Cagers face Big Ten tournament


Thursday, March 5, 1998	Cagers face Big Ten tournament By MATT DIFEBO Collegian Sports Writer The Penn State men's basketball team's biggest challenge is to stay afloat for four games in the inaugural Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center in Chicago. If the Nittany Lions (15-11, 8-8 Big Ten), who are seeded seventh, win four games, the tournament and an NCAA bid are theirs. All that stands in their way is a neutral atmosphere, bigger opponents and, if they get far enough, the possibility of playing Michigan State, Michigan or Purdue.
`Nittany Lion Men's Basketball World Wide Web Site`	"Our goal is still to play in the NCAAs," said Lion coach Jerry Dunn. "We have to take it one game at a time. Should that not happen, we'll let the chips fall where they may. We're still trying to get the job done." The first job the Lions must complete is getting by their first-round opponent, 10th-seeded Wisconsin, at 3:30 p.m. today. Penn State is coming into the tournament with a full head of steam. The Lions beat Ohio State in overtime in the last basketball game to be played at St. John Arena. "We're not where we want to be, but we're playing well," said Lion guard Joe Crispin. "We had a good month and hope to build on it."
`Collegian Graphic of Big Ten Tournament Bracket`	Wisconsin (11-18, 3-13) is the antithesis. The Badgers have dropped 11 straight games, which could be attributed to their run-and-gun style offense. Often, teams who embrace this style are left winded at the end of the season. Yet Badger coach Dick Bennett has hope. His team split games with the Lions this year. "I'm not going to stand here and say it has all come together," he said. "That would sound silly and is silly, but I do think we're a better team today than we were a month ago." They'll have to prove that to the Lions and Calvin Booth. The 6-foot-11-inch center was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Big Ten in blocks with 109 and set a new Penn State single-season record. Besides Booth, Lion guard Pete Lisicky was named to the media's All-Big Ten third team and earned honorable mention from the coaches. Lion forward Jarrett Stephens earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by the media. If Penn State wins today, it will meet second seed Illinois (21-8, 13-3) at 6:40 tomorrow night and then if the Lions beat the Fighting Illini . . . well, Dunn isn't thinking about that right now. "I can't worry about what we can't control," he said. "We're just going to let the chips fall where they may."