Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD M A T T L I N G E R M A N | L I N G E R M A N M A T T H E W @ G M A I L . C O M he Big Ten cemented itself as the deepest conference in college bas- ketball last season when it sent a league-record eight teams to the NCAA tournament. Penn State wasn't one of those eight teams. In fact, it's frequently been noted that the Nittany Lions haven't played in the NCAA tournament since the 2011-12 season, when Ed DeChellis led them to a 16-13 regular-season record and a loss to Temple in the round of 64. DeChellis left for Navy the following off-season, and Penn State hasn't been back to March Madness since. Whether or not more than half of the Big Ten is chosen on Selection Sunday 2020, as was the case last year, remains to be seen. But it's likely that a top-half finish in the conference will be enough to secure a bid. This season, the Nittany Lions are built to do that – and their best player hasn't been coy about it. "For me, being a senior, just knowing this is my last year playing college bas- ketball, [playing in the NCAA tourna- ment] is something I always dreamed about as a kid," Lamar Stevens said. "It's not overwhelming for me. It's a chal- lenge that I'm ready to accept, and I think that my teammates are as well. It's something I've dreamt about forever. I'm excited for the challenges that come and the adversity we're going to face to get there, but I think this team will be ready for that step." It's also easy to forget that Penn State was closer to breaking through last year than its record would suggest. Of the team's 18 losses, nine were by two or fewer possessions. KenPom rankings had Penn State not only as a top-45 team in the country, but also the 12th-unluckiest team in all of Division I. Of course, making your own luck is part of being a quality team. But in the second half of last season, during which they went 7-3 in Big Ten play before falling in their first game of the confer- ence tournament to Minnesota, the Lions looked like a quality team. "I would say the end of last year, I think we were one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, if not the country, and I hope to take that momentum and bring it in," Patrick Chambers said. "We brought it this summer for sure, and we need to bring it into nonconference play. I really believe by Lamar coming back there was just more belief and even more confi- dence that we can do something special." Stevens' return to the Bryce Jordan Center alone makes Penn State a tourna- ment contender. He is a legitimate candi- date for Big Ten Player of the Year and will likely be in the conversation for best power forward in the country come year's end. Plus, the significance of leading his team to the Big Dance is not lost on him. But Stevens' will alone won't be enough, because if that were the case, the Nittany Lions would have achieved that goal last year. The distinction this year is that the team has 10 players who are genuinely quality players. "We have a lot of guys who can erupt for 20 points a game," Stevens said. "We have guys who can get stops and re- bounds. That's the biggest difference for this team. There are so many guys who can play, so many different guys who can start each night and really step up in times that we need it. I think that's the biggest difference." In Penn State's season-opening wins over Maryland Eastern Shore and Wag- ner, six and five Nittany Lions hit dou- ble figures, respectively. While the quality of opponents wasn't high, Chambers' team didn't feel the loss of Josh Reaves and Rasir Bolton as heavily as some might have expected. In a potential early statement win over Georgetown, the Lions managed to not only win, but dominate a game in which Stevens struggled. He missed his first five shots from the floor and went to halftime with only four points, and yet Penn State led by eight at the break and never came close to relinquishing its lead. That's a sign of team growth. Myreon Jones has stepped up as a scor- ing combo guard, and Mike Watkins seems to be back to his old self. The bench is full of experience, like junior John Harrar, fifth-year guard Curtis Jones Jr. and redshirt sophomore Izaiah Brockington. And, for the first time in his tenure, Chambers isn't forced to play his top freshman, Seth Lundy, unless he wants to. In previous years, Lundy would have been the sixth man, if not a starter. Will that depth and Stevens' leader- ship be enough to end the drought? That remains to be seen. Michigan State and Maryland will pace the conference, with Ohio State and Pur- due not far behind. But after that, the Big Ten waters become murky. Michigan has a new coach in Juwan Howard and has to replace three starters from last year's team, and Wisconsin will have to adjust to life without Ethan Happ. Indiana is without Juwan Morgan and Romeo Lang- ford after underachieving last year, and Iowa should be a quality team, but not a world-beater by any means; the Hawkeyes have already lost to DePaul by 15 in Iowa City. Nebraska, Rutgers, Min- nesota and Northwestern, to put it kindly, are going to struggle to win games. In other words, expect there to be plenty of moving and shaking in the middle of the Big Ten pack this season. The makeup of Penn State's roster sug- gests it will be one of those teams in the mix to break into the top half of the league. If the Lions remain relatively healthy and don't make the tournament, they will be disappointed. ■ Challenge accepted T

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