Penn State men’s basketball is in the NCAA Tournament for now, according to college basketball Michael DeCourcy’s bracket forecast.
The latest tournament field from @tsnmike has been released!
What are your thoughts? pic.twitter.com/1z9UrYtMa7
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 6, 2023
DeCourcy has Penn State as a No. 10 seed in the East Region, marching up with coach John Calipari and No. 7 Kentucky.
Penn State is currently 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten.
Coach Micah Shrewsberry’s team has conference wins over Illinois on the road and Iowa at home and losses to Michigan State at home and Michigan in Ann Arbor. Penn State is currently No. 48 in KenPom.com’s Pomery Rankings, which in theory would be good enough to get it in the 68-team tournament field.
Penn State hasn’t been in the NCAA Tournament since 2011, when it was also a No. 10 seed. Coach Ed DeChellis’s team fell to No. 7 Temple 66-64 in the first round, with a last-second shot by Juan Fernandez being the difference. Penn State hasn’t been higher than a No. 10 seed since 2001, when it was a No. 7. That year’s team made it to the Sweet 16, where it fell to John Chaney’s Temple Owls.
The signature moment of that tournament run was Penn State’s second-round upset over No. 2 North Carolina. Penn State has only been to the tournament once since 2001 and hasn’t won a March Madness game in more than 20 years.
Penn State men’s basketball still has 16 Big Ten games left plus the conference tournament, so there’s a lot of work to be done. But a win over the No. 1 team in the country would go a long way toward Penn State reaching its goals. Penn State takes on Purdue in Philadelphia’s Palestra Sunday at 6.
