The Big Ten has sent college conferences across America into a tizzy with its announcement that it will examine the possibility of expanding. Of course, the announcement was really a non-announcement – the conference has always looked at expansion issues every few years. However, this feels a little bit different this time around where it feels as if though the conference is finally starting to think about options outside of the Irish-born elephant located in the middle of the conference footprint in South Bend that always seems so stubborn or what they would call “independent”.

A few years ago, I wrote that if the Big Ten ever wanted to expand with a school other than Notre Dame, then it ought to invite Syracuse for a variety of reasons. A lot of the same analysis still applies today, although I wanted to do a comprehensive review of the various candidates using a 100-point index as I’ll expand upon in a moment. The conclusion is that the best available Big Ten candidate certainly wears orange, but it’s not who most of the general public is discussing even though it makes incredible sense considering that a new school has to have a massive impact in order to make it worth it for the conference, which is the nation’s oldest and wealthiest, to split the pot 12 ways instead of 11….

Read it all:  The Big Ten Expansion Index: A Different Shade of Orange « FRANK THE TANK’S SLANT.

By Ray Richardson

Lawrence Westbrook knew it was going to be a memorable night in Williams Arena. The University of Minnesota was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Gophers men’s basketball team that advanced to the Mideast Regional final of the 1990 NCAA tournament.

Former Gophers coach Clem Haskins and virtually his entire team from that season was in town for the Gophers’ Big Ten Conference opener Tuesday night, and Westbrook wanted to put on a good show for his predecessors.

The senior guard spent most of the day in Williams working on his jumper, and the extra practice paid off. Westbrook hit three of his four three-pointers in the second half and matched his career-high with 29 points to spark the Gophers to a 75-70 victory over Penn State before a sellout crowd of 14,625.

“That’s what I’m here for … to score,” Westbrook said. “I always like to get in some extra shooting when I can.”

The Gophers (10-3) won their Big Ten opener for the first time since the 2006-07 season after opening with losses to Michigan State the past two seasons.

Westbrook made 11 of 16 shots from the floor, including 4 of 6 three-pointers. He also sank two free throws in the final 40 seconds to help the Gophers hold off Penn State (8-5)….

Read it all:  Lawrence Westbrook ignites Gophers in Big Ten opener in front of U’s former stars – TwinCities.com.

By Marco LaNave

As the season’s competition made a permanent step up on Tuesday night, the Gophers got a big performance from their veteran scorer who had been relatively quiet throughout the nonconference schedule.

In the Big Ten opener, senior guard Lawrence Westbrook tied a career high with 29 points to lead the Gophers 1-0 Big Ten, 10-3 overall to a 75-70 victory over Penn State 0-1, 8-5 in front of a sellout crowd at Williams Arena.

“The Big Ten season is where all the men play,” Westbrook said. “If you’re a player, you step up and you make plays. I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time; I couldn’t even sleep [Monday] night.” …

Read it all: Westbrook, Gophers outlast Penn State in Big Ten opener | mndaily.com – Serving the University of Minnesota Community Since 1900.

By Jeff Rice

Penn State opens its Big Ten season tonight against a Minnesota team that shuffles players in and out of the lineup with the frequency of a teenage girl changing outfits before the big dance.

The Golden Gophers 9-3, who host the Nittany Lions 8-4 at 9 p.m. in Williams Arena in Minneapolis, have 11 players who average between 9.5 and 25.1 minutes per game for head coach Tubby Smith. Who starts the game and who finishes it is determined by how well the Gophers play as well as by the flow of the game.

Ed DeChellis has fewer options. But his eight-to-nine-man rotation, for a couple of different reasons, could have a different look tonight.

“Our guys understand that we’re going to mix things up and nothing’s in stone,” DeChellis said. “Guys could move up or move down.”

Sophomore guard Chris Babb, who began the season as a starter, returns to the starting lineup in place of freshman Tim Frazier, due to both the recent strong play of Babb and the turned ankle suffered by Frazier who should still be available during Sunday’s practice….

Read it all: Lions shuffling into Big Ten play | Penn State News | Sports – Centre Daily Times.

By DAVID JONES, The Patriot-News

December 25, 2009, 9:09AM

More than any other sport that I’ve covered, basketball allows for the occurrence of the highly improbable. Something about the erratic emotional schisms of the game mingled with the ability of a smarter, more cohesive team to overcome a much more gifted and talented one.

When a savvier underdog fells a bloated favorite, especially at a non-aligned NCAA tournament venue where much of the crowd wants to see an upset anyway, there’s this exquisite beauty to it. It’s the best of why we watch spectator sport.

That’s what happened in my two favorite moments of this decade, recorded on the same date four years apart. Paul Vigna, our sports editor, has asked us to write small pieces about the best events we’ve covered in the aughts. Though the 2005 PSU football games against Minnesota and Ohio State announcing the arrival of the Nittany Renaissance were prime candidates, for sheer excitement and astonishment, these are my picks…

Penn State 82, North Carolina 74
NCAA South Regional second round
New Orleans, March 18, 2001

The longer it’s been since this happened, the more I doubt it actually did.

