Basketball Penn State Men's Basketball upsets No.11 Wisconsin 87-83

[fairfaxlion2]

Why would “no one” have predicted we’d have 9 wins right now? I recall a lot more optimism than that heading into the season…and if we were to play it over again, I’d certainly hope for at least 9 wins.

yeah i agree with you on the 9. but nobody would have predicted 3-4 in the B1G right now after almost 100% roster turnover. and came awfully close to that being 4-3 or 5-2 (Maryland and NW)

 

[bison13]

yeah i agree with you on the 9. but nobody would have predicted 3-4 in the B1G right now after almost 100% roster turnover. and came awfully close to that being 4-3 or 5-2 (Maryland and NW)

Yes, I definitely thought they would have a better record in the nonconference than they did but some guys have underperformed so far and the chemistry was more of an issue than I thought it would be. My guess at the beginning would be that they win five or six conference games, but I think they could actually get to eight now.

 

[ryoder1]

Maybe slightly. The reality is PSU basketball fans have really low standards. Much lower standards than the football standards. The team is .500 and 0 top 10 wins. They stormed the court after beating the #15 team. Do you think PSU football would tear down the goal posts for a non top ten win vs Wisconsin?

Fans storm the court as Penn State upsets No. 15 Wisconsin | FOX Sports

The Penn State Nittany Lions upset the Wisconsin Badgers 87-83 and students stormed the court.

www.foxsports.com

So what? Yes, much different expectations because of the proud history of PSU football, the resources invested, the level of talent we get, the huge fan support and the astronomical coach's salary all make this an apples to oranges comparison.

 

[ryoder1]

First of all Wisconsin was ranked 11th, and they were undefeated in the Big Ten. But one of the main reasons for storming the court, other than supporting those kids who worked hard for this win, is that in the last 20 games, Penn State was 1-19 against Wisconsin, so beating Wisconsin in basketball is like the football team beating Ohio State and Michigan in the same year. Beating a top team for a first year head coach, with 10 new basketball players is a big deal. Can't understand why so many people have a problem with students storming the court to support their team is such a big deal.

He's mad that we are so happy about beating #11 Wisconsin who technically is not a top ten team but we demand Franklin to win top ten games before we are satisfied. He thinks if Franklin would beat a #11 Wisconsin at home then he would not get the "atta boy" praise that Rhoades is getting. He probably is right but if PSU football was ranked worse than 11th like 20th and we beat an 11th ranked Wisky team then that would be a good win for James, maybe even a big win.

 

[Erial_Lion]

So what? Yes, much different expectations because of the proud history of PSU football, the resources invested, the level of talent we get, the huge fan support and the astronomical coach's salary all make this an apples to oranges comparison.

I've often said to look at the pool of recruits that grow up dreaming of playing for our school. Kids throughout the northeast dream of playing football at PSU. Who grows up hoping to becomes a PSU basketball player? Kids from Center County and kids that are children of alums? And then we somehow get a child of an alum that grows up in Center County, and he turns out to be a lottery pick, but he heads elsewhere.

 

[ryoder1]

Yes, I definitely thought they would have a better record in the nonconference than they did but some guys have underperformed so far and the chemistry was more of an issue than I thought it would be. My guess at the beginning would be that they win five or six conference games, but I think they could actually get to eight now.

I think 8 wins in conference is certainly possible but need to beat Rutgers or Minny away to have a shot and take care of business at home versus just about everyone we play. Or run the table at home except vs Illinois.

It will be interesting/exciting to see what this Wisky win does for the team's confidence and if it manifests into better play on the floor moving forward.

 

[Erial_Lion]

I think 8 wins in conference is certainly possible but need to beat Rutgers or Minny away to have a shot and take care of business at home versus just about everyone we play. Or run the table at home except vs Illinois.

It will be interesting/exciting to see what this Wisky win does for the team's confidence and if it manifests into better play on the floor moving forward.

As a point of reference, Torvik has us going 8-12 at this point, while Pomeroy has 7-13. Bart has us favored in 3 more games, while Kenpom has favored twice more. It's going to come down to picking up wins in a few of those games where we'll be 5-7 point underdogs like @Rutgers, @Minnesota, @Indiana, MSU at home. Bart has the OSU game tomorrow as the toughest one left on the schedule (Ken has it as the 3rd toughest).

 

[ryoder1]

I've often said to look at the pool of recruits that grow up dreaming of playing for our school. Kids throughout the northeast dream of playing football at PSU. Who grows up hoping to becomes a PSU basketball player? Kids from Center County and kids that are children of alums? And then we somehow get a child of an alum that grows up in Center County, and he turns out to be a lottery pick, but he heads elsewhere.

