Penn State (10-9, 2-5 Big Ten) will try to end a season-high five-game losing streak when it plays Ohio State (14-6, 5-2), who has lost its last three road games.

It's Target 10 day, and there is a large number of students wearing white tonight, but the general public hasn't shown up.

Starting Lineups
Penn State:
Talor Battle
Stanley Pringle
Danny Morrissey
Andrew Jones
Jamelle Cornley

Ohio State
Jamar Butler
Evan Turner
David Lighty
Othello Hunter
Kosta Koufos

PSU-10, OSU-10; 15:32 left in the first half
The Nittany Lions have been much better offensively early on this game. And with an early steal by Battle, the defense has been effective, too. Jones has led the way for Penn State so far, scoring 5 points and getting 3 rebounds. The Buckeyes have been the better team on 3s thus far, hitting two 3-pointers.

PSU-19, OSU-12; 11:56 left in the first half
The Lions have found their 3-point range, as 3-pointers by Battle and Pringle has opened up the largest lead of the game for either team. Pringle has also been strong on fastbreaks, as he took ball the length of the floor before passing to Battle to get the easy two points.

PSU-24, OSU-23; 6:58 left in the first half.
Both teams are rebounding the ball on offense well. Butler and Light have saved Ohio State with two long 3s. The pair have a combined points. After struggling to score for a little bit, Mike Walker hit a 3 to give Penn State the lead again.

OSU-30, PSU-28; 3:32 left in the first half
Koufos is starting to impose his will underneath the basket, with 6 points to his credit to go along with 4 rebounds. But Butler continues to be the sparkplug for his Buckeyes, shooting 3-for-4 from the field and tying Battle's game-high 10 points so far. Both teams have tried to make a living from long-range, as each side has attempted 10 3-pointers.

PSU-34, OSU-34; halftime
Morrissey hit back-to-back 3s at one stretch to give Penn State the lead for the first time since it was 24-23. A late Ohio State field goal ties the game up at 34, but the Lions head to the locker room to a standing ovation.

Leading Scorers:
Penn State: Battle, 10
Ohio State: Butler, 10

PSU-42, OSU-38; 15:30 left
Penn State is being left open on 3s, and it is making the Buckeyes pay right now, with Battle and Morrissey hitting shots from long range. But the real surprise has been the impact of Jones. He seems to be on his way to a double-double with 8 points and 8 rebounds so far. He has picked up the slack from Jamelle Cornley, who only has 2 points on 1-for-4 shooting.

OSU-45, PSU-44; 11:33 left
Both teams seem to be making it an effort to shoot as many 3-pointers as possible, with a combined 36 3s attempted by both teams. Koufos has saved some Ohio State possessions by putting in putbacks after missed 3s.

OSU-52, PSU-44; 7:59 left
Ohio State is on a roll, and the Lions have sputtered. It's now a 12-0 run for Ohio State, as Butler has raised his point total to a game-high 18, and Penn State has made it a habit of turning the ball over more frequently than in the first half, including failing to convert some simple shots after great passes through the lane.

OSU-59, PSU-49; 2:37 left
The 16-0 run is over with a 3-pointer by Pringle ends a 10:16 scoring drought for Penn State. But Ohio State hasn't slown down to give the Lions a chance to catch up. A bright spot has been Jones, who just posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

OSU-68, PSU-56; final
Penn State continues to scrap, but the deficit is too much to overcome in so little time. Jones had a career day and both Battle and Morrissey scored in double figures. Butler led the way for the Buckeyes again, but the Lions' 14 turnovers took away their advantage on the glass.

It's a tough way to lose with the team playing overall pretty well, but Ohio State is a potential NCAA tournament team, and the Lions stood toe-to-toe for most of the contest. It will be interesting to see how the team responds when fellow league power Michigan State comes to town Saturday night.
-Wayne

Just a few things to note before the big matchup with Ohio State.

As most probably already know, the athletic department is hoping to sell 10,000 student tickets to the game, and if it does, then the single-game student ticket proceeds from Saturday's game with Michigan State will go to THON. We got a press release from the student section, Nittany Nation, encouraging students to wear white to both games this week.

