Current stretch may determine cagers’ final fate

By VITO FORLENZA
Collegian Staff Writer

Before the season even began, the Penn State men's basketball faithful were pointing to the Nittany Lions' current stretch as the telling point of their season.

First, the Lions had to overcome the current three-game road swing before heading home to face Indiana and Michigan State with just one day off between those games.

While Penn State is 1-1 on the trip, tonight's matchup at Iowa, which is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, could determine how well it responds to its upcoming three-game homestand.

A win could restore the confidence with which the Lions were playing after they topped then-No. 10 Temple Dec. 1.

A loss would give an already-pressing Penn State team a greater sense of urgency to produce on its home court.

Still alive?

Heading into Penn State's 65-61 win at Illinois, Lion center Calvin Booth spoke with confidence, saying the Lions still believed they had a legitimate chance of jumping into the mix of teams vying for position in the Big Ten.

And, despite his team's 2-5 conference record, Booth's point is not outrageous.

The three teams tied for fifth place in conference play -- No. 14 Purdue, No. 19 Minnesota and Northwestern -- each are locked at .500 with 3-3 records.

Just below are No. 20 Indiana and Michigan with 3-4 Big Ten records.

And, as Booth said, Penn State is just a few plays away from having its current record reversed. The Lions dropped three conference games -- against Purdue, Wisconsin and Northwestern -- by a combined eight points.

Game of the week

While tonight's Atlantic Coast Conference matchup between No. 2 Duke and No. 10 North Carolina is probably the game receiving the most national recognition, the Big Ten also has its top teams in action tonight.

No. 15 Ohio State takes its third-place 5-2 conference record on the road to face first-place and No. 8 Michigan State at 8 p.m. The Spartans are coming off a big 73-59 win at Indiana Sunday, while the previously unranked Buckeyes jumped into the polls this week after crushing Purdue, 89-60.

Player(s) of the week

Instead of choosing between two fine performances last week, the Big Ten named both Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves and Ohio State's Michael Redd its Players of the Week.

Cleaves averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists last week in helping Michigan State to a pair of wins against then-No. 14 Iowa and then-No. 18 Indiana. In the Spartans' win at Bloomington, Ind., Cleaves dropped 16 points into the bucket and tossed a career-high 13 assists.

Redd earned his third Player of the Week honor by averaging 24.5 points in Buckeye wins against then-No. 16 Purdue and then-No. 17 Minnesota last week. In the win against the Boilermakers, the sophomore scored 30 points, taking him over the 1,000-point plateau for his Ohio State career and making him the second-quickest Buckeye to reach the mark.