Follow today's game on the Hoops Blog as Penn State takes on the Minnesota Gophers on Alumi weekend in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions will be looking for their first conference win and will be wearing throwback jerseys to be auctioned off after the game to raise money for charity. Updates and analysis of the game will be right here. Feel free to leave comments.
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Final Stats -- click to enlargeFinal - 66-64.. Minnesota wins it Quite the exciting finish in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions with a huge steal at the end of the game and they tied it at 64. Minnesota had 8 seconds to bring it down and Lawrence Westbrook put up the game winner at the buzzer for the win. Nothing has gone the Penn State way this season. They now have a record worst start in the BigTen at 0-11.
2:26 - Minnesota leads 60-56 A shot clock violation with about 6:40 left and a technical foul on Tubby Smith (Minnesota coach) has gotten Penn State and the crowd going. But a three ball by DJ Jackson for the lead which was way off the mark, gives the explanation of this Nittany Lion season. Can the Nittany Lions finally finish out a game on top? We shall see. Both teams right now in the double bonus. Speaking of which, Penn State is 13-20 from the charity stripe today. Clearly a big factor in the game.
(MEW)7:52 - Minnesota leads 53-49 Chris Babb sparked a Penn State run with a big three and the BJC is the loudest it has been in a while. Penn State at first was not necessarily taking the smartest shots but now look a little bit better and they remain right in this game. The only problem (or is it?) is they now have 9 fouls. Minnesota is not the greatest free throw shooting team however... at least not normally. They are 12 of 15 today. Penn State is breaking down defensively a little bit but they need to stay strong and continue to make smart shots. Do not just keep chucking up threes!
(MEW)12:05 Minnesota leads 47-42 Penn State is still in this game of course but they seem to be giving Minnesota more chances inside then they did in the first half. The Lions are also having a hard time converting their free throws which could end up being the difference in this game. However, the Lions are driving a little better than they were before and giving themselves opportunities allowing them to stay competitive. Penn State though needs to convert back to the style of defense they were playing earlier.
(MEW)15:02 - Minnesota leads 44-38 Penn State has come out firing a lot of threes. Babb started out hot and then got a little bit cold. DJ Jackson now has double digit points for a fifth consecutive game. He has 11. Battle has just 7 so far. Nothing seems to have changed drastically on the defensive side for Penn State. Offensively though they need to drive more and stop chucking up threes as that will not work... especially if they keep missing.
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Halftime Stats -- click to enlarge
Halftime - Minnesota leads 36-30 Penn State is still right in this game. I think their defense inside has been stellar but Minnesota has been able to make adjustments. The Lions are also doing a nice job driving and creating opportunities for themselves. It has been a fairly evenly matched game thus far and the team that is smarter and has the most energy in the second half will be the team who comes out on top at the end.
(MEW)3:46 - Minnesota leads 31-27 Penn State is shooting relatively well. They started this last sequence hot with Andrew Jones having a nice bucket and then Babb draining the three to tie the game at 24. Penn State's defense is still strong inside but Minnesota is absorbing the contact and still getting open looks from the outside. Penn State is playing well enough to win though. They need to keep it close as the half winds down.
(MEW)7:05 - Minnesota leads 24-19 Talor Battle is in "this team is all me mode." He is chucking up a lot of shots. He had a nice steal and a pull up three earlier and before the media timeout he had another three ball. He also tried a nice behind the back pass inside to Ott... but Ott is a goof and couldn't handle the ball. Meanwhile Hoffarber of Minnesota is still flawless from beyond the arc. He is 3 of 5 already. Hoffarber and Jackson each lead their respective teams thus far with 9 points a piece. Rebounds right now are even which is a good sign for Penn State as that is something they have had trouble with all year. But Penn State is moving its feet underneath and getting to the ball. They just need to be smart with the ball and score a little more.
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Stats so far -- click to enlarge11:06 - Minnesota leads 14-12 Penn State looks better defensively. Minnesota some opportunities for more threes but not able to convert all of them. They have been good at putting the ball in even with contact from Penn State. But offensively, Penn State is a little bit sloppy with the ball but still has good ball movement. It is still a 2 point game. Penn State has all the potential to keep it close and win this one. It is early, but Penn State needs to stay strong.
(MEW)15:49 - Minnesota leads 7-5: Penn State is keeping Minnesota to the outside so far defensively but that is not necessarily a good thing with Blake Hoffarber leading the nation in 3 point FG percentage. He's 1-1 from three point land so far. Penn State is doing a good job trying to create opportunities in the lane and they too have proven they can hit the outside shot with a nice three ball from David Jackson. Penn State needs to stay tough and be physical in order to win this game and they can't give wide open looks on the outside.
(MEW)20:00 - Under way at the BJC!
