Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544053
A P R I L 2 0 2 6 6 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Lions reached the semifinals of the NIT in 2000, giving Dunn's team something to build on going forward. Crispin and Ivory returned the fol- lowing season, helping the Lions win nine of their 10 nonconference games to open the 2000-01 campaign. The Big Ten proved to be a much more difficult challenge, but they beat Michigan to open the conference tournament, then stunned second-ranked Michigan State in the quarterfinals, 65-63, eliminating the defending national champs on an off-balance three-pointer in the closing seconds by Crispin, who finished with 22 points. The upset over the Spartans was enough to get them off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament. Seeded seventh in the South Region, the Nit- tany Lions opened against 10th-seeded Providence. Thanks largely to forward Gyasi Cline-Heard, who supplied a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, the Lions prevailed, 69-59, and advanced to face fifth-ranked and second-seeded North Carolina in the second round. The game was set to take place at the Louisiana Superdome. That, of course, was the site of Penn State's first national championship in football two decades earlier, but all the other omens foretold a comfortable UNC victory. Possessing both a storied basketball tradition and ACC Player of the Year Joseph Forte, the Tar Heels were overwhelming favorites. The game started just as many had expected, with North Carolina jumping out to a 19-8 lead. PSU couldn't handle the Tar Heels' post players and didn't have an offensive rebound in the first 14 minutes. That was all part of the plan, though. Penn State had gone into the game look- ing to fluster North Carolina's perimeter shooters, fully aware that 7-foot center Brendan Haywood and future NFL star Julius Peppers were probably going to have a field day inside. Said Cline-Heard, "We just hoped for the best in the lane." Haywood and Peppers ended up com- bining for 34 points and 23 rebounds, but the plan worked. The Lions forced 22 turnovers, including 18 steals. And even when the Tar Heels were able to get off shots, they weren't falling often enough to keep pace with Penn State's scoring barrage. As a team, North Caro- lina went 3 of 17 from three-point range. Forte missed all six of his attempts from behind the arc, part of a 3-for-13 night. With Crispin and Ivory providing 21 points apiece and Cline-Heard adding 19, the Lions overcame their early deficit and surged ahead for an 82-74 victory. It was one of the biggest upsets in the tournament that year, although Crispin said afterward he wasn't surprised. "I really expected us to win this game," he said. "I totally expected it. We felt we could wear them down. It's a great win, but we want to keep going." Ivory was even more effusive. He had grown up in Charlotte, N.C., with dreams of someday playing for the Tar Heels. Instead, he ended up being a thorn in their side, but that was okay, too. Said the Nittany Lion standout, "I'm definitely looking forward to my high school reunion." 'A Great Ride' With its second-round victory, Penn State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the tournament's modern history, setting the stage for a matchup of dueling Cinderellas. Like PSU, Tem- ple had been a borderline tournament team. The Owls lost seven in a row at midseason, including a 66-60 defeat at the Bryce Jordan Center in December, and they needed to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament to be assured of a spot in the NCAA field. The rematch was played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta with such luminaries as Joe Paterno and Franco Harris in the crowd. Their presence didn't go unno- ticed by Temple fans, who chanted at PSU's supporters, "Stick to football!" By halftime, that was starting to sound like a pretty good idea. Unleashing coach John Chaney's famed matchup zone, the Owls finished the first half on a 22-5 run and took an 18-point lead into the locker room. The Lions never recovered. Hold- ing Crispin to 12 points, Temple coasted to an 84-72 victory and moved on to the Elite Eight. For Penn State, the sting of the loss was especially acute since it would have faced Michigan State in the next round, the same team it had edged in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Still, it remains the high point of the program's modern history, and the 21-12 finish was Penn State's best until it went 27-11 en route to the NIT championship in 2009. "This has been a great ride for me, the seniors and the entire Penn State team," Ivory said. "We didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish, but we ac- complished more than people thought we would." In the quarter-century since their memorable appearance in the Sweet 16, the Nittany Lions have made only two trips to the NCAA Tournament and posted just one victory — a 76-59 win over Texas A&M in 2023. A combination of factors, from confer- ence expansion to the transfer portal to NIL spending sprees by better-funded rivals, have only steepened the climb for programs like Penn State that are trying to break through. At his postgame presser following the loss to Northwestern, Rhoades spoke of the need to take stock of positive devel- opments and "use that to catapult us and move forward." Where that approach will lead in 2027 is anyone's guess. If nothing else, though, the Lions can take heart in the knowledge that it happened once before. ■ "I really expected us to win this game. I totally expected it. We felt we could wear them down. It's a great win, but we want to keep going." J O E C R I S P I N O N P E N N S T A T E ' S 8 2 - 7 4 U P S E T O V E R N O R T H C A R O L I N A I N 2 0 0 1