the attempt. He makes 1 of 2 at the line. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :26.

Possession #18 (Transition) – Fast break with Battle going 1-on-1 with Chris Allen. Impressive defense by Allen forcing Battle to miss a tough layup without fouling. Not sure if CA got a piece of it or not.

Possession #19 – More of the same as far as exchanges around the perimeter.  With 8 seconds left on the shot clock, Battle has the ball 40 feet away from the hoop. He dishes to DJ, who pretty much has to put up a contested 3. No good. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :29.

Possession #20 – I should mention this possession is coming after ED called a timeout. Andrew Jones receives a pass this time. He catches it at the top of the key and immediately passes it off. I don’t even know how else to describe this anymore. It’s more of the same, but I’ve felt like I’ve said that at least 4 times already. Actually, no. I’m going to call it ‘Ring Around the Perimeter’ or RAP, for short. I think everybody on the court touches the ball once, but the ball never crosses the 3 point line. Babb is left with the ball at the top of the key with time running down. He’s doubled and forces a pass to DJ at the elbow with 5 seconds left. Derrick Nix inexcusably fouls to bail PSU out. The inbounds goes back to halfcourt again (this is after a media timeout because of Nix’s foul). Jones gets another pass, but he’s not a threat 25 feet from the hoop. After plenty of RAP, Babb fakes out Lucas (off the ball) and drains an open 3. EPC – 1. CT – 5. SCU – :31/:18.

Possession #21 – RAP. Jones doesn’t touch the ball and sets weak screens. A little dribble penetration by Battle and a kick to DJ for yet another 3. He misses but the rebound is deflected out of bounds. Good hustle by Brooks to save it to Battle under the hoop who gets fouled. He makes both free throws. EPC – 1. CT – 5. SCU – :18.

Possession #22 – Babb gets some separation as his defender gets caught behind Jones after a screen, but he forces a three from the top of the key and misses badly. Not a good shot, considering Babb took 3 or 4 steps backwards before shooting off the dribble. EPC – 1. CT – 5. SCU – :15.

Possession #23 – RAP. Only thing different is Battle forces a drive and tries to kick it to Jones. It’s a low pass and Jones isn’t gonna do anything with it anyway, so he kicks it back out. Battle drains a 35 footer with :06 on the shot clock. Go team! EPC – 1. CT – 6. SCU – :29.

NOTE: Should I even mention at this time that Michigan State gets Durrell Summers a WIDE OPEN jumper as the shot clock expires? And they had to inbound the ball with only :07 on the shot clock.

Possession #24 – Andrew Jones gets the ball twice on this possession. Both times are out at the 3 point line. This great possession ends with an 18-foot airball off the dribble from Cam Woodyard as the shot clock expires. EPC – 1. CT – 8. SCU – :35.

Possession #25 – Frazier tries to penetrate and gets fouled after 20 seconds of RAP. He goes to the line for 1-and-1. Frazier makes the first and misses the second. EPC – 1. CT – 8. SCU – :20.

Possession #26 – RAP. Jones gets a touch out there. Frazier splits another double team and gets penetration, but MSU recovers nicely on defense. Battle has to force a contested 3 that doesn’t drop. EPC – 1. CT – 9. SCU – :32.

Possession #27 – Battle’s dramatics draw a foul on Chris Allen early in the possession. Talor makes the first at the line, but misses the 2nd. Jones makes a nice tip on the rebound, though, and PSU gets the ball again. Steve Lavin comments that PSU now has a chance for a 2 for 1 at the end of the half, but PSU RAPs it for 30 seconds. Jones is included. Tim Frazier, the pure shooter that he is, has to put up a contested 3. “Wow, a rock” was the description from Lavin. EPC – 1. CT – 10. SCU – :32.

HALFTIME: Thanks to some crazy hot shooting by Battle, PSU is down only 6. Yes, they only threw one entry pass to somebody posted up on the low block (when Brooks was posting up Lucas).

Possession #28 – Jackson off another slip screen makes a nice, aggressive drive to the hoop. He just doesn’t finish the lay up. EPC – 1. CT – 10. SCU – :09

Possession #29 – Michigan State falls asleep on defense. Jones is left open on the low block. We’ll count it as an entry pass even though he’s not posting up anybody. Battle finds him and Jones slams it home. EPC – 2. CT – 11. SCU – :07.

Possession #30 – RAP. Kalin Lucas backs off Battle, I guess respecting Battle’s driving ability (and possibly his own bum ankle), so Talor puts it up and buries another 3. EPC – 2. CT – 11. SCU – :16.

Possession #31 – Jones gets two more touches out at the top of the key (and a shot fake one time to boot! He had me fooled). Battle makes an NBA 3 with a guy in his face at the buzzer. Go team! EPC – 2. CT – 13. SCU – :32.

Possession #32 – Jones gets the ball because Battle picks up his dribble. Chris Allen cheats way too hard to help on Battle and leaves Babb wide open in the corner for a 3. EPC – 2. CT – 14. SCU – :20.

