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.