Since THON is held at the Bryce Jordan Center, it forces the team to play on the road that weekend, meaning the players cannot be involved with the actual event. I talked to Mike Walker at practice on Monday about what something like this means to the team.

"We've tried to do things for THON this year, we had the dodgeball tournament earlier," Walker said. "At the end of the day, those are the types of things that are really important. Any money that we can help them to raise obviously would be a big impact for our season."

Another reason to come out to the game will be to see the television personalities covering the game. It will be televised by ESPN, and the A-team will be broadcasting the game. The lovely Erin Andrews will be providing sideline reports, while Steve Lavin and the incomparable Brent Musberger will be providing color and play-by-play.

It will be very interesting to see the atmosphere tomorrow night, if anything it should provide a boost to a team in desperate need of any kind of lift right now.

-Steve

Greetings from State College. Tonight's game is in Iowa City, IA, and is televised by the Big Ten Network. This is Steve and I'll be updating the blog.

There has already been one big upset in the Big Ten today, as Connecticut downed Indiana 68-63. Wisconsin could be the next victim. The Badgers are trailing at Purdue with around three minutes to play.

They've announced the starting lineups. Ed DeChellis is using his typical lineup, but with Stanley Pringle starting instead of Jeff Brooks. Pretty interesting move.

They're wrapping up the pre-game and tip-off should be coming momentarily.

15:09 remaining in the first half
Iowa 5 PSU 2

It has been a sloppy start here in Iowa City. Penn State did not score its first basket until Jamelle Cornley knocked down a long two with 15:36 left in the first.

Iowa has not been much better, having turned the ball over three times already.

11:47 remaining in the first half
Iowa 9 PSU 2

Penn State has been awful on the offensive end. The Lions are 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free throw line.

The Nittany Lions have four turnovers, and have struggled to even get good shots off. Many of their possessions have gone deep into the shot clock but have still failed to even produce a quality attempt.

The Purdue game has gone final. The Boilermakers knocked off Wisconsin 60-56.

10:31 remaining in the first half
Iowa 13 PSU 2

Ed DeChellis needed a timeout after the Hawkeyes scored two quick buckets after the T.V. timeout.

Just a really disappointing start for the Lions. It looks like a continuation of Wednesday night.

7:44 remaining in the first half
Iowa 21 PSU 5

A Talor Battle 3-pointer got the Lions to five points, but the Hawkeyes have been having their way offensively, getting a 3-pointer from Justin Johnson, an old-fashioned 3-point play from Jeff Peterson and a dunk from Cyrus Tate.

2:26 remaining in the first half
Iowa 29 PSU 15

The Hawkeyes have buried Penn State from long range, shooting 4-for-9 from the 3-point line.

Stanley Pringle leads the Lions with six points, and will try to convert a 3-point play after this timeout, but he traveled on a three-on-one fast break earlier in the half, which is just inexcusable.

Halftime
Iowa 29 PSU 17

Penn State managed to stop the bleeding and enters the locker room on a 6-0 run.

Pringle knocked down a pretty baseline jumper just before the buzzer to give the Lions some momentum heading into the locker room.

Just like Wednesday night, only three Lions have scored in the first half. Pringle leads the way with eight points, Battle has five and Cornley has four. Justin Johnson leads the Hawkeyes with nine points.

The 12 point deficit is definitely disappointing but could be worse considering Penn State is 7-for-24 from the field and 2-for-7 from the free throw line.

15:26 remaining in the game
Iowa 36 PSU 26

Penn State cut the deficit to single digits by scoring the first four points of the half but the Hawkeyes have managed to keep the lead in double-digits for most of the half.

Pringle continues to be the catalyst. He now has 11 points, as well as three steals.

10:16 remaining in the game
Iowa 45 PSU 31

Pringle is keeping Penn State competitive, but every time the Lions come back a little, Iowa answers with a three.

Jeff Peterson knocked down a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Hawkeyes up by 14.

Penn State still has only four players that have scored. D.J. Jackson hit some free throws here in the second half, but only Battle, Pringle and Cornley have field goals.

7:40 remaining in the game
Iowa 48 PSU 37

The deficit has plateaued at around 11 points. It's good that Penn State has kept it from getting embarrassing, but if the Lions must defend the perimeter better to have any hope of a comeback. The Hawkeyes have eight 3-pointers tonight.

