Cagers look for new life vs. Indiana

By CRAIG KACKENMEISTER
Collegian Staff Writer

As bad as the Penn State men's basketball team has played in 1999, a win against a ranked Indiana team this weekend could make things seem a lot better than they currently are.

Yes the Nittany Lions have only won twice this month, and yes one of those wins came against Big Ten cellar-dweller Illinois.

But if the Lions can pull off the Super Bowl Sunday upset over No. 20 Indiana at 1 p.m. Sunday (CBS) in The Bryce Jordan Center, they can tie the Hoosiers for ninth place in the conference standings.

The last time the Lions (10-8, 2-6 Big Ten) beat Indiana (16-7, 3-5) was Jan. 27, 1996. That day, they cruised to an 82-68 victory at the Jordan Center, but since then the Lions have gone 0-4 against the Hoosiers.

Penn State's coming off a tough road loss against No. 16 Iowa Wednesday. The Lions committed 27 turnovers in the game, 18 came via steals. With the loss, the Lions finished with a 1-2 record on their three-game road trip.

Lion guard Joe Crispin has had the hot hand for the Lions in the past two games, scoring a combined 57 points. He scored a career-high 30 points last Saturday against Illinois and tallied 27 points against the Hawkeyes.

Coming into the game against Illinois, Crispin was a cold 2 for 21 in his last two Big Ten road games.

"Plain and simple he's a competitor," Lion coach Jerry Dunn said. "He's not going to let things like that get him down. He spends time before and after practice shooting. We need more people like him."

The Hoosiers lost for the fourth time in six games with a 90-83 overtime loss to No. 19 Minnesota Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

The Hoosiers were led by junior point guard A.J. Guyton, who scored 27 points, while freshman Kirk Haston recorded a double-double with a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Luke Recker battled back from an 0 for 6 display in the Hoosiers' previous loss against Michigan State to score seven points.

"Well, you know he just really got two shots," said Hoosier coach Bob Knight in a postgame press conference. "The better the team you play, the harder you've got to work to get open. It just doesn't come easy against good teams."

Twenty-five times in their careers at Indiana, Guyton and Recker have combined for 30 or more points. And in those games, the Hoosiers have a record of 21-4.

"They are both marquee players," Dunn said. "When they get it going, they can hurt you a number of ways. Guyton can hurt you off the dribble and knock down the 3-point shot. You've got great weapons with these two."

Last year, Guyton and Recker combined for 24 points in the Hoosiers' 95-76 victory over the Lions at Assembly Hall.

Sunday's game is the start of a big week for Lions, who host No. 8 Michigan State Tuesday night, and get a rematch with Northwestern next Friday at the Jordan Center.