All jobs at schools in high-major conferences are not created equal. Some are unquestionably better ones than others, and that’s also the case within conferences at other levels as well. A few days ago, Charlotte’s surprising dismissal of Mark Price reminded us of that, and Adam Glatczak did a great job talking about that and the larger subject.
One of those jobs that is a lot tougher than others at the same level is Penn State. Plenty have tried, without great success, and Pat Chambers is the latest. It’s taken a while, but this shapes up as being as good a season as any to be the breakthrough that he needs.
And even having said that, the Nittany Lions will enter Big Ten play having a lot of work still to do. But their 9-3 start, bolstered by two straight convincing wins over Atlantic 10 schools, certainly helps. They beat George Washington 74-54 last Saturday, then went to Fairfax and beat George Mason by an almost identical 72-54 on Sunday with two players posting double-doubles.
Having highlighted those recent wins, though, as noted the Nittany Lions have a lot of work to do. Their remaining non-conference games offer no additional quality win opportunities (Binghamton, Rider and Coppin State, all at home), and their RPI right now is in the 90s as they don’t have a single win over a top 150 team. The jury is out on how they may fare in the Big Ten; in early games, they won at Iowa and lost by one to Wisconsin at home, and as we’ve written before, the picture on Wisconsin is hardly clear right now.
It’s taken time, but Chambers has the personnel for a better shot this time around. He has one of the Big Ten’s best guards in Tony Carr leading the perimeter, with the sophomore duo of Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins up front. Josh Reaves may be emerging alongside Carr and Shep Garner. Among the many things he does well, Carr is shooting an unreal 55 percent from long range thus far. The Nittany Lions won comfortably without him on Sunday (he was suspended for the game and will return on Tuesday), which may be the best sign of all. Stevens and Watkins both had double-doubles on Sunday, taking advantage of the smaller Patriots.
Penn State’s last head coach, Ed DeChellis, left his alma mater to go to Navy. Usually, you see a coaching move the other way around. But DeChellis saw the writing on the proverbial wall at a football school where it’s very tough to win. Pat Chambers continues to try, and he might have his best team yet in Happy Valley. Whether or not it adds up to an NCAA Tournament bid remains to be seen, and it’s far from clear. But it looks to be more worth paying attention to than previously thought.
Side Dishes
The headline game on a day where the NFL took center stage for most sports fans was a good one. Tennessee led for much of the game, but Joel Berry II (21 points) and North Carolina came through late to pull out a 78-73 win at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game marks the first time all season the Tar Heels have been in a game that was decided by single digits, and it marks the second year in a row they trailed for a while before winning.
Also of note, Arizona State remained undefeated by knocking off Vanderbilt 76-64 behind another big game from Tra Holder (25 points).
The MSG Holiday Festival has unfortunately lost some luster in recent years and is now just a doubleheader. On Sunday, Army clobbered Air Force 79-54 in the first game, then St. John’s improved to 9-2 with a 69-59 win over Iona.
Tonight’s Menu
The week or so before Christmas is always a time where teams make a big push to get some final non-conference games in. As such, this is as busy a Monday night as we’re going to have for a while.
- None of the matchups will grab your attention, but a number of ranked teams are in action at home on the night: Michigan State (Houston Baptist, 6 p.m.), Kansas (Omaha, 7 p.m.), Florida State (Charleston Southern, 7 p.m.), Gonzaga (IUPUI, 9 p.m.), TCU (Texas Southern, 9 p.m.), and Arizona (North Dakota State, 9 p.m.)
- One interesting matchup is Wake Forest traveling to Coastal Carolina (7 p.m.)
- An interesting in-state matchup is Fort Wayne visiting Indiana (8 p.m.)
- The best games of the night are a bit later as SMU hosts 10-1 Boise State and UT Arlington visits Creighton, both 9 p.m. tips.