NOTE: At this time, I’m starting to feel like I’m coming across as criticizing Jones throughout this post. I just wanted to clarify that is not my intent. I’m simply informing what his ‘role’ is in this offense the coaching staff is running.

Possession #33 – Jeff Brooks wants his own possession. After a defensive rebound, Jeff brings the ball up the court himself. He then decides to not give it up to anybody and drive all the way to the hoop. His short 5 foot floater goes in and out. EPC – 2. CT – 14. SCU – :08.

Possession #34 – Jones participates in RAP. Brooks gets an open look from 3 but it’s long. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :12.

Possession #35 – RAP for 15 seconds until Kalin Lucas reaches in on Battle. On the reset, more RAP until Battle dishes while in mid shot to DJ in the corner for a clean 3. He buries it. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :18/:14.

Possession #36 – RAP until a switch has Babb guarded by Garrick Sherman. Chris makes a nice drive and kick to DJ, who dishes off to a wide open Talor Battle. MSU was chasing as soon as Babb drove. Battle’s 3 is money. At this point Talor has 24 of PSU’s 41 points and is 6-8 from 3. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :25.

Possession #37 – This possession starts with Brooks coming off a down screen and receiving the ball at the top of the key. Jeff then dribbles the ball back towards Battle like he’s going to hand it back off, but he keeps it and splits the double team with a smooth spin move. He finishes the play with a tough 8 foot fall-away bank shot. It was his usual glimpse of greatness that usually happens once a game.  EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :15.

Possession #38 – Brooks, now overconfident, forces a baseline drive that isn’t there. He attempts to pass it back out to Babb, but it’s low. Not really sure why Babb makes such a feeble effort to catch it, either. He most likely wasn’t ready for it, but who knows. Turnover #5 as Lucas picks up the loose ball.

Possession #39 – RAP for 25 seconds. Battle then has to decide on his own what to do. He makes the pass to Babb who puts up a contested 23 footer as the shot clock winds down. It’s long but the rebound goes out of bounds off MSU. The inbounds pass has to be tracked down by Battle 85 feet away from the hoop. More RAP for 25 seconds. Battle then penetrates and draws the defense. He kicks it out to DJ for an open 3. PSU takes the lead. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :33/:30.

Possession #40 – Battle shoots a quick 3 early in the shot clock, but the ball goes out of bounds off MSU. I must make a note that Mike Kebler has entered the game sometime before this possession. Kebler got screened by DJ before this shot, and I wouldn’t say he contested it more than Allen/Lucas or anybody else on Battle’s shots all game. It was just a quick shot by Battle (who was moving to his left when he caught and fired) and he missed. I don’t think Kebler’s defense had anything to do with it. The inbounds pass is the first time PSU executes any sort of set. Frazier catches a pass on the wing, not in the backcourt. Battle, the inbounder, comes off a nice downscreen by Ott and fires up a clean 3. Steve Lavin called it a ‘good’ look. Unfortunately,  Talor misses again (progressing toward the mean?). Kebler was guarding Frazier on the shot, anyway. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :10.

Possession #41 – Tim Frazier gets a little too crazy here. He’s once again able to get right to the rim but the MSU defense collapses on him and swats his shot. The deflection goes out of bounds off Ott. Wasted possession. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :06.

Possession #42 – Andrew Ott gets called for 3 seconds. Mind-numbing turnover considering what this offense has done in the paint the entire course of this game. Turnover #6. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :12.

Possession #43 – More RAP. Although this time Frazier comes off a curl cut and receives a pass at the foul line. MSU defense is chasing. Eventually Battle ends up with the ball and drives the baseline. He’s cut off, but finds Ott, who makes a strong dribble towards the hoop. Maybe his move was too strong, or Draymond Green wrapped around his body and picked his pocket. All I know is Ott loses the ball going up and it deflects high off the backboard and back in play. Frazier corrals the loose ball but there’s only :10 on the clock. I guess he felt the need to penetrate and create on his own because he misses a wide open Chris Babb, who was calling for the ball 5 feet from him. Frazier instead drives and dishes to Talor in a bad spot underneath the hoop. Talor then tries to dribble amongst a big crowd with nowhere to go and it goes off his foot. Turnover #7. Nothing impressive by Kebler, yet. EPC – 2. CT – 16. SCU – :31.

Possession #44 – Frazier is holding the ball as the Lions try to run a set to get either Battle or Babb open coming off the ball. Ott sets a great pick of Kebler and Battle is open. It was a tough angle, but I’m not sure why Tim didn’t try to make the skip pass. Anyway, nothing happens for 20 seconds so Battle has it at the top of the key with the clock winding down. DJ starts to come out for a screen so Kebler prepares for it by taking away Battle’s right. Battle waves off DJ, and then drives to his left. The problem is the entire team is on the right side of the court. Poor spacing gives Battle nowhere to go with the rock when the D collapses. He pulls it back out and Ott tries to come out and screen. At this point, there’s just not enough time for anything to materialize, and Battle is stuck trying to heave a fadeaway 30 footer, but it’s after the shot clock buzzer. Kebler is in his grill on this ‘attempt’, which prompts praise from MSU’s bench and the broadcast team. However, I don’t see how Kebler is responsible for the outcome of this possession. Turnover #8. EPC – 2. CT – 16. SCU – :35.

