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Lions’ tank is on empty as they fall to lowly 1-13 in Big Ten Conference:

“STATE COLLEGE – The overriding lesson of this Penn State men’s basketball season is this:

“It’s foolish to say it can’t get any worse. It can always get worse.

“It did yesterday afternoon for the Nittany Lions. Seventeen days after getting blown out by 27 at then-last-place Purdue, a week after scoring 39 points at Northwestern and three days after snapping Michigan’s 10-game losing streak, the Nits sleep-walked through a 78-56 loss that handed the Iowa Hawkeyes their first Big Ten road win of the aging season.

“It’s one thing for a young, under-confident team to spiral into a losing mind-set. This team doesn’t even seem to be trying to pull back the yoke. Even before home crowds lately, they have offered no fight, no struggle. They look like rabbits in a cage of pythons waiting for an inevitable termination.

“This is a troubling sign. And not just for the here and now. …”

Centre Daily Times | 02/27/2005 | Frustrations continue to mount as Nittany Lions lose ninth straight:

“UNIVERSITY PARK — Mike Walker trotted to the Penn State bench and sat down dejectedly. Assistant coach James Johnson patted Walker’s knee, but the usually upbeat freshman would not be consoled, shaking his head and staring into space.

“Moments later, Geary Claxton, the Nittany Lions’ unflappable Freshman-of-the-Year candidate, could be seen mouthing ‘Oh, my God’ as he headed back up the floor following a call that didn’t go his way.

“Frustration is mounting upon frustration in Happy Valley, and it reached a new apex Saturday as Penn State spotted Iowa a 27-point halftime advantage, eventually falling 78-56 on a subdued Senior Day at the Bryce Jordan Center.

“The Nittany Lions (7-20, 1-13 Big Ten) lost their ninth straight game, this one to a group of Hawkeyes (17-10, 5-9) that hadn’t won a conference road game all season.

“Guards Adam Haluska and Jeff Horner, Penn State’s primary points of focus in practices this week, scored 22 and 19 points, respectively, many of them in transition — the Nittany Lions’ other focus.

“‘We really didn’t execute the things we talked about needing to execute,’ Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said, ‘and I think that’s the most disappointing thing to me.’ …”

FightOnState.com: Penn State Has No Answer:

“Iowa hit Penn State with an early haymaker at the BJC Saturday. The struggling Lions failed to respond and were blown out again.

“Say this much for Penn State basketball coach Ed DeChellis: He knows the game.

“Prior to facing Iowa at the Jordan Center Saturday, DeChellis told his team (and the media) about two keys to stopping the Hawkeyes. The first was using strong transition defense to encumber Iowa’s fastbreak. The second was keeping a hand in the respective faces of Hawk deadeyes Jeff Horner and Adam Haluska.

“He couldn’t have been more right. Because in pounding the Nittany Lions 78-56 on a forgettable PSU Senior Day, Iowa churned out 22 points on breaks, 16 of them when the game was decided in the first half. Horner and Haluska, meanwhile, got open looks at will, combining to make 17 of 29 shots (6 of 12 3-pointers) for 41 points.

“‘We identified what we needed to do,’ DeChellis said. ‘We talked about that for a couple days, and we couldn’t get it done. … We really didn’t execute the things that we talked about [that] we needed to execute, and that’s the most disappointing thing to me.’ …”

Centre Daily Times | 02/26/2005 | Despite records, Fellows and McDougald bidding a fond farewell:

“Kevin Fellows can count the number of Big Ten wins he has been a part of in four years on two hands, but he can’t forget Senior Night 2003.

“B.J. Vossekuil and Brandon Watkins combined for just nine points that night — Watkins left the game late with a bruised tailbone — but their teammates rallied around them as Penn State defeated Indiana 74-66 to record just their second conference win of the season.

“‘I didn’t touch the floor that night but it was still my favorite game,’ said Fellows, who will be honored with fellow seniors Jason McDougald and Jamaal Tate before the Nittany Lions host Iowa at 12:15 p.m. today at the Bryce Jordan Center. ‘To have (the seniors) get a win that night, it was just amazing.’

“Traditionally, Senior Night is held on the team’s final home game of the season, which this year is Wednesday against Minnesota. The Nittany Lions decided to move the ceremony to a weekend to accommodate the seniors’ families. …”

FightOnState.com: Senior Day for Nittany Lions (Iowa Preview):

“Penn State faces Iowa at the Jordan Center Saturday. It is the next to last home game of the season for the Lions, and seniors Kevin Fellows, Jason McDougald and Jamaal Tate will be honored. We caught up with Fellows and McDougald at a press conference Friday, and posted the audio of the interview [on the site]. …”

Centre Daily Times | 02/25/2005 | Jeff Rice | Nittany Lions stepping back to move forward:

“The question of the day, Penn State men’s basketball fans: Can you move forward and move backward at the same time?

“As coach Ed DeChellis, his youthful players and that small but fervent section of Nittany Lion faithful continue to promise that sunny days are ahead, the losses that occupy the present grow uglier and more frequent, and the majority of the fans struggle to stay patient.

“Barring at least one more win, which would require a level of play the Nittany Lions haven’t displayed this season in its four (or more) remaining games, Penn State will record the worst season in its 109-year history.

“Losses in their final three regular-season games and the first round of the Big Ten Tournament would put the Nittany Lions at 7-23 and 1-15 in the Big Ten.

“No Penn State team has ever had that many losses (the 1984 Nittany Lions were 5-22) and only one has had more conference losses (the 1993 Nittany Lions were 2-16 in the Big Ten). …”

FightOnState.com: Penn State’s Streak Goes On:

“Penn State’s last best hope to end its Big Ten road losing streak this season fell by the wayside in Ann Arbor Wednesday night. Michigan, riding a 10-game skid of its own, dispatched the Nittany Lions 63-48.

“The loss, Penn State’s eighth straight overall this season, was also the Lions’ 31st on the road in the conference (dating back to 2001). Including the Big Ten tournament, PSU has now lost 34 consecutive league games away from the Jordan Center. …”

Lions falter again on road:

“The Penn State men’s basketball team snapped a streak last night — Michigan’s 10-game losing stretch, that is.

“Thanks to the Nittany Lions (7-19 Big Ten, 1-12), Michigan (13-15, 4-10) picked up its first win since defeating Penn State on Jan. 15 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

“With a 63-48 win against the Lions at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Wolverines slipped past Purdue and now sit third-to-last in the Big Ten standings.

“Penn State, however, sits pretty comfortably at the absolute bottom of the conference, with nearly a four-year Big Ten road-losing streak still waiting to be snapped. …”

Centre Daily Times | 02/24/2005 | Wolverine sophomore’s career-high helps down Nittany Lions:

“ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There was No. 5, the most athletic player on the floor, slashing and dashing and raining jumpers from everywhere.

“It wasn’t Geary Claxton.

“Dion Harris, the slippery sophomore who has taken slumping Michigan on his back since the suspension of Daniel Horton, matched his career-high with 24 points Wednesday, leading the Wolverines to their first win in 11 games, a 63-48 defeat of punchless Penn State. …”

MLive.com: SportsFlash – Michigan 63, Penn St. 48

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — It wasn’t the unbridled joy the Michigan basketball team had hoped to create for itself and its fans this season, but it was a big sigh of relief.