Sloppy play and poor bench play plagued Penn State basketball Wednesday night, as they fell to Boston College 73-61.
It wasn't pretty -- for 35 of the 40 minutes, Penn State played their worst basketball of the season -- but a late effort by Penn State's Jermaine Marshall and D.J. Newbill made it a game, bringing a 20 point defecit to within 3 with 3:08 remaining. Ultimately, it wouldn't be enough, as Boston College capitalized on free throws in the final minutes.
Tonight at the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State will try to do its part to prove that the Big Ten is the best college basketball conference in the country. The Nittany Lions will square off with Boston College in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, a team they defeated 62-54 on the road last fall. The game begins at 9:15 a.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU. Students in attendance will receive a free snapback hat.
The top-seeded Nittany Lions took home some serious Big Ten hardware, winning 10 awards after going 19-1 in the conference this season.
The dominance continues for Penn State Women's Volleyball. Yesterday, Russ Rose's team was named the #1 overall seed of this year's NCAA tournament. The Nittany Lions (29-2), who've won the National Championship four of the five years, have been placed in the West Lafayette regional and open up against Binghamton (13-17) on 7:30 p.m. this Friday in Rec Hall.
Penn State's sports did well this weekend. Women's Soccer advanced to the College Cup, while Women's Volleyball earned the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Men's Basketball team, without Tim Frazier, beat a previously undefeated Bucknell team.
Despite a poor first half that saw Penn State shoot only 16.1% from the field, the Nittany Lions played a strong second half to defeat the previously undefeated Bucknell Bison 60-57. After a rough week including a season ending injury to senior point guard Tim Frazier, it was an important victory for a team that will be challenged throughout the season.