NOTE: At this point, I would also like to note that I have no hate or bias towards Mike Kebler. I’m just very skeptical that a walk-on player, who has not played much at all this year, can shut down somebody as good as Talor Battle.

Possession #45 – RAP all day. Ott gets two touches. Possession ends with Battle driving 1 on 3. O’Brien calls it ‘a wild shot in the lane’. Lavin calls it a 9.8 out of 10 as far as degree of difficulty. Kebler is not even one of the 3 Spartans defending Talor’s drive. EPC – 2. CT – 18. SCU – :29.

Possession #46 – RAP. Ott gets a touch and get this. When he does, he passes it to Battle, who is posting up Kebler (about 15 feet from the hoop, not an entry pass). Just interesting to me that our center is feeding a posted up point guard. Frazier eventually gets the ball this time with the clock winding down. He penetrates and forces a wild shot that has no chance of going in, but it comes after the shot clock buzzer anyway. Turnover #9. EPC – 2. CT – 19. SCU – :35.

Possession #47 (Transition) - We’ll call this transition just because of how quick the shot is. After a block by David Jackson, Battle brings the ball up the court and immediately finds Babb open in the far corner. He’s got some daylight to put up the shot, but I don’t think Babb has earned the right to shoot whenever he wants. Then again, that might have been the best shot we could have gotten all possession. He misses. EPC – 2. CT – 19. SCU – :04.

Possession #48 - Battle races down the court after a missed free throw and uses his theatrics to draw a foul on Kebler. Another weak inbounds set results in Brooks catching it in the backcourt. Battle sets up the offense and somehow Lucas is on Brooks again. Brooks posts up, DJ feeds him, and Brooks gets an easy two points. First high-low action from PSU in the game. Too bad MSU already went on a 13-0 run. EPC – 3. CT – 19. SCU – :11.

Possession #49 – Battle forces the issue again after a miss. He penetrates and kicks to Babb, who swings it to DJ. MSU hasn’t gotten back on defense, and DJ puts up an open 3. Unfortunately, DJ’s shot is a brick. Steve Lavin called the shot ‘a grenade’. O’Brien says, “We’ve seen a bunch of those today.” EPC – 3. CT – 19. SCU – :08.

Possession #50 - Battle comes down the court and Ed calls a play. I swear, all that happens is Battle comes off a weak ball screen by DJ to advance from the wing to the top of the key. All four players are now watching Battle dribble the ball. Talor then tries a very weak attempt at a dribble weave with Babb. As Babb passes the ball back, Kebler knocks it away. Good defense by Kebler, but I think I could have deflected the incredibly weak pass. PSU inbounds the ball and Talor roams around the arc with DJ attempting some slip screens. Battle eventually drives past Kebler, who was screened, and makes a tough floater in the lane. EPC – 3. CT – 19. SCU – :30.

Possession #51 – RAP for 20 seconds. Battle then splits a double team (DJ set up for another ball screen) and gets fouled by either Kebler or Green. The inbounds set is just a lob into Andrew Jones at the wing. More RAP for 20 seconds after the reset. Babb drives and pulls up for a 15-footer from the corner. Brick. Not a good shot. EPC – 3. CT – 20. SCU – :22/:23.

Possession #52 - After some more 2 man game with Battle, Jackson slips to the basket and posts up. Battle swings it to Babb on the wing, but he doesn’t drop it in to DJ. It looks like PSU is making a concerted effort to get it inside here, but I really don’t know why Babb doesn’t make this entry pass. DJ looks to have Raymar Morgan sealed. Babb instead throws it to Drew Jones at the foul line, who has a much worse angle on the pass to DJ. He kicks it back out to Babb, who then forces a pass to Jackson, who is clearly no longer open. The refs call it off of PSU. Questionable call, but Ed doesn’t argue despite it happening right in front of his face. Turnover #10. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :17.

Possession #53 - Desperation mode. There’s two minutes left with a 12 point deficit. Battle recklessly drives into the lane and is fouled. He makes 1 of 2 at the line. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :08.

Possession #54 – Battle, after getting abused on defense by Lucas, comes right down the court and nails a pull up 3. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :04.

Possession #55 – Highberger is in. He brings the ball up the court and gets mauled from behind by Derrick Nix. Officials don’t call the foul and the ball goes out of bounds off PSU. Turnover #11. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :07.

Possession #56 - Babb misses a 3. I got tired of waiting for the ESPN360 feed, but I have to assume there were no Center Touches or Entry Passes.

