Penn State men’s basketball is ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in 23 years
Penn State men’s basketball is ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in 23 years. The Nittany Lions earned the No. 23 ranking Monday afternoon, with 182 voting points in the poll.
The last time Penn State men’s basketball was ranked was in the final AP poll of the 1995-96 season when the Nittany Lions went 21-7 under then-head coach Jerry Dun and were ranked No. 18. That team went 12-6 in conference play and finished second in the Big Ten before losing as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament to No. 12 seed Arkansas.
Head coach Pat Chambers has led Penn State to a 9-2 record on the season and a 1-1 record in the early Big Ten slate. The team’s 1-1 conference record is more impressive when considering who the games came against. The Nittany Lions’ lone conference loss came against the No. 5 Ohio State on the road in Columbus, while their win came against No. 7 Maryland at home.
Chambers said he wants his players to treat the ranking like the team would treat a win.
“I’m truly excited for the players, the team, the program, (and) the families,” Chambers said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “I think it’s really cool. We’re going to enjoy it today and I think they should. It’s like winning a game. We haven’t been there since 1996, that’s a long time, that’s a lot of games. So it’s something to cherish for today.”
The Penn State head coach said, even with the ranking, he doesn’t think his team is playing at its highest level yet.
“I truly believe we haven’t hit on all cylinders yet,” he said. “I’m excited what we can get out of this team, still, because we really haven’t played our best basketball. So the ranking is awesome, I’m happy for the players, happy for the staff, thankful to the leadership here, but there’s a lot more games left.”
The Nittany Lions are among five Big Ten teams ranked in Monday’s poll, the most of any conference in college basketball. Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan (No. 14), and Michigan State (No. 15) are all ranked ahead of Penn State. Two more Big Ten schools are receiving votes. Purdue, with 30 points, is ranked fourth among schools outside the top 25 while Indiana, with 23 points, is seventh in the same group.
Penn State will look to have its name called on Selection Sunday this season for the first time since 2011 when the Nittany Lions lost to No. 7 seed Temple as a No. 10 seed, 66-64.
Their performance to this point has put the Nittany Lions in a position to make the tournament. ESPN’s “bracketologist” Joe Lunardi projects Penn State as a No. 9 seed, as does TeamRankings.com, which gives the team a 71% chance of receiving a tournament bid. Andy Katz of NCAA.com projects the team as a No. 10 seed.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action Friday when they take on Central Connecticut at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The next AP Poll will be released at 1 p.m. Dec. 23.
AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll
(Monday, Dec. 16, 2019)
1. Kansas 1,607
2. Gonzaga 1,552
3. Louisville 1,412
4. Duke 1,387
5. Ohio State 1,334
6. Kentucky 1,231
7. Maryland 1,207
8. Oregon 1,172
9. Virginia 1,121
10. Baylor 1,062
11. Memphis 960
12. Auburn 939
13. Dayton 879
14. Michigan 723
15. Michigan State 656
16. Arizona 631
17. Butler 553
18. Villanova 496
19. Florida State 449
20. San Diego State 431
21. Tennessee 367
22. Washington 213
23. Penn State 182
24. Texas Tech 115
25. West Virginia 76
Others receiving votes: North Carolina 41, Xavier 40, Wichita State 31, Purdue 30, Liberty 25, Marquette 23, Indiana 23, Virginia Commonwealth 21, Utah State 14, Saint Mary’s 13, Northern Iowa 12, Colorado 12, Texas 10, Florida 7, DePaul 6, Georgetown 3, Richmond 3, Virginia Tech 3, LSU 3, Stanford 3, Seton Hall 3, Oklahoma State 2, Duquesne 1, BYU 1, Arkansas 1
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 1:30 PM.
