Road trip

Students ready to travel, support cagers in New York City tourney

Pack up the bus, the Penn State men's basketball team is ready to roll.

After a win over the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech, the team has advanced to the semifinal game of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) versus the Georgia Bulldogs, which will be played tomorrow in Madison Square Garden.

To offer students a cost-effective way to visit the game, Centre For Travel, 114 S. Hiester St., is coordinating the trip to New York City, said travel consultant Tom Penkala.

Student game tickets cost $11 and can be purchased from The Penn State Athletic Ticket Office. Students can receive a free bus ticket through the Centre For Travel, he said.

According to the Penn State Sports Information World Wide Web site (www.psu.edu/sports), the buses will leave at noon tomorrow from The Bryce Jordan Center and arrive in New York at about 5 p.m. The buses will leave after the game, which tips off at about 9:15 p.m.

Prior to the game, the University's Alumni Association will sponsor a pep rally at 5:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Southgate Tower Suite Hotel, 371 Seventh Ave., in New York City.

"I think that it is a good deal," he said. "I wouldn't be going to the game if there weren't free bus rides."

Josh Sproat (freshman-international politics) is also taking advantage of the free buses.

"I really don't have any cash right now, so it's definitely a great idea," he said.

Because he will be watching both semifinal games, Vidos said he won't mind the five-hour bus trip to the Garden and back.

"I think it's worth it," he said. "Five hours isn't that bad."

Although he did not attend any games at the Jordan Center, Vidos said he watched many of them on TV.

Vidos said he thinks the team has a good chance of winning because it has played well against its early round opponents Rider, Dayton and Georgia Tech.

But Sproat said he is not disappointed or surprised the team didn't qualify for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

"We didn't really have a strong season so it is understandable that we didn't make the Big Dance," he said.

Penn State will play Thursday in either the championship or the consolation game against either the Minnesota Golden Gophers or the Fresno State Bulldogs.