Neither Mike Walker nor Danny Morrissey has attempted a 3-pointer tonight.

5:15 remaining in the game
Iowa 51 PSU 39

Even Hawkeye 7-footer Seth Gorney has gotten in on the 3-point party, knocking one down to put the Hawkeyes at 51 points.

Penn State has turned on full-court pressure.

3:27 remaining in the game
Iowa 55 PSU 42

Morrissey finally got his first 3-point attempt, but it didn't fall. The full court press has not really made much of a difference, and it looks like the Lions' losing streak will be stretched to five.

Final Score
Iowa 64 PSU 49

Only four Nittany Lions scored in this one, with Pringle leading with 17 points. It's the second straight game in which the Lions scored less than 50 points.

The telling statistic in my opinion is that Walker and Morrissey were a combined 0-for-1 from the field.

Andrew Jones had two points, accounting for the Lions only points off the bench.

-Steve

For the Nittany Lions, it's all about getting back to the way things were two weeks ago.

Penn State (10-8, 2-4 Big Ten) will try to end a four-game losing streak when it travels to Iowa (9-11, 2-5) for a 6 p.m. game Saturday night. Two of the losses have been by wide margins, with both of those blowouts coming in front of the home crows.

And the recent stretch for the Lions has not only wore down the team in the win-loss column, but also in morale.

"And I talked to them yesterday, we were having all kinds of fun when won seven straight, were 2-0 in the league. Everybody was smiling, was having fun," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "And now we hit this skid, and no one's smiling. We come out to practice, guys are upset and down, and I understand that."

But reversing the slide won't be easy against the Hawkeyes, who have gone 38-7 dating back to the 2005-2006 season and beat then-No. 6 Michigan State in Iowa City, 43-36.

Iowa is led by guards Tony Freeman and Justin Johnson, who are the top two scorers on the team. Freeman averages 16.3 points per game and shoots almost 44 percent from 3.

The Hawkeyes' style of play is in stark contrast to Penn State's last opponent: Purdue. Iowa mostly plays man-to-man defense and slows the game down, as it only averages 57 points per game.

"Possessions are important, because you don't have as many of then. Sometimes when teams push it, there's more possession," DeChellis said. "But this is not one. Every possession is important, whether it's offensively or defensively...hopefully our guys understand that."

-Wayne

Penn State coach Ed DeChellis, Purdue coach Matt Painter and Jamelle Cornley assess the aftermath of Wednesday's game against Purdue, which Penn State lost 64-42.

Click here to download the mp3 file.

It's almost game time at the Bryce Jordan Center, with the Nittany Lions set to take on the Boilermakers. At the moment, Purdue is a two-point favorite, which seems a little low to me. The Lions have lost their last three and the Boilermakers have won three straight and six of their last seven. If you put a gun to my head, I'd lay the points.

The student section is scarce with fans and there's less than seven minutes until tip-off. This is not a good sign for Penn State basketball. Clearly, people are not nearly as interested in seeing an inferior, Claxton-less product.

Purdue will be starting two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, an interesting matchup for Penn State's equally young team (three freshmen and two juniors).

The lineups:
PSU - Cornley, Morrissey, Battle, Jackson, Brooks.
Purdue - Kramer, Hummel, Grant, Calasan, Moore.

Some of the students hve pieces of paper with "5" written on them, in honor of Geary Claxton, who is in attendance. He's in street clothes on the bench. We just found out he'll be having surgery on Wednesday afternoon.

17:17 remaining in the first half-
After Battle just made one of two free throws, PSU leads 5-4. It looks like the Lions have abandoned the "pass around the perimeter and eventually take a bad jumper" offense for the "actually try to get to the basket" offense so far. There's promise here.

15:54
Namanja Calasan is 3-for-4 shooting and has seven of Purdue's nine points. The rest of the scoring has come from freshmen, which will be an interesting trend to watch. (9-7 Purdue)

12:31
Schyler King just checked into the game for Penn State wearing number 24. This doesn't seem like anything worth noting, except that King has now switched his number four times this season. He went from 1 to 24, back to 1 and then 24 again tonight. Is that allowed? used to do that in youth sports, but this is Division I NCAA basketball. I need to find out why this is happening and how he's allowed to do it. (14-12 Purdue)

9:15
After a 7-0 Purdue run, the Boilermakers lead 21-12. A few bad shots and turnovers have realy hurt Penn State. This isn't a new thing for them, either.

