Despite Dan Dakich indicating that the Nittany Lions were supremely confident, and more energetic than he’d ever seen a basketball team, Penn State struggled mightly with the OSU defense. Through an 11 and a half minute segment of the first half, the Nits were unable … [Read More]

I hate Penn State.

No, really, I loathe Penn State.

Now, when I tell people this these days, I’ll get responses telling me to have a heart and to have some sympathy for what they’ve been going through the past nine months.

They don’t realize that I grew up in Penn State territory, about an hour and a half away from State College.  My dad is a Penn State fan.  My grandparents are Penn State fans. My brother and sister-in-law are Penn State alumni. My mom and I are the lone ones that wear scarlet and gray in a sea of blue and white on football Saturdays in the fall.

As a kid, my dad used to take me to Penn State games to try to convince me to become part of “Nittany Nation.”  It … [Read More]

Game 4 Final – #6 Purdue 78, #11 Nebraska 61

10:00 PM – Gary Russell here from Indy finishing out today’s action. The second half started off with a flurry but Purdue really flexed its muscles in pulling away and beating Nebraska in the Husker’s first trip to the tourney by a score of 79-61. Today’s action reminded me of what the Big Ten is all about. While Minnesota’s overtime thriller was the best game of the day, the other games still showed us that the Big Ten has tremendous heart, determination, and class. Here’s to a great first day and an awesome second day.

9:00 PM – Gary Russell from Indy … [Read More]

Are you ready? Ready for tournament time?

The coaches are. Some of the coaches don’t usually care about the Big Ten Tournament – particularly Tom Izzo. The tournament rarely changes anything heading into the NCAA tournament, and the Regular Season Championship is considered more precious. But Tom Izzo seemingly changed his mind this season after being forced to share the regular season title with the Buckeyes and Wolverines,

We’re going to go win our championship back.

He’s ready for March. Are you?

You’d better be. This Big Ten Tournament promises to be one of the best yet. The field is deep with teams that want to win. Consider Northwestern, who has never been to the NCAA’s, and Minnesota, who would like to prove what they can do as a young team missing a key player. How about Purdue, with Robbie Hummel’s last go around. And that’s … [Read More]

Neither team seemed particularly on-the-ball to start the game. The Buckeyes miscued on several possessions, including a palming call on Lenzelle, and a poor entry pass from Buford. On the other end, Penn State committed an ugly turnover at the top of the key, and couldn’t seem to get the ball … [Read More]

While you wait, you should check out the websites of our Buckeye Blogger Buddies! the Buckeye Blog, OSU Silver Bullet, Scarlet and Game, Buckeye House Call, Our Honor Defend, Men of the Scarlet and Gray, and Fox Sports Ohio. They will all be joining us at 6 pm for the start of our liveblog.

If you’re looking for web-video for the game, try First Row Sports (warning: pop-up ads). Click the basketball tab, and you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the right game. I’ve heard people having issues with this website recently – if that’s still the case, let me know and … [Read More]

Like the rest of the Big Ten we examined Penn State in the preseason. Go read that post again, I’ll wait.

Penn State sits at 10-11 on the season, and 2-6 in Big Ten play. They actually maintained a winning record in the preseason with an 8-5 record. They were even undefeated until the fourth game of the season, when they ran into Kentucky on a neutral court.

Their Big Ten play, despite the record, may have been even more impressive. A close loss to Indiana when … [Read More]

• The Buckeye fans were wonderful during the game.  Lots of people will point to the fact that the PSU team was booed when they came into the stadium.  I will simply point out (and it’s something that has always annoyed me) that every team is booed coming into the stadium.  I can think of no better way to show respect to the other team given the situation then to treat them no differently than you would have otherwise.  It’s like the whole situation never happened.

• Seeing Luke Fickell and Tom Bradley chatting in the middle of the field before the game
… [Read More]