Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
T H E M A I N E V E N T MEN'S ICE HOCKEY BIG TEN TOURNAMENT @ DETROIT M A R C H 1 6 - 1 8 | J O E L O U I S A R E N A | B T N Penn State has been playing catch-up since ice hockey became a Big Ten sport in 2013-14. The Nittany Lions only began varsity competition in 2012, while most of the league's other hockey programs – Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin – have been in operation for nearly a century. Those teams have com- bined for 23 national championships, including nine by the Wolverines. Ohio State, which launched its program in 1963, is the only one of the league's 2ve longstanding programs that doesn't have at least one NCAA title to its credit. Penn State doesn't have one, either, but it has gained a lot of ground on its rivals in a very short period of time. The Lions have continued their upward trajectory and are once again poised to surpass their win total from the previous season, a feat they have accomplished each of the past three years. For a while, they were ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com poll, but they slipped to No. 11 a5er a February swoon. Heading into their 2nal series of the regular season, a two-game visit to Michigan, Penn State was still mathematically alive for one of the tournament's top two seeds, which would give it a bye into the semi2nal round. But regardless of their seed, the Nittany Lions appear entirely capa- ble of challenging for their 2rst league tournament title. – M.H. SCORECARD MEN'S BASKETBALL 14-17, 6-12 NOVEMBER 4 W LOCK HAVEN (Exh.)..................................... 91-65 11-20 Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament 11 L ALBANY.............................................. 87-81 13 W DUQUESNE.........................................82-74 15 W GRAND CANYON................................. 85-76 19 L Duke at Uncasville, Conn.....................78-68 20 L Cincinnati at Uncasville, Conn.............. 71-50 23 W COLGATE....................................................72-59 26 W at George Washington.................................74-68 29 W GEORGIA TECH (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)...... 67-60 DECEMBER 3 W WRIGHT STATE............................................72-50 7 L GEORGE MASON.........................................85-66 10 L Pittsburgh at Newark, N.J............................ 81-73 18 W St. John's at New York (Hoops Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden).........................92-76 21 W MORGAN STATE..........................................96-55 27 L NORTHWESTERN........................................ 87-77 JANUARY 1 W at Rutgers..................................................60-47 4 L at Michigan................................................ 72-69 7 W Michigan State at Philadelphia (Palestra)......72-63 14 W MINNESOTA............................................... 52-50 18 L INDIANA.....................................................78-75 21 L at Purdue...................................................77-52 24 L at Wisconsin.............................................. 82-55 28 W ILLINOIS.....................................................71-67 FEBRUARY 1 L at Indiana..................................... 110-102 (3OT) 4 L RUTGERS...................................................70-68 7 W MARYLAND................................................ 70-64 11 W at Illinois....................................................83-70 14 L at Nebraska............................................... 82-66 21 L PURDUE..............................................74-70 (OT) 25 L at Minnesota..............................................81-71 28 L OHIO STATE................................................71-70 MARCH 5 L at Iowa...................................................... 90-79 8-12 Big Ten Tournament at Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center) 8 First round Nebraska 9 Second round 10 Quarter final round...................... TBA (BTN/ESPN) 11 Semifinal round................1 p.m./3:30 p.m. (CBS) 12 Championship game......................... 3 p.m. (CBS) would be extending an o3er. Signing day was less than one month away, and Brown had been getting ready to head to Temple for an o4cial visit. Franklin had previously presented the opportunity of a grayshirt, meaning that Brown would defer his enrollment until January 2018 while he continued to get his coursework in order. He wasn't interested. "I didn't want to grayshirt at all," Brown said. "I pretty much implied I was going to Temple." Franklin's o3er was for a full ride be- ginning this summer with the other signees. The work he had put in paid o3. Brown saw his e3orts rewarded in a similar manner at the indoor track and 2eld state championships in late Feb- ruary at PSU's Multisport Facility. A5er winning the outdoor 100-meter crown last spring, Brown had hoped to double up with an indoor sprinting title. But he knew that his previous times would be a few hundredths of a second too slow to claim the title. So he spent the week leading up to the state meet working closely with his track coaches in a controlled workout program focused on starting out of the blocks as abruptly as possible. "It's an important part, because if you don't get o3 the blocks fast, you're not catching up," Brown said. It's not what he likes doing, so when the time came to run the 60-meter state championship, he was ready. Brown turned in the state tourna- ment's best time with a run of 6.80 seconds, which ranks 10th nationally. In doing so, he tied the state record, set previously by former Penn State wide receiver Alex Kenney. Had it not been for the time that Brown put in during the week leading up to the race, he wouldn't have yet another state record under his belt. "I was comfortable the whole time because I knew my speed will take over on the straightaways," he said. "It felt good to be able to come out of the blocks so powerful." As he's learned, hard work pays o3. ■ BROWN FROM PAGE 25