7:44
Penn State doesn't have a basket in almost five minutes. They also have three or four turnovers in that stretch. Purdue is taking advantage, pulling away for a 12 point lead (24-12).

5:18
D.J. Jackson just hit a 3 that ended a seven-minute scoring drought for Penn State. Purdue leads 26-15.

Halftime
Purdue ended the half on a good note, with E'Twaun Moore converting on an and-one opportunity. The Boilermakers have opened up a huge lead, 39-18. This was the Lions' lowest first-half point total this year. Seven turnovers, 31 percent shooting from the free throw line and only one made 3-pointer will do that to you. Meanwhile, Purdue is shooting more than 51 percent, with 6 3's and only three turnovers.

The Lions sorely miss Geary Claxton, but here's my take on the situation: As much as the Lions need Geary's production this season, and as sad as it is for him to end his career like that, this is the possibly the best thing for the future of Penn State basketball. Yes, this year is almost hopeless now, but Claxton was gone at the end of the season anyway. Now, the freshmen are getting thrown into the fire early, so they will be much more prepared for the upcoming seasons, when they will be expected to carry the banner for PSU basketball. In the long run, Claxton's injury may make the program better. (But you still have to feel for the guy).

Freshman Robbie Hummel had a hell of a first half for Purdue, with 13 points (4-for-6 shooting), seven rebounds and five assists. He's on pace for a triple double.

Second half
15:51
Penn State is mired in yet another scoring drought. Its last FG was more than eight minutes ago. Purdue has continued its hot shooting and expanded its lead to 44-18. The Lions are once again settling for bad shots, just as they have in previous games without Claxton.

14:28
Hummel is a man among boys right now. He has 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He's a freshman. Conversely, Penn State's three freshmen starters have combined for 13 points, six rebounds and no assists.

13:38
Jamelle Cornley's bucket just ended an 11-minute field goal drought for Penn State. I've used the word drought so much I feel like I'm writing a weather blog. 39-10 Purdue run. 30 percent chance of snow. (48-22)

11:25
I'm naming my first child E'Twaun. It's decided. I'm pretty sure I could do this if it was a boy or girl. Who's gonna know?

8:07
Penn State just reached 30 points. Purdue was there with about three minutes left in the first half. The fans are filing out. I don't blame them. The crowds are going to keep getting smaller if this is the product that's going to be on the floor.

3:50
64-36 Purdue. Web logging about Penn State basketball is not very fun. I imagine this is what it would feel like to web log about root canals, although I've never done it.

1:46
Down 22 points, Jeff Brooks just got fouled, sending him to the line to shoot one-and-one. He looked annoyed by this, though, which seems to me like a perfect representation of Penn State hoops at the present. I'll leave it at that. (By the way, he missed the free throw.)

Final score: Purdue 64 - Penn State 42

-Nordeman

Although the final score does not indicate it, Penn State played tough in this one. The Lions held the lead 52-51 with 11:53 remaining and were tied with the Hoosiers 54-54 before Indiana ended the game on a 27-11 run.

Talor Battle and Jamelle Cornley stepped up for the Lions, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively. Battle shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range, an extremely encouraging development for Penn State after the way Battle started the season from long range.

Freshman phenom Eric Gordon led the way for Indiana with 25 points, and the Hoosiers exploited Penn State's 2-3 zone by shooting 11-for-23 from 3-point range. D.J. White also scored well in the post, scoring 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

Check Tuesday's paper for more.

-Steve

The Nittany Lions (10-6, 2-2 Big Ten) prepare for their first game of the post-Claxton era when they play No. 10 Indiana (15-1, 4-0) 2 p.m. Sunday at Assembly Hall. Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said Claxton will not travel with the team to Indiana.

The Hoosiers feature a potent inside-outside combination of freshman guard Eric Gordon and senior forward D.J. White. Gordon leads the Big Ten in scoring with 22.3 ppg while White averages a double-double with 16.6 ppg and 10.8 boards per game.