FINAL COUNT:

• Just 3 total entry passes for the entire game from Penn State. It was really more like 2, but I was generous and counted Battle finding a wide open Andrew Jones as one. Jeff Brooks posted up twice when he was guarded by Kalin Lucas. That is the only time Penn State fed the ball to the low block.
• Just 21 touches by Andrew Ott and Andrew Jones combined, 13 of which came out past the 3 point line. They did attempt to post up throughout the game, but it was seldom. Even when they did, they never seriously called for the ball and it looked like they were just going through the motions. 56 possessions, 8 touches inside the 3 point line. We’re playing 4 on 5.
• 22 times PSU ran the shot clock to under :10. I’m not going to figure out the success rate because it’s probably half decent, considering Battle hit some ridiculous shots.

Now, for everyone wondering why I haven’t been blogging, try being motivated to do so when watching a team whose offensive gameplan is as frustrating as this. This is all we’ve seen the last month. It’s a miracle that we’re even in games. Talor Battle is phenomenal in that regard. With the same personnel coming back next year, how can we expect things to change?

WHO: Michigan Wolverines (7-6, 1-1)
WHERE: Bryce Jordan Center
WHEN: 7 PM
TV: ESPN2
LINE: Penn State by 2
Enemy Blog: UMHoops
Pomeroy Profile

Michigan’s season has been disastrous in the early going. A preseason top 25 team has stumbled mightily and has looked anything but. Their best win has been a 9 point home win against the Evan Turner-less Buckeyes (although no more! nice to see ET back playing). They’re in desperation mode if they want to get back to the NCAA tournament. They’ve performed terribly on the road, understandably losing to KU but also to Utah and Indiana.

While Wisconsin is one of the worst matchups for the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten, I think UM is one of the most favorable. They’re small and don’t really pose a threat on the glass. Their offense is predicated on threes and no turnovers. PSU doesn’t force turnovers anyway and it’s always easier to stop a shooting team than it is to stop a team that can dominate inside. Michigan’s defense is nothing like Minnesota/Wisconsin/Purdue, either. PSU should be able to get better shots and make them.

For no reason whatsoever, I just have a really good feeling about this game. Talor Battle on national TV against a team with no real threat to stop him…with PSU’s backs on the wall with the 0-2 start. I just think Talor’s going to go nuts. Not sure if he can top his 28 point, 13 rebound, 6 assist performance against the Wolverines his freshman year, but I’ll say he comes close. If David Jackson can keep Manny from going nuts as well, PSU could be in great shape. Or they could not guard anybody and watch UM shoot the Lions out of their own building. You never know but I’m surprisingly confident about this game. That is why I’ll take the Lions to cover the 2 point spread and win, 68-61.

Huge game for the Nittany Lions in the Jordan Center today against Bo’s Badgers. Ed DeChellis will be looking for his first career win against Bo (0-10). It is not going to come easy.

These games against the Badgers always seem hopeless to me. Wisconsin always dictates the pace of the game (usually 56 possessions or so), and Penn State has always had trouble defending them for. It generally went like this; PSU would guard for 30 seconds and watch Wisconsin get a backdoor layup. Meanwhile, Wisconsin stymies PSU’s motion offense and the Nits look terrible. They shut down Battle last year and they’ll look to do the same again.

Wisconsin looked great against the Turner-less Buckeyes on Thursday, and they already have wins against Arizona, Maryland, Duke, and Marquette. However, they’ve only played on true road game and they lost (Wisconsin GB, 88-84 in OT). We all know how dominant the Badgers are in the Kohl Center, but this UW team has to prove itself on the road if they’re for real conference title contenders this season.

Neither team has a particularly deep bench (both go 8-deep). The Badgers are led by underrated senior PG, Trevon Hughes and junior F Jon Leuer. Jason Bohannon continues his limited role as a shooter, while Jordan Taylor is a solid guard off the bench. This is going to be a tough game, but it’s one PSU can win.

I’ve long thought that PSU should try to force the pace a little bit in these games, but they never do. They won’t force turnovers on defense, and Wisconsin will make sure they don’t get 2nd opportunities. PSU is just going to have to outshoot the Badgers. They need to create good shots in the halfcourt and pressure the Badgers into bad ones on defense. If Talor Battle outplays Hughes, I think PSU has a shot. Leuer is going to be tough to guard, but I think the Lions can get enough help from other players to compensate. It would be a huge advantage if the Lions can get Leuer in foul trouble early. Tim Frazier could also be a huge factor for Penn State’s offense if he is able to penetrate around Bohannon and dish like he did against the Gophers early. A lot of good matchups in this game and it will be interesting to see how each team responds.

PREDICTION: I just can’t pick against the Badgers until PSU is able to end this painfully lopsided streak. I’ve seen too many ugly games from PSU in this series to pick them to win. I’m taking UW to cover the 4.5 with some free throws late, but I won’t be shocked if PSU comes away with a big W.

