By Jeff Rice
Penn State men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis likes preseason exhibition games against Division II opposition, such as the one his Nittany Lions will play against Slippery Rock at 6 p.m. tonight in the Bryce Jordan Center, because it gives his younger players a chance to “get rid of some jitters” and “play in front of some people.”
The downside, of course, is the risk of a humbling upset.
In the last week alone, Syracuse, a preseason top 25 team, lost by three points to Le Moyne, a Division II school, in the Carrier Dome. Florida International lost to Northwood, an NAIA school. Slippery Rock gave Pittsburgh all it could handle for much of the first half, then made a late second-half charge before falling 75-64.
“It’s early, and some of these Division II schools have very good players,” said DeChellis, whose team lost to Shippensburg three years ago during an exhibition game in the Jordan Center.
The Rock, who went 21-8 last season, shot 46 3-pointers against the Panthers, making 15, and 29 2-pointers, making seven. Junior forward Jabril Bailey made six of those threes and scored 18 points. Slippery Rock has just three players on its roster taller than 6-foot-5, which, coupled with the long-range shooting, will force some of the bigger Nittany Lions (David Jackson, Jeff Brooks, Andrew Jones, Andrew Ott and Sasa Borovnjak) to play a lot more perimeter defense than they’re accustomed to.
Read it all: Nittany Lions to tip off season with exhibition | Penn State News | Sports – Centre Daily Times.