Third Place Might Not Be Good Enough: But There Is Still Hope

Yesterday, the Penn State Men's Basketball Team beat Towson to bring its overall record to 6-1 on the year. The Nittany Lions won 78-54, behind a near triple double from Talor Battle (15 Pts, 9 Asst, 8 Reb). This victory comes on the heals of a tough five-point loss to Rhode Island, one day earlier. A win against Rhode Island would have put Penn State into the championship game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic to play the host team: #20 Villanova. Instead, the Nitts had to settle for 3rd Place and a victory over an average mid-major Towson team.

As previously discussed on this board, due to Penn State's below-average non-conference schedule, I felt like Penn State needed to beat Rhode Island, and possibly beat Villanova, to be in a position to make a realistic run at an NCAA bid. That obviously did not happen. Certainly, even a win against Rhode Island and a loss to Villanova would have done more for Penn State's RPI, than a loss to Rhode Island and a win against Towson will do.

However, all is not lost. Penn State can redeem itself this week when they travel to Georgia Tech for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and host in-state rival Temple. While neither has the national recognition of a top-20 Villanova team, back-to-back wins against Georgia Tech and Temple would go a long way to a 12-1 non-conference record and a great deal of momentum going to an 18-game Big 10 schedule (a schedule that includes two chances against #6 Michigan State, #9 Purdue, and #19 Wisconsin).

Looking ahead, for Penn State to have a realistic shot at an NCAA bid, Penn State must finish 5th or better in a top-heavy Big Ten conference. For example, last year the 5th place team was Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished 10-8 in conference and 19-13 overall. However, Ohio State finished the season on the dreaded NCAA "Bubble," and ended up winning the NIT tournament.

Assuming that 10-8 will get Penn State to 5th place this year, and assuming that they can go 2 for 2 this week against a couple of good teams, that would leave the Nitts with a 22-9 overall record and a very good chance at an NCAA bid. They would at least be in every bubble discussion going into Selection Sunday. But to do that, they must bounce back this week and continue to play with confidence and poise, especially on the road against Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.