Gordon is shooting almost 50 percent from the field, but he really makes a dent in the scorecard with ability in a different area.
"He's made 100 free throws already," DeChellis said. Gordon is third in the country in made free throws with 112.

Because the closeness of games, practice time had to bet cut during this week, but DeChellis wasn't worried about that, as the team will still have two days to prepare before Sunday and the team has spent time watching game tape. Indiana will be one of three games for the Lions in a week.

"We still have two days," DeChellis said.

Two more days.

Two more days until everyone gets to see how a Penn State team minus its leading scorer and rebounder will fare in a game against the highest-ranked team to date in front of a hostile crowd.

-Wayne

Well we're back at the Bryce Jordan center for the Penn State-Wisconsin game. The Nittany Lions will try and regroup after Saturday's meltdown against Minnesota, and the Badgers provide a formidable opponent for Penn State to redeem itself against. Wisconsin is ranked 21st in the country despite having lost top scorers Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor from last year's team. This is Steve and I'll be bringing you the blog tonight.

Wisconsin has brought a pretty large contingent of fans which is impressive considering its a Tuesday night game. I recall seeing Wisconsin in a second round NCAA tournament game in my hometown of Washington D.C. and the Badgers brought a lot of fans then as well. The Wisconsin fans were even kind enough to give me their tickets after the Badgers had played and I was able to move down to the lower bowl from the nosebleeds.

Tip-off is about 20 minutes away. I'll have more updates then.

Starting Lineups:

Penn State
G Talor Battle
G Danny Morrissey
F Geary Claxton
F Jamelle Cornley
C Brandon Hassell

Wisconsin

G Michael Flowers
G Joe Krabbenhoft
F Trevon Hughes
F Marcus Landry
C Brian Butch

15:26 left in the first half

Wisconsin 8 PSU 0

The biggest question heading into this game was how the Lions would respond to Saturday's debacle and so far it hasn't been good. The Lions have settled for 3-point shots on four of their first possessions and haven't connected on any of them.

Penn State has been playing a 2-3 zone so far, and has surrendered 3-pointers to Trevon Flowers and Joe Krabbenhoft.

13:21 left in the first half

Wisconsin 10 PSU 2

Penn State finally got on the board with a Jamelle Cornley field goal, but Geary Claxton headed to the locker room after falling hard going for a rebound. He walked off on his power but he's out of the game right now which is the last thing the Lions need.

11:27 left in the first half

Wisconsin 18 PSU 4

This game is turning into a disaster for Penn State in a hurry. Andrew Jones made a nice fadeaway jumper for the Lions' second bucket, but it's pretty clear that without Claxton the Lions will struggle.

7:33 left in the first half

Wisconsin 27 PSU 13

3-pointers from Mike Walker and Stanley Pringle have helped Penn State keep things respectable, but the Lions have not been effective defending the perimeter, surrendering 3 3-pointers to Wisconsin.

6:13 left in the first half

Wisconsin 33 PSU 13

Believe it or not things have gotten worse for Penn State. A 3-point play from Krabbenhoft and a 3-pointer from Jason Bohannon have stretched the Badgers' lead.

3:26 left in the first half

Wisconsin 35 PSU 20

A 3-pointer from Morrissey and some solid play from Hassell have helped the Lions slowly chip away at the lead. Hassell leads Penn State with six points.

Halftime

Wisconsin 40 PSU 24

The Lions have kept it from becoming a total rout, but Penn State likely won't be able to hang around much longer without Claxton. Sports Information Director Brian Siegrist just told us that Claxton is still being evaluated, but won't return tonight. The injury is to his left knee.

Wisconsin's Brian Butch is dominating underneath. He already has 11 rebounds to go along with seven points.

It's pretty hard to imagine a more unfortunate turn of events for Penn State.

15:54 left in the game

Wisconsin 47 PSU 33

D.J. Jackson has stepped up in Claxton's absence, scoring Penn State's first seven points of the half.

However, a long 3-pointer from Trevon Hughes and a couple of nice inside baskets from Marcus Landry have prevented the Lions from making much headway.

12:42 left in the game

Wisconsin 55 PSU 41

Wisconsin lead has plateaued at 14; Penn State has not gotten any closer than this in a while.

