UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Happy days in Happy Valley.
Who would have thought of Penn State as a basketball school?
The Nittany Lions have been hidden for most of this season in the shadows of the school’s national ranked football program, national championship wrestling team and well-funded ice hockey team.
But it is hard to dismiss this team as an afterthought anymore after the way they blew by eight-ranked Ohio State, who came into the game leading the Big Ten, 77-56, before a crowd of 10.985 in a White Out at the Bryce Jordan Center. This was the Lions’ second victory over the Buckeyes (22-6, 13-2) this season and by far their best performance of the year. It culminated in a court storming from giddy undergrads included football coach James Franklin.
Penn State may be young, with three sophomore starters, 6-5 guard Tony Carr, 6-8 forward Lamar Stevens and 6-9 center Mike Watkins, but this is arguably the most athletic team ever to play on this campus. Carr, Stevens and Watkins, who are all from the Philadelphia city leagues, are emerging as stars.
Carr, the former Roman Catholic star who scored 28 points and knocked down a three- point game winner at the buzzer when Penn State beat Ohio State, 82-79, in Columbus earlier this year, continued to torment the Buckeyes with 30 points on an efficient 9 of 15 shooting with four threes. He also grabbed five rebounds and had 3 assists and just one turnover in 35 minutes. This was the fourth time Carr has scored 30 or more in a game this season and the first time he did it on less than 20 shots.
“This definitely makes a statement that we aren’t a push over and this wasn’t a fluke,’’ Carr said. “This was definitely a confidence booster for me. I’m used to teams throwing one, two defenders at me during a game. But they couldn’t stop me.’’
Carr proved to be a nightmare for Ohio State. “He’s tough matchup for us,’’ Buckeyes’ coach Chris Holtmann said. “We tried everybody on the perimeter on him,’’ Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said. “We even tried (6-7 forward) Keita (Bates-Diop) on him. We’ve pretty much run the gammet on him.”
Senior guard Shep Garner, another Philly recruit, finished with 13 points for Penn State, which has won four straight league games. Junior point guard Josh Reaves had 12 points, six assists and three steals. Watkins had the 21st double double of his career with 11 points and 10 assists. Penn State, which made 11 of 14 three pointers in Columbus, had nine this time and was the more active team, out rebounding Ohio State, which did not react well to their physicality, 38-30.
These Lions are growing up.
It has taken a while, but seventh-year coach Pat Chambers has finally unlocked the secret to building team that can be a factor in the conference by successfully recruiting marquee players from that basketball rich city. Penn State is 19-9 overall and 9-6 in league play. They still have difficult games at Purdue, home against Michigan and at Nebraska before the Big Ten tournament in the Garden.
But they should be an NIT team at worst and, if Carr—a legitimate NBA prospect– stays for his junior year, the Lions are not that far away from being a contender in the Big Ten next season.
The euphoric Penn State fans were more than happy to chant, “Over rated, overrated,’ as Ohio State—the surprise team in the Big Ten –came back to earth with a thud. The Buckeyes looked tired defensively, struggling all game to stop Penn State from getting to the paint in the half court and struggling to score themselves against Penn State’s tough, physical defense.
The game was over before it started with Penn State surging to a 45-21 lead at halftime. Bates-Diop, a candidate for Big Ten player of the Year, finished with just 10 points and 5 rebounds on 4 of 11 shooting and veteran forward Jae’Sean Tate had just six points. The Buckeyes shot just 38.9 percent. “We want defense to be our identity. That and speed. Speed kills.’’
“We’re not immune to having tough nights against good teams,’’ Holtmann said. “I everybody understands margin for error is slim. if they don’t, they do now.’’
Ohio State and Michigan State are tied for first in the Big Ten, a game ahead of Purdue, which lost to Wisconsin last night. The Buckeyes have three games remaining at Michigan, against Rutgers and at Indiana.
As for Penn State, it’s time to break up the climbing gear. “Our slogan is climb,’’ Chambers said. “It hasn’t been easy. We’ve fallen, but we’ve gotten back up and we want to go further and further up the mountain.’’