Ninth NIT Appearance For Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 12, 2006 – The Penn State men’s basketball team has earned a No. 7 seed in the 69th National Invitation Tournament and will face No. 8 seed Rutgers (18-13) in a first round game Tuesday, March 14 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
The game will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU. It can also be heard live on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics.
“One of our goals coming into the season was post-season play,” Coach Ed DeChellis said. “I feel good about where we are at as a program. I think we got better as the year went along, and I think it is a goal well achieved. It’s an important step for us.”
In his third year as head coach, DeChellis has guided the Nittany Lions back to post-season play for the first time in five seasons. Penn State (15-14) has more than doubled its win total from last season and earned the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, improving to 6-10 in the conference after winning one league game last season. In the Big Ten Tournament, Penn State rolled past No. 9 Northwestern, 60-42, and led No. 1 Ohio State for the first 34 minutes before the Buckeyes rallied for a 63-56 win.
Penn State and Rutgers will be meeting for the 66th time and the third time in the past three seasons. Penn State leads the series, 37-28, including an 83-80 win at Rutgers last season. Geary Claxton led Penn State with 17 points and nine rebounds in that game. Rutgers won 60-47 in their last trip to the Jordan Center in 2003.
The winner of Tuesday’s clash will face No. 2 seed St. Joseph’s (18-13), which received a first round bye, in Philadelphia on Friday, March 17.
“You look at the bracket and there’s great match-ups in the first round games,” DeChellis said. “It’s a great tournament with some great teams.”
The Nittany Lions will be making their ninth appearance in the NIT and first since advancing to the semifinals in 2000. Penn State was the 1998 NIT runner-up and also advanced to the semifinals in 1995. The Nittany Lions also played in the NIT in 1966, ’80, ’89, ’90 and ’92.
The Big Ten’s youngest team, Penn State is led by Claxton (West Haven, Conn.), who was selected third team All-Big Ten and to the USBWA All-District I team in his sophomore season. The 6-5 Claxton leads PSU at 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The squad’s lone senior, 6-5 forward Travis Parker (Greenville, N.C.), averages 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) was the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Penn State’s first such selection. The 6-6 Cornley averages 11.5 points and 5.6 boards per game.
The Nittany Lions are one of three Big Ten teams selected into the 2006 NIT field. Michigan (18-10) earned a No. 1 seed and Minnesota (15-14) a No. 4 seed. The finalists from each of four brackets will meet in New York’s Madison Square Garden March 28 and 30.
Penn State’s last post-season appearance saw the Nittany Lions advance to the 2001 NCAA Sweet 16, defeating Providence and North Carolina before falling to Temple in the NCAA South Regional semifinals.
NIT tickets will be available beginning Monday at 8 a.m. and may be purchased by calling 800-863-3336 (locally at 865-5555). Tickets will also be available at all area Athletic Ticket outlets – the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State Tickets Downtown, Eisenhower Auditorium and the HUB. The Bryce Jordan Center ticket office will remain open until 8:00 p.m. Monday. Student tickets will be made available at Gate A of the Jordan Center beginning at 8 a.m. Monday (as well as other locations listed above). First round NIT tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for senior citizens and $5 for Students and youth (18 and under).