Cornley has stepped up the past few minutes, scoring eight of the Lions' last ten points.

7:25 left in the game

Wisconsin 67 PSU 46

Fans are exiting en masse as it doesn't look like Penn State will be able to keep it respectable. Greg Stiemsma has been having his way in the post, scoring six points this half.

The Lions are getting blown out, but it's tough to expect much more without Claxton.

3:55 left in the game

Wisconsin 77 PSU 46

The Lions have gone totally flat since my last post. The arena is now about as full as it was about 30 minutes before tip-off.

It isn't fair, but a lot of students will probably be turned off from Penn State basketball by tonight's game.

Final Score

Wisconsin 80 PSU 55

Just a rough night all around for the Lions. It's hard to say what it all means without knowing the full extent of Claxton's injury, but it's fair to say the momentum from the 2-0 Big Ten start is gone.
-Steve

It's the start of Big Ten play at the BJC, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-3, 1-1) visit the Penn State Nittany Lions (10-4, 2-0).

The Lions are looking to extend its winning streak to eight games, which would be the longest run in a dozen years. Penn State is looking to challenge 1996's start of four straight conference wins.

The Starters:
Penn State:
G Danny Morrissey
G Talor Battle
F Geary Claxton
F Jamelle Cornley
C Andrew Jones

Minnesota:
G Lawrence McKenzie
G Lawrence Westbrook
F Damian Johnson
F Dan Coleman
C Spencer Tollackson

MIN-6, PSU-3; 15:59 left in first half
The Gophers have made it an effort to force the ball inside early with Tollackson, who has 4 points and two boards already. The Lions scored on their first possession of the game with an open 3 by Morrissey, but they have missed their last six shots. The Minnesota press has been effective thus far, as PSU has three turnovers.

PSU-13, MIN-12; 11:42 left in first half
Mike Walker and D.J. Jackson enter the game for the first time. Pringle got into the game a little bit later. Claxton is the lone offensive threat for the Lions right now, scoring six straight points at one stretch. He has 8 points and six boards. The Gophers are threatening to be in foul trouble early on, having six team fouls in the first eight minutes. This could mean Penn State's free throw shooting may be a factor.

PSU-20, MIN-19; 7:24 left in the first half
Penn State has hit a wall on offense, and the Gopher defense can be given some credit for that. But both teams are turning the ball over frequently, with a lot of travel calls early. As has been the case all season, the Lions are dominating the glass, doubling up Minnesota so far, 16-8. That has helped offset poor shooting from 3 (1-8).

MIN-26, PSU-25; 3:38 left in first half
Battle has a hot streak offensively, but PSU's dominance on the glass is being offset by turnover problems. It is becoming a game of mini-run for both teams. Both teams are having foul troubles, so free throws have become important for both sides.

PSU-38, MIN-35; halftime
The cold shooting from beyond the arc seems to be over, at least for now. Back-to-back 3s pushed the Lions' to a 6-point lead, the largest of the game for either side. A late 3 by Blake Hoffarber cut PSU's lead in half and it was the last score of the half.

First Half Stats
Shooting: PSU- 48 percent, MIN-48 percent
3's: PSU-5-13, MIN-1-7
Rebounding: PSU-19, MIN-13
Turnovers: PSU-10, MIN-8
Leading Scorers: Claxton (PSU)-11, Dan Coleman and Tollackson (MIN)-8 each

PSU-51, MIN-40; 15:30 left
The Lions' 3-point barrage is on. Morrissey is now 5-for-8 on 3-pointers, with two coming in the second half, as Penn State has opened up an 11-point lead, the largest of the game. Also, three Gophers have three fouls: Westbrook, Tollackson and McKenzie. Penn State is also 6-for-7 shooting in the second half thus far.

PSU-58, MIN-50; 11:40 left
The Lions would have to go cold at some stretch in the game, and Minnesota took full advantage, scoring eight straight points to cut PSU's lead to eight. Turnovers are starting to plague Penn State again, but the Gophers do have six team fouls already, comapted to only two for the Lions.

PSU-67, MIN-64; 7:35 left
The Lions continue to strugge with the Gopher press, and Minnesota continues to chip away on what was once a big 16-point PSU advantage. Hoffarber is now 5-for-6 from 3 for the Gophers, as Minnesota tries to pull the made 3-pointers to a closer margin. The Gophers are currently on a 22-9 run.

