2011 Penn State Basketball Preview

2010-11 Results

Overall: 19-15
Big Ten: 9-9
Conference Tournament: Lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten Conference Championship.
Postseason: Lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Patrick Chambers took over the program in June and will have little to work with this season. Previously he was at Boston University and he replaces Ed DeChellis. Last season DeChellis helped Penn State snap its 10-year NCAA tournament drought.

Last season’s Penn State team employed a defensive style of basketball and finished fourth in the Big Ten in points allowed per game. The offense was eleventh in the conference averaging 63.1 points per game. The team shot 43.9 percent from field goal range last year and 72.4 percent from the free throw line.

Roster

Returning Starters
Tim Frazier

Other Returning Players
Cammeron Woodyard
Matt Glover
Billy Oliver
Sasa Borovnjak

Newcomers
Trey Lewis
Ross Travis
Patrick Ackerman
Peter Alexis
Jonathan Graham

Head Coach
Patrick Chambers

Key Losses

All time leading scorer Talor Battle is gone along with Jeff Brooks, David Jackson, and Andrew Jones. Battle was a pure scorer and team leader. Last season as a senior he averaged 20.2 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. Battle was not only excellent from the outside but could also attack the basket. Additionally the Nittany Lions need to replace Brooks the team’s second most productive scorer with 13.1 points per game and 6.3 boards. Jackson was the third leading scoring averaging 9.9 points per game. Jones was the team’s second leading rebounder and showed toughness under the glass that will be missed.

Schedule

Date	Opponent/Event
Sat., Nov. 5	vs. Slippery Rock EX
Sat., Nov. 12	vs. Hartford
Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament
Mon., Nov. 14	vs. Radford
Wed., Nov. 16	vs. Long Island
Sat., Nov. 19	vs. Kentucky
Sun., Nov. 20	South Florida/Old Dominion
Regular Season
Wed., Nov. 23	vs. Youngstown State
Sat., Nov. 26	at Saint Joseph’s
Wed., Nov. 30	at Boston College
Sun., Dec. 4	vs. Ole Miss
Wed., Dec. 7	vs. Lafayette
Sat., Dec. 10	at Duquesne
Sun., Dec. 18	vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Wed., Dec. 21	vs. Cornell
Thu., Dec. 29	at Michigan *
Sun., Jan. 1	at Northwestern *
Thu., Jan. 5	vs. Purdue *
Sun., Jan. 8	vs. Indiana *
Wed., Jan. 11	at Nebraska *
Sun., Jan. 15	vs. Minnesota *
Thu., Jan. 19	vs. Illinois *
Sun., Jan. 22	at Indiana *
Wed., Jan. 25	at Ohio State *
Tue., Jan. 31	vs. Wisconsin *
Sat., Feb. 4	at Iowa *
Wed., Feb. 8	at Michigan State *
Sat., Feb. 11	vs. Nebraska *
Thu., Feb. 16	vs. Iowa *
Sun., Feb. 19	at Wisconsin *
Sat., Feb. 25	vs. Northwestern *
Wed., Feb. 29	at Purdue *
Sun., Mar. 4	vs. Michigan *
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Thu., Mar. 8	TBD *
*Conference Game

2011-12 Preview

After finally making it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade last year and losing to Temple in their first game, the Lions are trying to replace all time leading scorer Talor Battle. New coach Pat Chambers is now at work trying to install his own game plane. We will see how the current Nittany Lion team responds. Though playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country means Penn State will likely have a long season and may struggle to win more than a game or two in Big Ten Conference play.

Chambers did an excellent coaching job at Boston University but now he is in charge of a program in a major conference. Only time will tell whether he will be able to recruit the type of players that Penn State needs to turn the program around.

Backcourt

Tim Frazier will return after leading Penn State in assists last season. He will need to make things happen for Pat Chambers team. Last season Frazier averaged 6.3 points per game and will need to improve on those numbers this year. Freshman Trey Lewis will see time in the starting lineup. Cam Woodyard will be the third guard. Jermaine Marshall and Matt Glover will be the backups. Marshall averaged 2.5 points per game last year but didn’t shoot well. If he is going to earn more playing time he will have to improve his shooting.

Frontcourt

For comparisons sake the Penn State backcourt is the experienced area on the team. That may be hard to believe but that really is how deep the Nittany Lions lack of experience runs underneath the basket. In the front court Penn State will return Billy Oliver who saw 14.3 minutes of action a year ago. Oliver saw the most time last season of any returning player. He has yet to prove that he can be an above average player in the Big Ten but does have a decent shot.

Teaming with Oliver in the front court will be Sasa Borovnjak. The 6-9, 240 pound sophomore didn’t play last year due to an injury to his right knee. During his freshman season he only played in 18 games. He has been in the system for a couple of years, but hasn’t seen a lot of game time. He will provide the Nittany Lions with the inside scoring they need. Not to mention that he can knock it down from mid-range with consistency.

Jonathan Graham will see playing time behind Oliver and Borovnjak. He is a 6-foot-8 forward out of Baltimore, Maryland. He can provide rebounding off the bench.

More Big Ten Basketball Predictions

Ohio State Buckeyes	Michigan State Spartans	Michigan Wolverines
Wisconsin Badgers	Indiana Hoosiers	Purdue Boilermakers
Northwestern Wildcats	Iowa Hawkeyes	Minnesota Golden Gophers
Illinois Fighting Illini	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Penn State Nittany Lions

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