Going into the game, I really believed PSU didn’t have a chance. But the Nittany Lions showed some toughness on the road and lost a hard-fought game to a supposedly much better team.

It didn’t look like it was going to be that way at the start. PSU looked dreadful in the first 10 minutes or so of the game as Minnesota raced out to a 21-10 lead. The offense was sputtering and Minnesota was getting further and further ahead. Stephen Bardo, the ESPN color guy, pointed to the foul on a Chris Babb 3-pointer as the turning point for PSU. Talor Battle hit a 3 on the next possession and PSU cut the lead to 5, but what seemed to be forgotten was Minnesota then extended their lead back to 10 at 26-16. I thought Tim Frazier was a huge key to why PSU stayed in the game in the first half. He came in and had 3 pretty assists that set up easy baskets in the half-court offense, something PSU wasn’t able to get before (except for a few long range jumpers from Battle). They went into halftime down only 7, a moral victory considering their play.

But a different PSU team came to play in the 2nd half. The Nittany Lions came out roaring to start the second half, as they hit their first 7 field goals. In the first 7 minutes, PSU outscored the Gophers 17-5 as they jumped out to a 44-39 lead. Talor Battle only contributed 2 of the 17 points. The damage was done mostly by Drew Jones and Jeff Brooks, who were getting great looks inside and finishing. It was exciting and encouraging to watch.

Minnesota weathered the early storm to the half as Hoffarber and Westbrook really started to get going, but PSU wouldn’t go away. Frazier hit a pretty 8 foot floater on a fast break and Battle then hit one of his patented 30-footers. The score was in PSU’s favor at 53-50 with 9 minutes left, when the turnovers came at all the wrong times. Minnesota stepped up the pressure and the Lions weren’t able to handle it, whether it was fatigue, inexperience, or inability to hang onto the rock. They turned it over on 4 straight possessions.

David Jackson did his best to keep PSU in it, hitting a big 3 to tie it at 56, but that’s when a huge swing really killed PSU. First, after struggling with the full-court pressure, PSU finally beat it until Andrew Jones couldn’t finish a contested dunk. That was a momentum killer, as Minnesota grabbed the board, raced down to court, and scored on a putback. PSU beat the pressure yet again, but Jeff Brooks took an ill-advised elbow jumper that he missed. It was a shot that even if he made it, I think DeChellis still would’ve been fuming. Penn State was playing into Minnesota’s fullcourt game, which is exactly what ED didn’t want to do, especially at such a critical point in the game. Jackson and Battle hit some big shots to keep PSU in it, but another turnover by Chris Babb (or should I say he got tripped and there was no call) was killer. It didn’t help that PSU couldn’t stop Westbrook, who scored 29 points (11-16 from the floor). Battle was guarding him most of the night, but it’s hard to be critical of a player’s defense when he had to play all 40 minutes. He’s understandably not going to be able to exert the necessary defensive pressure down the stretch. DeChellis finally put DJ on Westbrook towards the end of the game, but his damage was already done.

All in all it was a very encouraging performance, but the turnovers killed the Lions down the stretch. After making the first 7 shots on their first 7 possessions of the 2nd half, PSU finished with 9 turnovers in the remaining 12 minutes of play. Westbrook and Hoffarber hit some timely threes that put away the game.

Player Bullets

• Talor Battle – 40 minutes, 23 points (7-14/5-8), 6 rebounds, 4 assists. Quality game from Talor, but too many minutes prevented him from stopping Westbrook. Or at least attempt to make it more difficult for him.
• Andrew Jones – 12 points and 8 rebounds. His best game of the year, but that missed dunk was a big play down the stretch. Hopefully Drew builds off this game after such a lackluster non-conference performance.
• Jeff Brooks – 9 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Jeff played well, but I thought he could’ve been a little more assertive. Those are some good numbers for Jeff, but it didn’t feel like he had that great of an impact on the game to me.
• David Jackson – 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. I thought David did exactly what we needed him to do. He made big plays down the stretch as he tried to keep the Lions in it. His confidence was rising as he created a pretty 15 foot baseline jumper off the bounce to cut MN’s lead to 2. Didn’t seem hampered at all with the hyperextended knee.
• Chris Babb – played OK. He doesn’t have the green light to shoot anymore, as he only took 4 3-pointers (box score says 3, he was fouled on the other). I thought he did OK handling the ball as well, but his turnover (whether he got tripped or not) was killer.
• Tim Frazier – played great in the first half to get PSU back in it, but he was credited for 3 turnovers in the 2nd half. It didn’t look like he was slowed down at all from a ‘turned ankle’, but DeChellis only played him for 13 minutes.
• Andrew Ott – gave a forgettable 5 minutes. At least Drew got some rest.
• Bill Edwards – struggled heavily in his first BT game. He forced the issue quite a few times. He’s an above average ball-handler for a guy his size, but I’m pretty sure DeChellis doesn’t want him breaking a press by himself. He still contributed with 2 big putbacks in the 2nd half. I thought it was pretty telling of the coaching staff’s confidence in him when ED had Bill in there for the last 3 minutes of the game instead of Jeff, who had been playing better.

