Penn State men’s basketball is set to begin Big Ten play with something to prove
Pat Chambers is aware of the challenge that lies ahead. The Nittany Lions’ men’s basketball coach is set to lead his team into Big Ten conference play with a 7-1 record and an impressive slate of wins already in tow. However, Penn State’s next two opponents will present the team’s toughest challenge. And it’s not even close.
Each Big Ten team will have two conference games in early December, before finishing non-conference play through the rest of the month. This year, Penn State has drawn two of the Big Ten’s best as its early opponents. First up is a date with Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday. The Buckeyes are the No. 2 team in the country according to Ken Pomeroy’s KenPom rankings, and ranked No. 6 by The Associated Press. The Nittany Lions will come home on Tuesday for their second Big Ten game, a duel with undefeated Maryland, KenPom’s No. 7 team in the country, and AP’s No. 3.
Chambers led his team to a convincing 76-54 win over Wake Forest in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge Wednesday night, and while he’s aware of the matchups that lie ahead, he wants to make sure he and his players enjoy the wins they get.
“Ohio State is a great team,” he said. “(But), I’m going to enjoy this one first.”
Penn State is playing well against tough opponents heading into the difficult two-game stretch. All of the team’s last four games came against teams currently ranked in the KenPom top 100. Of those four, only one was a loss, a 74-72 defeat at the hands of Ole Miss in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Those games have helped prepare the Nittany Lions for what’s to come.
“I think our schedule has set us up (well),” Chambers said. “I Think we’re getting ourselves mentally and physically prepared to play these couple Big Ten games that are coming up here.”
The Nittany Lions have proven they can beat high-level opponents thus far, with wins over four top-100 opponents in Georgetown, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Yale. However, none of those teams are on the same level as Ohio State and Maryland.
“It’s going to be a great litmus test of where we are and what we have to work on,” Chambers said. “We’re playing a top five team like Ohio State and ... Maryland is in the top 10. We’ll see where we are.”
Right now, Chambers and the Nittany Lions are in a very good spot. They’re ranked No. 23 in the country with the No. 12 defense in the country, according to KenPom.
The team’s strong defense is a major part of its identity.
“I like to think (our identity) is always defense and rebounding,” Chambers said. “That’s who we are and that’s what we’re going to hang our hat on.”
On the other end of the floor the Nittany Lions have two reliable scorers in senior forward Lamar Stevens and sophomore guard Myreon Jones.
Stevens is the team’s leading scorer with 17.5 points per game, and is vital to the Penn State offense. Jones said Stevens is the clear focal point when he’s on the court.
“When (Stevens) is in the game,” Jones said after the game against Wake Forest, “he’s the first priority.”
Jones has been one of the Nittany Lions’ best options when Stevens goes to the bench this season, but if you ask him, he doesn’t see it that way.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the first priority,” Jones said. “It’s just the flow of the game and how it goes.”
The sophomore guard has been a major key to Penn State’s offense this season, even if he doesn’t see himself that way. He’s second on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, just ahead of redshirt senior center Mike Watkins with 11.3 points per game.
Watkins has made his presence felt on offense, but defense has been his calling card this season. He’s currently third in the country with 4.1 blocks per game and received high praise from Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning. Manning, a former power forward and the winner of the 1988 Naismith Player of the Year award and John R. Wooden Award, called Watkins one of the country’s best.
“He’s one of the best shot blockers in the country,” Manning said after his team played Penn State. “He’s a talented young man, there’s no question about it.”
With Chambers at the helm and Jones, Stevens, and Watkins leading the team on the court, the Nittany Lions have a chance to make some serious noise the rest of the season. A win over Ohio State Saturday afternoon could earn Penn State its first AP Top-25 Poll ranking since the program finished the 1995-96 season as the No. 18 team in the country, and a win over Maryland could have the same effect a week later.
Win or lose, the Nittany Lions are about to learn a lot about themselves in the next week.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 5:00 PM.
