2009: Penn State basketball 38, Illini 32; in Champaign no less.
TONIGHT: Penn State 59, Northwestern 32 in Evanston. TENACIOUS DEFENSE!!!!
No media travel to cover Penn State basketball when they play on the road. I think you understand the many reasons why that is.
Still I never thought I’d type this sentence: “Penn State basketball dominated a Big Ten conference road game.”
I recognize those words, but when they’re put together like that they just don’t make any sense.
Yet that’s exactly what happened at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Northwestern’s Senior Night. They held NU to just 23% shooting for the game, 14% from distance. Northwestern had only 15 points in the first half. This wasn’t quite as ugly as the time PSU edged Bruce Weber at Assembly Hall; when they yielded the exact same number of points. Or the similarly ugly game when Penn State basketball played Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament a couple years ago, with a similarly hideous score.
What a terrible way for Drew Crawford to go out in his final home game: 2-9 shooting, a game high three turnovers. He was a class act; and won’t be forgotten in the Northwestern basketball pantheon. He’s one of the better players in the program’s history.
“As long as there’s games, you got to keep fighting,” said NU Coach Chris Collins after the game.
“In our league I think we’re the underdog in every game except one, for us to come out and win five games…The gas tank’s on E a little bit.”” he continued.
What a rough way for him to close out the home slate in his debut season.
Penn State basketball dominated “The Relegation Zone” match-up with Northwestern.
In the Barclay’s Premier League of English soccer, the worst three teams in the league get relegated down. And out of the league. And this was a one-sided bottom of the standings match-up. Northwestern is now tied with Purdue at 5-12 for the Big Ten basement. Penn St. is now tied with the Illini; just above them with a 6-11 league record.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)