Always disappointing to lose road games that you had a chance to win in the 2nd half, but this was a great early experience for the team. Despite the loss, there was a lot of good that came out of it. The question now is can the supporting cast build off their performances? If Jones/Jackson/Brooks contribute like they did in this game, this team can win some games in this league. We’ll see if they can break the streak against those damn Bo Ryan Badgers tomorrow.

]]> http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2010/01/02/minnesota-75-psu-70/feed/ 0 http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2010/01/02/minnesota-75-psu-70/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/battledoesitagain/~3/ODcvn7chSG4/ http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/12/29/minnesota-preview/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:22:39 +0000 Eric http://www.battledoesitagain.com/?p=1783
• WHO: Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-3)
• WHERE: Williams Arena aka The Barn
• WHEN: 9:00 PM
• TV: ESPN2
• LINE: Minnesota by 12
• Enemy Blog: From the Barn
• Pomeroy Profile

Conference play starts tonight, and the Lions open up with no cakewalk. The Golden Gophers play defense, something many opponents in the OOC schedule could not. Will the Nittany Lions be able to handle it?

Minnesota’s only real competition came in the 76 Classic and the Big Ten/ACC challenge. They did beat Butler, but they went 1-3 in those games. However, all of those games were on the road. They lost close games to Miami FL, Texas A&M, and Portland (when they were the story of college basketball).

The Golden Gophers practically returned their whole team from last year (89% returning minutes). Defensive stud Damian Johnson and offensive scorer Lawrence Westbrook return as the senior leaders. Hoffarber, Nolen, Iverson, and Sampson are back as well. The Gophers are deep (11 guys average between 9-25 MPG), tall (21st tallest team in the country), and experienced. Penn State is none of those things. Oh, boy.

Minnesota, much like last year, is still finding their way offensively. Usually Tubby just goes with the hot hand, which this year has been Blake Hoffarber (49% from behind the arc). Blake has torn PSU up in the past so the Lions must be weary of the sharpshooter. Lawrence Westbrook is the go to scorer at 12.9 PPG, but after that, it will be whoever has the hot hand. They can go inside with Sampson (8.4 PPG) or Damian Johnson (10.7 PPG).  Or they could outside with Hoffarber, Westbrook, and 6′3″ reserve Devoe Joseph, who also has had crazy success against the Lions.

But the strength of the Gophers is their defense. Pomeroy has them rated as the 2nd best defense in the entire land (behind only Texas). They like to press you and force steals, but if you successfully get into the halfcourt, they’ll swat your shots. Their defensive numbers so far have been outstanding. The Nittany Lions haven’t seen a defense nearly as good as the Gophers will bring tonight.

So can PSU win this game tonight? I guess they can, but I have no idea how they will. Here are some keys for PSU:

• Slow the game down. Minnesota’s weakness is the halfcourt game, so it’s crucial for the ball handlers to be able to beat the Minnesota press with regularity.
• Be aggressive on offense. The Nittany Lions have to get to the foul line. Minnesota’s defense is allowing their opponents to shoot 29% from 3 and 39% from 2. PSU is going to have to put up some points at the foul line. It’ll be much easier.
• Lock down their shooters. The Gophers have had ridiculous success from behind the arc against the Lions. They shot 19-29 last year in 2 games (including a record 9-9 in the game at The Barn). That obviously cannot happen if PSU expects to win.

PREDICTION: Minnesota covers the 12 point spread. Their defense is just too much for a Nittany Lions offense still struggling to find their identity. Battle could go off and I still think it wouldn’t matter (much like the VT game). Good chance this could get ugly.

A few notes…

• David Jackson, who hyperextended his knee against American, will play tonight but who knows how much. DeChellis was quoted as saying he’s 80%.
• Tim Frazier is also hobbled and will not start tonight. He turned his ankle in practice on Sunday. Chris Babb, who played well the last 2 games, will get the start. Babb’s ball-handling skills will be put to the test.
• Nittany Lions haven’t won at Williams Arena since 2001, the only time they’ve won there.

A few links…

• Check out a Q&A interview I did with From The Barn, as part of his Big Ten previews.
• The Only Colors already breaking out the tempo-free scatterplots.
• Brian Siegrist with some valuable tweets, already. I’m sure more will be coming throughout the day/game.
• Lions shuffling into Big Ten play – Jeff Rice

There’s still opportunities that the schedule ratings could improve. Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Davidson and UNC-Wilmington all look like they will make some noise in their respective conferences. But you can also basically stick a fork in Penn (who already fired their coach), American, UMBC, and Gardner-Webb.  In the end, though, does it really even matter? The bottom line is this young Penn State team is about to embark on an 18 game conference season. Their preparation was the 317th toughest schedule, and they did not fare well against it.

