Blue White Illustrated

HARD TIMES With its best player out of action, Penn State gets set to face murderers' row For Patrick Chambers and the Penn State men's basketball team, the approaching Big Ten season is looking a little like shark-infested waters, at night, from the edge of a life raft. Set to face arguably the best conference in all of college hoops, the Nittany Lions are wounded, with Tim Frazier set to miss the rest of the season after his Achilles tendon was ruptured in the fourth game of the nonconference schedule. Frazier, a senior point guard, will be desperately missed. He supplied the Nittany Lions with points and veteran leadership – qualities that are now in short supply. But that's not to say the Nittany Lions won't fight. D.J. Newbill and Jermaine Marshall highlight the backcourt, while true freshman Brandon Marshall and redshirt sophomore Jon Graham are bolstering the frontcourt. Frazier's loss was a demoralizing blow, but the Lions have responded with a series of small victories – games within games – that might not be evident in the win-loss column but represent progress. Penn State needs its guards to shoot better from the floor, as well as basic offensive contributions from the frontcourt. There simply isn't enough manpower here for Penn State to compete against the best of the Big Ten. The goal will be to claim a few ugly, low-scoring victories and lay the groundwork for a much-improved 2013-14 season. Before getting there, though, this is what Chambers will be facing when the Big Ten slate gets under way... LAST SEASON After going 8-5 during the nonconference season, Penn State slogged through its Big Ten schedule, earning just four wins the rest of the way. Seeded 12th in the conference tournament, the Nittany Li- BIG TEN PREVIEW ons were manhandled by Indiana in the first round, wrapping up the season with their fifth consecutive loss. FAVORITES The Big Ten boasted three of the nation's top 10 teams as of this writing and two of the top three. Indiana was ranked first nationally, while Michigan was third and Ohio State seventh. And the list of legitimate contenders for Big Ten supremacy doesn't end there. Illinois is off to a hot start under new head coach John Groce, while Minnesota and Michigan State are also making their traditional pushes in the Top 25. Although the Big Ten went 6-6 in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Hoosiers decimated North Carolina, 83-59. DARK HORSES When looking at the conference as a whole, there are really only a few teams that can be safely ruled out of the race. If Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State are the frontrunners, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan State, Wisconsin and even a young Iowa team are not that far off the pace and have to be considered threats to sneak up on the elite teams. Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern and Nebraska are unlikely to pose much of a challenge to the rest of the conference, but even the teams in the league's bottom tier have the potential to pull off a few upsets. MVP CANDIDATES One of the main reasons the Hoosiers are the country's best team is because of Cody Zeller. The sophomore center has been outstanding to this point in the nonconference season. In addition, Michigan's Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas, Michigan State's Keith Appling and Illinois' Brandon Paul are all playing well and are among the nation's top scorers this season. They could easily challenge Zeller for the top honor at the end of the season, though by many accounts, it's Zeller's award to lose. PENN STATE'S CHANCES When Frazier got hurt, an already middling outlook got significantly worse for the Nittany Lions. The Big Ten is loaded not just with conference title contenders, but also with national championship hopefuls. Penn State, severely hampered without its star senior point guard, doesn't stand much of a chance. Its perimeter shooting and defense are weak, it lacks an effective offensive threat in the frontcourt, and there are no true point guards remaining on the roster. Those deficiencies figure to make this a long, difficult season. That said, Chambers coaches hard, and Penn State's players follow his lead. Don't be surprised if the Nittany Lions manage to pull off a few upsets by playing scrappy defense and simply showing more desire than their opponent on some nights. Avoiding a last-place finish would be a small victory, but it would give the Lions something to build on heading into the off-season. With Frazier healthy, Newbill returning for his second year of action and an influx of young talent on the way, the Nittany Lions' 2013-14 season could be a very good one. – N.B.

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