July 7, 2009
The one thing that kept Penn State basketball from their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001 last year was their non-conference schedule. Quite frankly it was dreadful and loses to Temple and Rhode Island were the nail in the coffin of those tournament chances.
Everything ended well in the 2008-2009 season though when the Nittany Lions stormed to the NIT Championship. Will the 2009-2010 season end in the big dance this time? That is the question Penn State basketball fans want to know.
The 2009 non-conference schedule has been released and at first glance it looks stronger than last year. Will it be strong enough in the eyes of the selection committee come March 2010 if the Lions have put themselves in the mix for a spot in the 65 team field?
The schedule kicks off with two home games in the Bryce Jordan Center against Penn on November 13 and Robert Morris the 16th. Penn who is usually an Ivy League power had a down year last season and hurt Penn State’s RPI. At 252 they are the lowest on the Nittany Lions schedule this season which bodes well. Robert Morris went 24-11 and made the NCAA Tournament last year. Read the rest of this entry »
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College Basketball, Penn State | Tagged: ACC, ACC/Big Ten Challenge, America East, American, Big East, Big Ten, Bryce Jordan Cnter, Charleston Classic, Davidson, Gardner Webb, Georgia Tech, LaSalle, Liacouras Center, Miami, NIT, Penn, Penn State Basketball, Philly Hoops Classic, Rhode Island, Robert Morris, Sacred Hart, SEC, South Carolina, South Florida, Stephen Curry, Temple, Tulane, UMBC, UNC Wilmington, Virginia, Virginia Tech | 
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Posted by Mark
June 2, 2009
The NBA Finals are set to begin on Thursday between the Los Angels Lakers and the Orlando Magic. Before it does, I want to vent my frustration over one of the rules the NBA has that is different from college basketball.
This is the rule where the team can advance the ball past half court to inbound the ball after a timeout is called. On numerous occasions this has saved teams this postseason. None more notorious than LeBron James’ 25 footer that came after Cleveland’s Mo Williams threw in the pass from past half court after taking a timeout. Hedo Turkoglu thought he had won the game for Orlando after he hit a two point jumper to put the Magic up two with one second to go in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals. But due to the rule Cleveland had one last desperation attempt and we all know what happened with that.
Some might argue that this rule makes the game more exciting, giving a team an extra chance to tie the game or win the game at the end. I can understand why they may feel this way, it does create some dramatics. To me the rule just makes the game longer in the closing minutes and is unfair to the team who gets the ball advanced on them like the Magic in this example. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | College Basketball, NBA, Penn State | Tagged: Cavaliers, Cleveland, College Basketball, George Mason, Hedo Turkoglu, Illinois, LeBron James, Magic, NBA, NIT, Orlando, Penn State, Talor Battle | Permalink
Posted by Mark