The NCAA tournament is a long ways away for this team. A road win against ACC bottom-feeder Virginia isn’t going to impress anyone. The Nits have set themselves up for another 11 win conference season if they want to get in. They were unable to do it last year, and it’s highly unlikely they don’t get it this year.

Have any questions heading into this season been answered? There are no consistent scoring options after Battle. As much as we all love Talor, it’s foolish to think he’s going to score 20 points in every Big Ten game. When he has a bad outing, which I’m sure will happen at least a few times, will PSU get run out of the gym or will they still be able to stay competitive? Time will tell.

David Jackson has been the best shooter on the team in terms of shooting percentages, but he continues to not be involved (only 15.2% possessions used). He rarely takes more than 5 shots a game, and it’s unlikely that since conference season is here, things will change. DJ is a great defender and a solid role player. But on a team so desperate for somebody to step up, role players aren’t going to win games.

I’ve been pretty disappointed in Chris Babb. I didn’t think he’d be as streaky of a shooter as he is. He shot his way out of the starting lineup in the Charleston Classic. But in fairness to Chris, he’s still an underclassmen and never proved to be a consistent scorer. My expectations for him were probably a little high. But Penn State’s offense needs him to hit the open jumper when he gets a clean look. He started sinking some shots the last two games, so maybe he can carry that over to conference play. Another thing I’ll say for Chris is he still contributes even if his shot is off. He’s averaging 4 boards in 23 minutes, and I’m impressed with how much he has improved defensively.

Andrew Jones, on the other hand, probably is the biggest disappointment. I’m starting to wonder if he’s maxed out. I thought last year he was ignored on offense, but he’s not using many more possessions this year (15.2% compared to 13.9% ). He struggled early in the year just establishing post position. He’s still scoring his garbage points that are set up by Battle or him grabbing an offensive rebound. But PSU needs Drew to be able to score his own points , and he hasn’t been able to do that. Will he ever?

Jeff Brooks was a pleasant surprise in November, but he has since struggled. Jeff can score with his back to the basket, but he still insists on floating around the perimeter. PSU needs him to touch the ball on the low block with regularity. His length and athleticism is tough to guard, but he needs to stay inside. It’s mind-boggling that with Jeff’s size (6′8″), he has registered 6 games with just 1 rebound or less.

Tim Frazier is going to be really good, but he’s going through the learning curve every freshman guard faces. He’s going to be inconsistent. It has to be expected from the true freshman. I like his defense and athleticism, but we’ll see how he handles Minnesota’s press. Broadcasters have exposed his inability to drive with his left, so you can be sure all the coaches in the league have noticed. His jumper has been a pleasant surprise, even so much that I would like to see him shoot more.

And then there’s Bill Edwards. The late signing has been an awesome surprise. He’s a smooth, versatile playmaker with above average passing and balling handling skills. The coaching staff has given him a lot of freedom on the court. He can shoot the 3, drive the lane, and post up. If there’s anyone who will step up into that 2nd scorers’ role, I’d bet it will be Bill. But he’s still a true freshmen and makes his fair share of bad plays (29.7% TO%). I never feel comfortable relying on a true freshman to be consistent. Especially one who hasn’t even played a game yet at 100%. He’s still hobbled by that knee injury, and I’m curious if Bill will be able to keep up with the athletes in this conference.

I’m more optimistic about the defense this year, however. Before the season, I thought PSU had the potential to put out their best defensive team in years. That wasn’t the case early on, as Sacred Heart and UNC-Wilmington tore the Lions up. But they’ve guarded much better since then, even against decent clubs like Virginia, Va Tech, and Temple. There are much better offensive teams in the conference than those 3 clubs, though, so we’ll see how improved the defense really is. Just because they could be PSU’s best doesn’t mean they’ll be elite. I’m hoping PSU could register a sub 1.0 PPP defense in conference play this year for the first time in DeChellis’ era, but I don’t think they will be at the point to win games on defense.

So, as you can probably tell, I’m not really optimistic as we enter the Big Ten campaign. Too many questions have been left unanswered and too much has been the same. The offense is in disarray. However, I certainly wasn’t optimistic last year and the team went on to post a winning conference record for the first time since 1996…Can Talor Battle really do everything?

Penn State 104 Gardner-Webb 57

This game wasn’t a contest, obviously. While PSU was resting all week and taking care of finals, G-W was out and about getting killed by Duke and James Madison. On the ESPNU broadcast, they claimed G-W was also fighting the flu bug (despite playing 15 total guys in the game?). They didn’t have the legs to play with the Nits as 4 of G-W’s starters played less than 20 minutes. The Bulldogs never stood a chance, and PSU jumped out to a 30-4 lead.

