Patrick Chambers is making some noise on the recruiting trail, landing a commitment from one of the state’s top junior prospects Thursday. He was interviewed on five radio shows this week. His Twitter page now has more than 7,000 followers.
Penn State’s first-year men’s basketball coach has generated a lot of positive
buzz during his first eight months on the job. But, as Chambers pointed out Friday, buzz can only take you so far.
“You’ve gotta win games, too,” he said.
The Nittany Lions (10-15, 2-10 Big Ten) have lost five straight games and eight of their last nine heading into this afternoon’s 1 p.m. game against Nebraska (11-12, 3-9) in the Bryce Jordan Center. Four of those five losses have been on the road. Penn State will play three of its next four games in the Jordan Center, where Chambers his hoping his beleaguered squad can generate some buzz when the game clock is running.
“This team has not lost their energy and their positive attitude,” Chambers said. “They’re excited to go back to work, to be at home, excited to be in the BJC. It’s exciting to finally hear somebody cheer for us.”
Both of Penn State’s Big Ten wins and eight of its overall wins have come in the Jordan Center. Pre-sold tickets for today’s game exceeded 10,000 — the Nittany Lions haven’t drawn more than 9,065 at home this season — and $3 from every single-game ticket sold will be donated to Penn State's Coaches vs. Cancer chapter.
Chambers hopes the home crowd lights a fire under his team that wasn’t there in the first halves of lopsided losses at Iowa and Michigan State. Shaking up the starting lineup by inserting Nick Colella for Jermaine Marshall didn’t do the trick.
“The guys I put out on the floor are the guys getting it done on a daily basis in practice,” Chambers said. “They know I hold practice in a very high regard and my statistics to a high regard. You can’t take days off. … Would I love to have five guys who have started all year? Absolutely, but you don’t have that luxury.”
The Cornhuskers, the second Big Ten team to face Penn State for a second time this season, have lost five of seven games since beating the Nittany Lions 70-58 in Lincoln in early January.
Center Jorge Brian Diaz is out again with chronic foot injuries, and at times, Nebraska has had as much trouble scoring as the Nittany Lions have had, scoring 46 points or fewer in three of their last seven games.
Asked if he’d rather face conference foes the second time around at home, as Penn State will in four of its final six regular-season games, Chambers said the venue didn't make a difference.
“In February, teams are much different than they were in January or December,” Chambers said. “You’ll know tendencies and what players like to do, but guys change and coaches change. … The one thing that’s got to remain constant is everyone’s going to play hard and everyone’s going to battle to the bitter end.”
Notes:The game will be televised on ESPNU. … The Nittany Lions will wear their gray uniforms for the second time this season. The last time they wore them was their last win, a 54-52 home victory over Illinois on Jan. 19. … Chambers said freshman guard Trey Lewis, who hasn't played since the previous Nebraska game on Jan. 11, due to a back injury, was able to do some running Friday but was not yet cleared to practice. … Today's game is the first Nebraska will play in State College since 1981.