Yeah I gotta believe we would have had a good chance to land Lively if it was football.

 

[Erial_Lion]

Yeah I gotta believe we would have had a good chance to land Lively if it was football.

He would have been a slam dunk for football...on the basketball side, he just got a little too good. If he's a top 75 kid with offers from other solid major programs, he might end up at PSU. But once Duke and Kentucky came calling, forget it. On the football side, we're one of the Dukes/Kentuckys.

 

[ryoder1]

As a point of reference, Torvik has us going 8-12 at this point, while Pomeroy has 7-13. Bart has us favored in 3 more games, while Kenpom has favored twice more. It's going to come down to picking up wins in a few of those games where we'll be 5-7 point underdogs like @Rutgers, @Minnesota, @Indiana, MSU at home. Bart has the OSU game tomorrow as the toughest one left on the schedule (Ken has it as the 3rd toughest).

I don't know what to make of MSU. They crushed us so I was expecting them to get on a roll but then they lose to NW and they lost to Illinois after that but I know Illinois is good. Izzo is a great coach so he will have them playing very well at the end of the season. It will take an excellent game from us to knock them off.

Tomorrow's game versus OSU could be interesting. They have lost three in a row including to Michigan so clearly on a bit of a slide. It would be nice if we could at least not begin the second half down double digits and actually be in it heading into the last 10 minutes.

 

[ryoder1]

He would have been a slam dunk for football...on the basketball side, he just got a little too good. If he's a top 75 kid with offers from other solid major programs, he might end up at PSU. But once Duke and Kentucky came calling, forget it. On the football side, we're one of the Dukes/Kentuckys.

Yeah except OSU would have been calling on him if it was football so who knows but point taken.

 

[mmuncci]

Yes, I definitely thought they would have a better record in the nonconference than they did but some guys have underperformed so far and the chemistry was more of an issue than I thought it would be. My guess at the beginning would be that they win five or six conference games, but I think they could actually get to eight now.

Biggest problem with the non conference was as you stated the chemistry wasn't there yet. I really do believe that if we played, VCU, Bucknell, Texas A&M and Butler now we would beat them. Bringing in 10 new guys is one thing, but then having most of them play a system they are not used to adds to the problem. Unfortunately we have 1 more loss than we should have with the GT game at the Garden.

 

[Erial_Lion]

Biggest problem with the non conference was as you stated the chemistry wasn't there yet. I really do believe that if we played, VCU, Bucknell, Texas A&M and Butler now we would beat them. Bringing in 10 new guys is one thing, but then having most of them play a system they are not used to adds to the problem.

Why would we beat those teams now? We'd be a significant dog against A&M, a big dog against Butler, and about a pick 'em with VCU. I agree that we'd beat Bucknell 9 out of 10 times that we play them (and closer to 10 out of 10).

 

[bison13]

Biggest problem with the non conference was as you stated the chemistry wasn't there yet. I really do believe that if we played, VCU, Bucknell, Texas A&M and Butler now we would beat them. Bringing in 10 new guys is one thing, but then having most of them play a system they are not used to adds to the problem. Unfortunately we have 1 more loss than we should have with the GT game at the Garden.

I don’t know if we win all of those, but I think Bucknell for sure and then Georgia Tech and maybe VCU. Those kids for VCU wanted that game just as bad as our guys did but either way I think we’d have two more wins.

Baldwin, Clary and Dunn need to continue to play very well and at least one other guy has to have a good game whether it’s Kern Q Hicks, or puff. And I really like what Lilley has been able to do recently. My best guess is that they get four more conference wins and one in the tournament to finish 14 and 18 or something like that, but I also think they have the potential to pick off another good team at home.

 

[mmuncci]

Why would we beat those teams now? We'd be a significant dog against A&M, a big dog against Butler, and about a pick 'em with VCU. I agree that we'd beat Bucknell 9 out of 10 times that we play them (and closer to 10 out of 10).

We are not the same team that we were when we were on the 5 game skid. We have not come together as we are now. Dunn, Wahab, and Kern are playing so much better now, the team is running Rhoades offense better, and the defense is coming around. Butler hasn't improved as much. We had a nice lead on them to start. Kanye got hurt early in the VCU game and did not have a good game. He played just 9 minutes and didn't score. The only team could be Texas A&M, but they wouldn't be a significant underdog. They are something like 10-7, and other than the big upset of Kentucky they haven't lit the scoreboard up scoring just 47 against a fair Virginia team that lost to ND, 53 points in a loss to LSU who is decent but no powerhouse. I just believe that we have improved more than those teams.