The Tar Heels entered this second-round game in New Orleans as massive a favorite as they were. Their 7-1 center Brendan Haywood is now an 8-year NBA vet with the Washington Wizards. Their 6-7, 270-pound power forward Julius Peppers became the second overall pick in the NFL Draft the following year and has been a regular Pro Bowl defensive end since.

Neither was supposed to be UNC’s best player. That was wing guard Joseph Forte, the 2001 ACC player of the year and soon to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft – chosen ahead of Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas….

Read it all: My moments of decade: PSU and Bucknell upsets in Dance | David Jones with The Patriot-News – PennLive.com.

9. April 3: Penn State 69, Baylor 63

Yes, Penn State’s on this list. Why? Because winning the NIT put the Nittany Lions on the national map. Madison Square Garden was hit with a springtime white-out as 36 busloads of students made the trip from State College for the championship game. Even Joe Paterno came to his native New York City for the occasion….

7. March 6: Penn State 66, Illinois 64

Yes, the Nittany Lions are on here twice. The shot that won this game wasn’t an absolute buzzer-beater, but it was pretty close. Talor Battle’s layup after he dashed the length of the court hit the backboard, the front of the rim and the back of the rim before bouncing in with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

It wasn’t enough to get Penn State to the NCAA Tournament, but it was still a tremendous finish.

via The top 10 local college basketball games of 2009 | Philly | 12/24/2009.

By Jeff Rice

UNIVERSITY PARK — A lot of the shots that had clanged off of various parts of the rim for much of the semester went down for Penn State during its last two games in the Bryce Jordan Center, both the Nittany Lions’ 104-57 dismantling of Gardner-Webb on Saturday as well as Monday’s 76-57 defeat of American.

And the Nittany Lions 8-4, who wrapped up their non-conference season with a businesslike if not entirely well-rounded performance, know they will have to make shots to have a chance at winning just about any game on the Big Ten slate, which opens Dec. 29 at Minnesota.

But in a league in which the style of play is so often described by words such as “grinding” or “hard-nosed,” they know they will have to play some defense, too.

read it all:  Lions muscle past Eagles in non-conference finale | Penn State News | Sports – Centre Daily Times.

By Jeff Rice

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis lamented last week that his team was having trouble finding a second scorer to help lead guard Talor Battle.DeChellis found five of them Saturday as the Nittany Lions rolled over Gardner-Webb 104-57 in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Battle once again led Penn State 7-4 with 21 points in just 24 minutes, but his supporting cast also came to play against the over matched Bulldogs 3-7 as six Nittany Lions reached double figures.

Freshman point guard Tim Frazier, who had scored a total of nine points in his last three games, had 18 points Saturday. Forward Andrew Jones had five points in the first two minutes and finished with 11. Penn State also got 47 bench points — 13 from Bill Edwards and 12 apiece from Chris Babb and Andrew Ott.

The Nittany Lions finished 53 percent from the field and made 12-of-26 3-pointers. They also collected 22 assists, seven from Frazier, who created scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates by taking the ball hard to the basket all evening….

Read it all: PSU rolls to easy triumph | Penn State News | Sports – Centre Daily Times.

By Steve Blackledge
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The best high school boys basketball team in Columbus taught a lesson last night to the nation’s No. 1-ranked team. It went like this:

One can amass an awesome collection of major college-bound talent from around the world, but there’s still something to be said for good defense, execution, hustle, poise and motivation.

With its second-best player, Ohio State-bound senior J.D. Weatherspoon, on the bench because of a sprained ankle, Northland shut down and stunned Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev., 53-52 before a packed house in Otterbein College’s Rike Center and a nationwide television audience.

It snapped a 44-game win streak by the Pilots, the reigning national champions, and enhanced the status of a talented Vikings team shooting for its second straight Division I state title….

…More so than any time in his career, Jared Sullinger carried the Vikings (2-0) on his shoulders, flashing his considerable one-on-one skills.

“I was in a comfort zone, and Trey Burke made some great decisions to feed me the ball in the right spots,” Sullinger said.

Satch Sullinger conceded that he entrusted the offense to Burke, a junior headed to Penn State.

“I can’t take any credit for calling those plays,” he said. “Trey’s a baller and he decided to spread the floor and keep leaning on Jared. In a game of this magnitude, you go with the horse that brought you.”

Read it all: Northland topples country’s No.1 team | The Columbus Dispatch.

By Tom Brolley

The Wyoming Valley’s next big thing on the hardwood will be keeping his services in state and close to home.

Holy Redeemer’s Pete Alexis made a verbal commitment over the weekend to play basketball at Penn State.

Alexis, just a junior, made the decision to be a part of the Nittany Lions’ 2011 recruiting class 11 months before he can officially sign in November 2010.

“Penn State was the program that hit me,” said Alexis of making the decision at the start of his junior season. “It just hit me that this is where I wanted to go.”

And Alexis hasn’t wasted any time getting familiar with his future teammates.

Trey Burke, a point guard from Columbus, sent Alexis a text message congratulating him on his decision. Burke committed to the Class of 2011 in October.

Alexis, a 6-foot-11 center, is already looking forward to playing in Penn State’s up-tempo style of play.

“I’ve been told I run the floor well for a big guy and with the way they run the floor it’s a good fit,” he said….

Read it all:  Alexis picks PSU – Sports – Citizens Voice.