PSU-70, MIN-70; 3:50 left
The comeback was complete for a moment, as Minnesota erased the 16-point deficit and took the lead before Battle made a huge three to get the crowd back into it. The game is getting very chippy, as both teams are now in the bonus. But the Lions haven't taken full advantage of free throws, hitting just 16-for-30.

PSU-73, MIN-73; 1:18 left
Each possession was a battle. The Lions seemed to try to take it straight underneath the basket in hopes of getting foul shots. They did well to get the calls, but really struggled at the charity stripe, where PSU is 17-for-34.

MIN-76, PSU-73; final
After a missed 3 by Minnesota, the Lions got the ball with 43.9 seconds left. After more missed free throws, this time by Battle, PSU was saved by Claxton with an offensive rebound to give the Lions the last chance, but Al Nolan stole a Claxton pass and the Gophers were on the favorable end of an intentional foul. The Gophers hit three of their four free throws to pull of the comeback win.

-Wayne

Penn State will play its first home game of the Big Ten season against Minnesota at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Gophers are a lot like the Nittany Lions in that they have a good record, but have not really proven themselves yet. The Gophers boast a solid 11-3 record, but they are 1-1 in the Big Ten with the only win coming over Northwestern. Their only non-conference win over a major conference opponent was against Iowa State.

With a win tomorrow, Penn State (10-4, 2-0, Big Ten) would win its eighth straight game, which would be the longest winning streak since the Lions won seven straight in the 2000-2001 season. It would also give the Lions a 3-0 start in conference play, which would be its best since starting 1995-1996, when Penn State won its first four conference games.

The game will be televised by Big Ten Network, and most of America will not be able to watch. If you're in this predicament, check out the blog tomorrow as we will be updating live from the game again after taking the Winter holidays off.

-Steve

Geary Claxton was named the Big Ten Player of the Week today, the second time he has earned that honor this season and the fourth time of his career,

Claxton posted double-doubles in all three games last week, helping Penn State win its first two conference games on the road.

The Nittany Lions return to action against Minnesota this Saturday at 2 p.m at the Bryce Jordan Center, and it will also be our return as we will be blogging live again from the game.

-Steve

Penn State picked up its first road win since Feb. 18, 2006 and won its Big Ten opener tonight with a 79-68 win over Northwestern.

Although Northwestern plays the Princeton offense like Princeton and Denver, tonight's game featured a lot more offense than Penn State's contests against those teams.

It was an encouraging offensive performance for the Nittany Lions, who had four players score in double figures. Jamelle Cornley led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Geary Claxton added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Stanley Pringle also had the best game of his career, as he scored 17 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

Ed DeChellis played Claxton and Cornley for 40 minutes each, and he played a smaller lineup that featured that pair, Pringle, Battle and D.J. Jackson for most of the game. Andrew Jones and Jeff Brooks played only six minutes each and Brandon Hassell did not play. It will be interesting to see if DeChellis sticks with that strategy this Sunday against Illinois, as the Illini, led by the 6-foot-10 Shaun Pruitt, have much more of an inside presence than Northwestern.

At the very least, the Lions should have a lot of confidence heading into Sunday's game.

-Steve

Happy New Year everybody. The holidays are over, and so is Penn State's non-conference schedule. The Nittany Lions have emerged with an 8-4 record and begin Big Ten play tonight against Northwestern. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan arena in Evanston, Ill. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Both teams are riding winning streaks, as the Lions have won their last five games and the Wildcats have won their last four. Northwestern will also be boosted by the return of last year's leading scorer, Kevin Coble, who will be in uniform for the first time this season after taking time off to be with his mother, who is undergoing cancer treatment.

This game is an extremely important one for Penn State, evidenced by the fact that the team scheduled non-conference games with Princeton and Denver in preparation for Northwestern. Both teams run the Princeton offense also employed by the Wildcats (5-4).

Northwestern is the only Big Ten team that Penn State has a winning record against. The Lions are 20-12 all-time against the Wildcats.

A win tonight would give the Lions their first road win since winning at Purdue on Feb. 18, 2006.

-Steve