This was another annual pre-Christmas snoozer that meant nothing. Credit to the Lions, though, for coming out in front of 500 fans and taking care of business. If the Lions can take anything away from this game, its that they remembered how to shoot jumpers. They hit 12 of 26 3PA for 46%, while 4 players hit 2 or more. The bench got some run, as well, as no one logged over 30 minutes but 10 guys logged at least 10 minutes.

Battle scored 21 points on 13 shots in 24 minutes. Tim Frazier had one of his best games with 18 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. Chris Babb went 5-6 from the field for 12 points (much better than his 35% FG%). Even Andrew Ott had a career-high 12 in 14 minutes (he went 8-9 from the foul line!). So pretty much everyone got in on the action as the Nittany Lions posted their best offensive efficiency on the season (1.4 PPP) and scored over 100 for the first time since December 2006 when they beat VMI 129-111.

Penn State 76 American 57

I thought PSU might struggle with this game, despite the inferior opponent. It was the last game before the players could go home for the first time in 6 months or so (the players apparently already had their bags packed and some literally went home immediately after the game), and they had just played a game on Saturday night. However, American actually had just lost a game 22 hours earlier to UMBC at home (a game that was postponed a day b/c of the Nor’easter last week). American was just as tired, if not moreso, than G-W two days before.

American came out strong as Vlad Moldoveanu scored 11 of American’s first 13 points. Vlad, a recently eligible George Mason transfer, scored 26 points in American’s upset of Depaul. The game was tight in the first half, until PSU opened up a comfortable 11 point lead with a minute left. But they let American creep back in it and the halftime score was 36-30.

Vlad and the rest of the Eagles were out of gas in the second half, as PSU busted the game open. The score was 66-38 with 7 minutes left (PSU going on a 30-8 run). For the second time in 3 days, the Lions were beating down on an over-matched opponent at home.

The stars of the game for the Lions were Chris Babb and Bill Edwards, who started the 2nd half and broke the game open. Frazier and Brooks, who had been struggling, were benched. Babb continued his hot shooting (5-7 from the field) for 13 points to go along with 6 boards. Edwards scored 12 points on 5 shots with 5 rebounds. Battle had 16 points on 9 shots and 7 assists. Andrew Jones had 9 points, but had just as many shots as turnovers.

All in all, neither of these games offered any stiff competition to get PSU ready for the Big Ten season. More to come on the Real Season before PSU’s game @ the Barn on Tuesday.

There isn’t a whole lot out there on the big man, as he wasn’t even in the Rivals or Scout databases before he committed. However, he *was* rated a 91 on ESPN’s scale, before being dropped to an 87 after his commitment. Hoop Scoops has him #107 nationally in the class of 2011. Bottom line is the rankings on Alexis are meaningless. For whatever reason, he hasn’t had much exposure or evaluations from national recruiting services.

He looks like a nice, early get. Sometimes guys who are 6′10″+ undergo late growth spurts, so they’re unaccustomed to playing big around the tin. However, Pete was 6′8″ in 7th grade, so he has been playing big for most, if not all of his life. Observers have praised his steady improvement over the first two years of his high school career and expect that trend to continue.

Pete chose PSU over James Madison. Those were his only two scholarship offers but he said Texas A&M, West Virginia, and Yale were heavily pursuing him. It sounds like PSU got in early before anyone else. Local writer, Dave Konopki wrote this in a weekly column just a few days ago:

PETER ALEXIS. The 6-foot-11 junior from Holy Redeemer will most likely become the most-highly recruited player from the WVC since Bishop O’Reilly center Dave Popson in the mid-1980s. And before anymore brings up Bob Sura — who played at Florida State — remember, the former GAR great wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school. You won’t be able to say the same thing about Alexis.

Alexis cited PSU’s dedication to academics (he wants to be an engineer) and the opportunity for early playing time as factors into his commitment. The only video evidence is Alexis making a crucial (yet ugly) bucket for his team in a tight game late. Check out these articles on his commitment:

• Nittany Lions land big center – Centre Daily
• Alexis picks Penn State – Times Leader
• Alexis picks PSU – Citizens’ Voice

Alexis is the second commitment of the crucial 2011 recruiting class. Looking at the roster, there are still glaring holes in the frontcourt, even with his pledge. The 2011-2012 roster currently is looking like this:

• Guards – Frazier, Buie, Burke, Marshall, Babb, Woodyard
• Forwards – Edwards, Borovnjak, Oliver, Alexis

I expect DeChellis and his staff to keep pursuing versatile forwards with the last 3 scholarships. The backcourt is stacked with depth, talent, and experience, but that front court isn’t going to win any Big Ten championships. There is some athleticism missing, so expect PSU to go hard after athletic, versatile forwards like Desmond Hubert from here on out.

***Also, I plan to keep track of all 3 commitments’ high school seasons, but it’s hard to do in this blog format. So I plan to keep an updated thread over at pennstatehoops.com, which I’m sure most of you readers check out anyway. But if you don’t (even though you should), that thread can be found here.