One bite from the Big Apple

Lions can make NIT Final Four with win over GTech tonight

Jerry Dunn's eyes told the story.

The drooping, dark bags that hung from the Penn State men's basketball coach's lower eyelids yesterday were evidence of the hours he spent watching film of Georgia Tech Monday night. The Nittany Lions (17-12) take on the Yellow Jackets at 7:30 tonight at the Alexander Coliseum in Atlanta in a National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal.

What they saw was a team that went 19-13 overall and 6-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, widely regarded as the best conference in the country.

Georgia Tech is led by senior forward Matt Harpring, who averages a team-high 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The third-team All-American also has 80 assists and a 45 percent field goal percentage. Dunn likened him to Illinois' Brian Johnson and Purdue's Brian Cardinal.

But he is not their only scorer. Freshman Dion Glover has been lighting it up for the Yellow Jackets this season, averaging 18.6 points a game.

The most interesting matchup of the night comes at center in the battle of the shot blockers. It will be Penn State junior Calvin Booth versus Georgia Tech freshman Alvin Jones. The two finished the regular season tied for second in the nation with 4.2 blocks per game.

Although Booth has not faced a shot blocker of Jones' proportion this season, he was tested by Ohio State's shot blocker Ken Johnson.

"Alvin's better at this point," Dunn said, comparing Johnson and Jones. "But Johnson presents as equal a problem."

Booth is coming off the game of his life. Against Dayton he blocked 10 shots, pulled in 10 rebounds and scored 19 points. He, along with Pete Lisicky, have given the Lions a boost in their first two NIT games.

"You expect the more experienced guys to step up," Dunn said. "And they have done that."

Tonight's game will be the second road game of the tournament for Penn State. Monday, the Lions played in front of 13,409 screaming fans. Dunn said he could recall only one crowd in his years as an assistant or head coach that approached the frenzied pitch the Flyer fans were in Monday.

He's probably right. The Yellow Jackets played Georgetown Monday at home and drew only 8,566 fans.

The Lions' experience Monday will surely come in handy not only tonight but next season. Down by 13 in the second half, the young Penn State squad grew up quickly.

"I would like to think it's been a good maturation," Dunn said. "You're talking about a team that's been through a lot over the last two years."

That was followed with lots of film watching and a brief workout before they left for Atlanta late last night. If they beat the Yellow Jackets, it's on to New York City next week for the NIT Final Four.

It could be awhile before Dunn catches up on that sleep.