What a victory this is for Penn State basketball. This ranks up their with all the other great Penn State basketball triumphs like….uh….umm…..gimme a second here….uhm……oh, when Talor Battle led Penn State basketball to the Big Ten Tournament title game in 2011 with a semifinal victory. And didn’t the Crispin brothers or something upset North Carolina to reach the sweet sixteen one year?
Anyway, in getting their first conference win in 15 tries, Penn State basketball just crushed the Michigan Wolverines hopes of grabbing a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This is a big RPI killer and a very bad loss.
Penn State (9-18, 1-14 Big Ten) shot 53 percent in the second half to record its first Big Ten win of the year handing Michigan (23-5, 10-5 Big Ten) just its fifth loss of the season. The win marked the third time in program history the Nittany Lions defeated a team ranked No. 4 or higher and the highest ranked opponent Penn State has beaten since knocking off No. 2/3 Michigan State in the 2001 Big Ten Tournament.
“Words cannot express how I feel right now,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “These kids come with a great approach. We were on a 14 game losing streak and they still came with a great approach. They didn’t lose the fight or the fire, and I knew we were going to win one down the line. What a great night to do it on senior night. They will never forget that for as long as they live. They have earned it by going above and beyond.”
The very small number of fans that were there stormed the court. And it kind of looked odd, not having enough fans to truly rush the court.
“That is Penn State basketball,” Chambers said. “Get a good picture of that because that is what it is going to be. It was very good to see.”
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