It the first Penn State basketball NCAA Tournament game since 2011, and Texas A&M is the opponent.
Here are five things to know.
Happy March, everyone.
IT’S BEEN A LONG LONLEY, LONLEY, LONLEY, LONLEY TIME
Everybody reading this should know by now that Penn State hasn’t played an NCAA Tournament game in a dozen years. I just used this mainly as an excuse to quote Led Zeppelin.
DON’T GIVE IT AWAY
Penn State has done a good job not turning the basketball over this season. Of 14 Big Ten teams, Penn State finished third in fewest turnovers offensively and second in assist/turnover ratio behind only Iowa. Additionally, Penn State is fourth in the country in turnovers per game. A&M is fourth in the SEC in opposing turnovers per game, so this will be strength against strength.
ROUGH TOUGH, REAL STUFF, TEXAS A&M
Penn State is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won eight of its last 10. A&M is one of the few teams just as hot having won 11 of 13. Both teams made it to their respective conference tournament championship games, with Penn State falling to Purdue in the Big 10 title game and A&M losing to Alabama. Purdue is a No. 1 seed and ‘Bama is the No. 1 overall seed. One team’s luck will have to run out in Des Moines.
Texas A&M has two players averaging in double figures; Wade Taylor (16.5 PPG) and Tyrece Radford (13.2) A&M is deep, however, and has 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
WHAT COULD BE AHEAD
Whoever wins will almost certainly play second-seeded Texas, so long as the Longhorns take care of No. 15 Colgate Thursday.
HOW TO WATCH
Penn State is a 2.5-point underdog according to l FanDuel Sportsbook. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 9:55 ET on TBS. Here’s more information on how to watch and listen.
TV Announcers: Brian Anderson (PXP), Jim Jackson (color), Allie LaForce (sideline)
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Radio Announcers: Steve Jones (PXP), Dick Jerardi (color)
National Radio: Westwood One
National Radio Announcers: Jason Bonetti (PXP), Robbie Hummel (color)
SiriusXM: Channel 136
