Congratulations to Penn State...but not really

Congratulations to the Penn State Nittany Lions Basketball team for winning the NIT over Baylor last night at MSG. You are the top team of all the teams not considered as top teams by NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. By winning all of those high stressed tournament games, you have proven that not only can you beat good teams not wanting to be there, that you can do so without anyone noticing. All that you managed to do was prolong the inevitable, ending the season out of the Tournament. Fifty or sixty years ago, the National Invitational Tournament meant a great deal, unfortunately you are fifty or sixty years too late. No one will remember that the Nittanies beat George Mason in OT, or that you crushed Notre Dame. In fact, no one will remember who won the NIT in 2009 by the time July rolls around, let alone remember next year. Think of it this way, you are not the runner up to Miss America, you were runner up to the chick who went to the pageant to become runner up.

It’s shameful, I know, but despite you 27-11 record, how many Penn State basketball fans can deem this season a success? Winning the NIT may get you a banner to hang in the Bryce Jordan Center, but the fact that the team failed to add to its lowly eight appearances in the big dance diminishes the value of the season on the whole. But what can you do? You play the schedule you have, and you have to win the games you can. But now that win against NJIT is wasted, and as a matter of fact, that win probably didn’t help, particularly in the RPI. Needless to say, all of the patsies that Penn State beat got them no closer to the big dance than that win against Final Four participant Michigan State did. And Penn State is not the only one. A bunch of teams play walkovers at the beginning of the season in an effort to prepare for conference play and to enhance the record. And if you were in the Big East, you wouldn’t have gotten a sniff of a whiff of tourney consideration. Overall, the Lions probably didn’t deserve to make it to the big dance and probably shouldn’t celebrate the NIT win either. To win a consolation bracket is hardly to have won at all.

An Early Exit For Temple

Dionte Christmas (left) played one of his best games at the collegiate level, but unfortunately this was the game that Semaj Inge (right)decided to try to become a shooter for the first time in four years. Christmas shot 8-16, including five three pointers to lead all scorers with 29 points. Inge on the other hand shot 0-10 with his two points coming in the form of free throws. Why, on this date, Semaj wanted to score is beyond me. He did average nearly seven shots a game this season, but there is no way that he is considered anything more than a fifth option when he is on the floor. I could certainly understand it if Christmas was being shut down, but Dionte was seemingly having his way with the ASU defense, but beyond that Sergio Olmos and Lavoy Allen were more viable offensive options. Fran Dunphy should have nipped that in the bud. I cannot blame the entire loss on the poor shooting Inge, but if that ball got spread around a bit more, particularly in the first half, I think the Owls would have pulled off the upset.

Is There An Un-Must Win For Temple?

Tonight the Temple Owls continue their quest to become more than just a bubble team. Winners of five in a row the Owls face the LaSalle Explorers in a matchup that means much more to Temple's chances of getting into the big dance than LaSalle's chances of getting into the A-10 tournament. LaSalle 14-12 (5-7 in the A-10) are on a two game slide and roll into the Liacouras Center to face a team trying to win the conference, or at least a bye in the tourney. The Owls are 9-3 in conference games, tied with Rhode Island, 1/2 game behind Xavier, and 1/2 ahead of Dayton. A win tonight will go a long way in the standings and hopefully get Fran Dunphy and crew revved up enough to go into Dayton on Saturday and pull off an upset. Dionte Christmas should also be able to score 20 points for the first time since facing URI on January 28th, as the NBA prospect will be called upon to lead the team as it approaches post-season play. There is not, and make no mistake about their tournament chances, a game that Temple can afford to lose, including Dayton, if they want to dance for the second straight year.

Be Careful Temple

Temple cannot afford to squander a 10 point lead late in the game and even hope to sniff NCAA consideration. This years A-10 looks a bit tougher than it did last year so if Xavier doesn't win the whole thing, including the conference tournament in March, someone else might...like Dayton. Last year, Temple got hot at just the right time and was able to win the A-10 crown. This year is a different story. Right now, at 14-9, they're not really on the bubble. They need to keep winning and get their win total up. They do have wins against Tennessee and and upsurgent Penn State that will help them when they haven't had those wins in the past. With seven games left, if they can pull out six wins (accounting for a loss against Dayton), a 20-10 record may get them enough on the bubble for the big dance that they slip in as an 11th seed. Not that they'll do much in the tourney, but Dionte and company need to do something that will put Temple Basketball back on a consistent track to the NCAAs.