Penn State Nittany Lions (19-14, 9-9)
Earned a No. 10 seed and lost in first round (Temple won 66-64).
Coach Patrick Chambers’ first year at Penn State has some expectations to live up to.
Projected starting five:
Sr. G Cammeron Woodyard
Jr. G Tim Frazier
So. G Jermaine Marshall
So. F Billy Oliver
So. F Sasa Borovnjak
Important departures:
Talor Battle: 20.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg
Jeff Brooks: 13.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.4 blocks per game
Additions:
Fr. C Pat Ackerman (Rivals.com three-star player)
Fr. C Peter Alexis (Rivals.com three-star player)
Fr. SG Matt Glover (Rivals.com three-star player)
Fr. SF Ross Travis (Rivals.com three-star player)
Outlook:
Penn State hired Patrick Chambers during the offseason, and the coach will have his hands full. The Nittany Lions lost their scoring (G Battle) and rebounding (F Brooks) leaders from last year, and they don’t particularly add any impressive recruits. The seniors that remain will have to step up and carry the underclassmen if they want to get their first-year coach an NCAA Tournament berth.
Schedule highlights:
Penn State has scheduled a match with Kentucky late in November. This could be a trap game for the Wildcats, and if the Nittany Lions can sneak a win, they could end up building massive momentum heading into conference play.
