As much as any team that has lost six of its last seven games can, the Penn State Nittany Lions enter this week’s Big 10 tournament in Chicago on an emotional high.
That comes courtesy of the Nittany Lions knocking off Minnesota 79-76 in their regular-season finale Sunday on the strength of a late three-pointer by senior sharpshooter D.J. Newbill. As a reward for it all, PSU (16-15, 4-14 Big Ten) faces a stretch of three games in three days if they are to have any chance at all of earning their place in the postseason.
It all starts when the No. 13 seeded Nittany Lions face Nebraska on Wednesday at the United Center where average ticket will be $154.85 with a get in of $5. The right to face the fifth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes lies in the balance.
Newbill finished the day with 31 points against the Golden Gophers and by the time his masterpiece was over, he had stoked new life into his recently struggling team. During the regular season, the Lions forced Nebraska into overtime before succumbing, and the same holds true for Iowa and Purdue, their two most likely next opponents if they are able to advance beyond the tournament’s opening day.
As has been the case all season long, the Lions’ entire attack figures to revolve around the explosive Newbill, who averaged a conference-leading 21 points to go along with five rebounds and nearly three assists per game.
But, even with Nebraska riding an eight game losing streak, the Nittany Lions know it can’t all be about Newbill if they are to having any chance at extending their season.
Brandon Taylor averages 9.3 point game for PSU and Ross Travis leads the team in rebounding at 6.3. They’ll need those kinds of contributions and more to overcome Terran Petteway (18 points, five rebounds and three assists) and the Cornhuskers.
Penn State fans can help send Newbill out the right way, or ride his amazing wave into the NCAA Tournament using Hipmunk.com to get you to the conference tournament by offering flights to Chicago and Chicago hotels.
All and all, Penn State comes to Chicago feeling as if it’s a team that has something to prove. Brilliant as he’s been, that as true for Newbill as it is for any of his teammates. In recent voting for the conference’s top 5 players, Newbill was left off the first team in voting by both the media and coaches.
That sizeable chip on his shoulder could go a long way in making this a weekend to remember for Penn State.
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