Lions vs. Tigers

Since I’ve been too busy studying (read: playing Fire Emblem) to post in a while, here’s a recap of what happened to the PSU basketball team since the Disney World disaster…

A close 66-61 victory over Virginia Tech in the Big Ten v. ACC challenge helped raise morale, although VaTech’s incredible inability to shoot the ball was a big reason for PSU’s victory. The Hokies were just 2/13 from long-range, where opponents normally slay the Lions.

A few days later, the Lions and a busload of crazed Nittany fans travelled to Philly to take on St. Joseph’s on Pennsyvlania’s home court. Being at the Palestra (that’s the arena’s name) was such a cool experience for me, because it was a historical site that I was completely unaware of until I walked in. Think Wringley Field or Fenway Park, except for college basketball. The trip was definitely worth the spanking that the Hawks handed to us. The game was actually tied at 28 heading into the half, but PSU’s defense broke down midway through the 2nd half. The Hawks capitalized on a variety of 3-point and fast-break attempts, but our student section’s spirit was never broken. We cheered our way all the way out of the Palestra, pissing off the St. Josephs fans who expected a more somber demeanor.

A week later, Penn State returned home to take on tourney hopeful Seton Hall. After falling behind by playing man-to-man defense in the 1st half, the Lions switched to zone in the 2nd. Amazingly enough, Seton Hall’s 3-point percentage shrunk dramatically when playing against the 2-3 zone. The missed shots allowed Penn State’s fast break to lead the comeback effort, just like last year’s game against Ohio State. This time, however, Penn State would emerge victorious, with much thanks to Talor Battle’s 2nd half explosion. After dunking on a fast break with less than 7 minutes left for his first points of the game, Battle cranked a 3-pointer that helped push the game into overtime. There’s Battle’s heroics continued with another pair of 3s and a driving layup. It was enough to propel the Lions to victory, although their poor free throw shooting kept the game exciting until the clock hit 0:00.

And so here we are on December 12th, with Penn State ready to take on the Princeton Tigers in just a couple of hours. Princeton is led by sophomore center Zach Finley from the inside and sophomore guard Lincoln Gunn from the outside. Both average double figures in points scored and shoot 47% from the field. The big difference is that Gunn is 16/36 (44%) from long-range, while Finely hasn't attempted a 3 all season.

Princeton's captain is senior forward Noah Savage. He seems to be a decent scorer from long- and short-range with shooting percentages of 38% inside and 39% outside the arc. He averages 9.9 points per game. Nobody on Princeton has a rebounding average above 5.5, but it's hard to tell anything from that, because Princeton's possessions are said to use up nearly the entire shot clock. Low scoring and rebound averages could be the result of less possessions per game than the average team.

The Tigers' last game was a horrendous 53-32 loss to something called Evansville. Princeton had more turnovers (15) than field goals (13), while shooting 33% from the floor. I'd expect a slightly better performance out of them tonight, but PSU should win by at least ten.

By the way, here's a great post from the Penn State Hoops boards analyzing State's strengths and weaknesses so far. Enjoy!