 

[bdgan]

We are not the same team that we were when we were on the 5 game skid. We have not come together as we are now. Dunn, Wahab, and Kern are playing so much better now, the team is running Rhoades offense better, and the defense is coming around. Butler hasn't improved as much. We had a nice lead on them to start. Kanye got hurt early in the VCU game and did not have a good game. He played just 9 minutes and didn't score. The only team could be Texas A&M, but they wouldn't be a significant underdog. They are something like 10-7, and other than the big upset of Kentucky they haven't lit the scoreboard up scoring just 47 against a fair Virginia team that lost to ND, 53 points in a loss to LSU who is decent but no powerhouse. I just believe that we have improved more than those teams.

I hope you're not basing your optimism on the Wisconsin game. PSU's defense was horrible and they were dominated on the boards as usual. PSU overcame those things with hot 3 pt shooting by Hicks & Baldwin but I'm skeptical that sustain that. I hope I'm wrong. Tomorrow will be a good test.

 

[Erial_Lion]

We are not the same team that we were when we were on the 5 game skid. We have not come together as we are now. Dunn, Wahab, and Kern are playing so much better now, the team is running Rhoades offense better, and the defense is coming around. Butler hasn't improved as much. We had a nice lead on them to start. Kanye got hurt early in the VCU game and did not have a good game. He played just 9 minutes and didn't score. The only team could be Texas A&M, but they wouldn't be a significant underdog. They are something like 10-7, and other than the big upset of Kentucky they haven't lit the scoreboard up scoring just 47 against a fair Virginia team that lost to ND, 53 points in a loss to LSU who is decent but no powerhouse. I just believe that we have improved more than those teams.

Texas A&M would be favored by about 7-8 on a neutral court tomorrow against us.

You assume that we’ve gelled, and all of these other teams are the same. VCU and Butler had just as much turnover as we did, and they have a bunch more games under their belt.

We’re two games removed from getting blown out at Purdue, 3 games removed from losing at home to Northwestern, and 5 games removed from getting destroyed at MSU. We haven’t suddenly become a juggernaut after our big home win. We are what we are, which is a lower tier Power 5 team that’s about the 100th best team in the country and has a lot of flaws.

 

[bdgan]

Texas A&M would be favored by about 7-8 on a neutral court tomorrow against us.

You assume that we’ve gelled, and all of these other teams are the same. VCU and Butler had just as much turnover as we did, and they have a bunch more games under their belt.

We’re two games removed from getting blown out at Purdue, 3 games removed from losing at home to Northwestern, and 5 games removed from getting destroyed at MSU. We haven’t suddenly become a juggernaut after our big home win. We are what we are, which is a lower tier Power 5 team that’s about the 100th best team in the country and has a lot of flaws.

IMO PSU has often been just 1 player away from being very good. Think what last year would have been like if we had a big man like Harrar. Instead we had Dread guarding Edey.

This year's team is 2 players away from being very good. Clary & Baldwin are good but we are consistently dominated on the boards and we don't have a spot up 3 pt shooter. It's tough to win like that. Baldwin made more 3s in the Wisconsin game than he did in the previous 5 games combined.

 

[mmuncci]

I hope you're not basing your optimism on the Wisconsin game. PSU's defense was horrible and they were dominated on the boards as usual. PSU overcame those things with hot 3 pt shooting by Hicks & Baldwin but I'm skeptical that sustain that. I hope I'm wrong. Tomorrow will be a good test

I hope you're not basing your optimism on the Wisconsin game. PSU's defense was horrible and they were dominated on the boards as usual. PSU overcame those things with hot 3 pt shooting by Hicks & Baldwin but I'm skeptical that sustain that. I hope I'm wrong. Tomorrow will be a good test.

Getting out rebounded is nothing new for Penn State, but I disagree with you that the defense was horrible. Wisconsin is 6th in the country in offensive efficiency. They average close to 77 points a game, and will probably put up 90 against Indian tonight. They don't turn the ball over, and we forced 13 turnovers that led to 16 points. Wisconsin had 2 field goals in the last 6+ minutes of the game, and 1 of those was the last meaningless shots. They are one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the conference, and we held them to 25% in the first half so they could not get out to a lead. We sped them up for much of the game, and made them play at our pace not theirs. Pressing like we do does give the other team a chance for some wide open shots, but the biggest part of the defense was Lilley making some very poor decisions, stemming from lack of real playing time. They scored 8 open baskets late in the game because of that. It was the same with NW. They average 8 turnovers a game, and we forced 18. The defense is coming along, and will get better, but when you hold a good offensive team to 2 baskets in 6+ minutes at crunch time, that is pretty darn good.