enn State watched March Madness
from home again this year. It was
the ,-h season in a row in which
the Nittany Lions didn't receive an invi-
tation to the NCAA tournament, and their
absence wasn't a crushing disappointment
to head coach Patrick Chambers or anyone
around the program; just the opposite, in
fact.
Exceeding every preseason prediction,
the Nittany Lions went 16-15 in the reg-
ular season. By the time their season
ended – with a 79-75 loss to Ohio State
in the second round of the Big Ten tour-
nament in Indianapolis – every ounce
of juice had been extracted. And in that
context, Chambers felt content to pass
up opportunities to continue the post-
season in half-rate tournaments.
"I think emotionally and physically,
we were spent," Chambers said. "After
that Ohio State game, I saw guys keeled
over. I saw a guy cry for 30 minutes and
wear his uniform back to the hotel. I just
could see it in their faces. 'I just gave
everything I had to this program. I'm
shot.'
MEN'S BASKETBALL
ONE TO GROW ON
P
Chambers eager to build on Nittany Lions' encouraging 2015-16 season
STEADY
IMPROVEMENT
Chambers
has guid-
ed Penn State to
three consecutive
16-win regular sea-
sons. The Nittany
Lions finished 16-16
overall this year af-
ter ending their sea-
son with a loss to
Ohio State in the
second round of the
Big Ten tournament.
Photo by Patrick
Mansell
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