"STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - In his return to his home state of New York, Talor Battle is hoping to turn two negatives into positives.
"The Penn State sophomore and his teammates, distraught after they were snubbed by the NCAA tournament just weeks ago, have reached that less-heralded Final Four in the NIT.
"Nevertheless, when the Nittany Lions face Notre Dame in the semifinals tonight at Madison Square Garden, Battle said, his team's motivation will not be born out of spite.
" 'Obviously we were disappointed,' he said Friday about not earning an NCAA invite. 'Regardless of whether we win this tournament, we're still not going to be in the NCAA tournament. . . . We're over it now.'
" The Lions are so excited about reaching the NIT semis for the first time since 2000 that coach Ed DeChellis took his team to Manhattan two days early. Battle, an Albany native, has been to New York before, but the NIT conveniently coincided with schoolwork.
" 'I got a project to do on ground zero,' Battle said of the former site of the World Trade Center. 'So I'm going to take some pictures. It ended up working out great.' ..."
"STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — At Penn State, where football is king, basketball is an afterthought. The program has a relatively slim fan base and has not been consistently successful, sometimes finishing near the bottom of the Big Ten.
"But Talor Battle, a sophomore point guard, is working to change that.
"Rising from a childhood in which his family was briefly homeless and overcoming serious ankle injuries, Battle has helped Penn State match the program’s highest single-season win total. The Nittany Lions (25-11) will take on Notre Dame (21-14) in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Baylor (23-14) and San Diego State (26-9) will meet in the other game.
"Battle — a team co-captain averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game — has helped dictate Penn State’s offense with an up-tempo style. He can slash to the hoop or distribute from the point, and he became the fifth Nittany Lion to be named a first-team all-Big Ten selection."
"STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Talor Battle’s effort to change the basketball culture in Happy Valley starts at home.
"Battle, a sophomore point guard for Penn State, has helped the Nittany Lions to a 25-win season and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament Final Four. Now he’s working on helping them land some fresh talent.
"Battle’s younger brother Taran Buie, a junior at Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, is considered one of the top basketball prospects in his class. He has five programs at the top of his list: Penn State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Notre Dame and Marquette. (Penn State and Notre Dame play on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.)
" “Hopefully he comes in and some of his A.A.U. teammates come in,” Battle said. “And then I’ve started something.”
"Buie could be one of the most highly regarded recruits to ever seriously consider Penn State in basketball, at least in recent memory...."
"When it was mentioned to Talor Battle that he's logged as much court time this year as just about any college basketball player in the nation, he already knew. In fact, he knew how many minutes.
"'It's like 1,306 minutes or something like that,' he said.
"Oh, it's not something like that. It is that. ..."
"If a winless-in-conference DePaul team can beat Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East Tournament, then anything is possible today in Indiana's matchup against Penn State.
"According to former interim IU coach Dan Dakich, the Hoosiers have a chance.
"Dakich, who hosts a radio show in Indianapolis and also is a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network, has watched IU often this year. The Hoosiers lost a three-point thriller to Penn State in Happy Valley two weeks ago, so they should feel good about playing them at Conseco Fieldhouse -- a virtual a home game for them.
"'I thought the two best match-ups for them were against either Minnesota or Penn State,' he said.
"Here are Dakich's five keys to the game for IU. ..."
"ARLINGTON, Va. — The expectations surrounding Kendall Marshall grew more quickly than his legs. Six years ago, when he was 5 feet 2 inches and 90 pounds, he was rated the No. 1 sixth-grade basketball prospect in the country by the recruiting analyst Clark Francis. ..."
If Penn State coach Ed DeChellis is seen sweating out Thursday's preliminary-round game of the Big Ten tournament against Indiana, well, he has only himself to blame.
"On Monday, the time came to nail down Ed DeChellis about what he was thinking when he rubber-stamped the nonconference schedule that could keep his Penn State Nittany Lions out of the NCAA tournament.
"The schedule is so notably weak that everyone from former coaches like ESPN's Tom Brennan to bracketing geeks like Jerry Palm and Joe Lunardi is mentioning it when they appraise Penn State's chances.
"With not a little irony, DeChellis was named Monday night by Big Ten reporters as their coach of the year. I didn't have a vote. But if I did, Ed would be atop my ballot.
"Here's the thing: A team that has played so hard for him and because of him and probably outreached its logical potential by two or three conference wins could easily be relegated to the NIT. This, with a Big Ten record that historically has landed an NCAA bid more than two-thirds of the time.
"That could happen on Sunday because he either dismissed as unimportant or flat-out misunderstood what the selection committee does and how it judges at-large candidates.
"One thing NCAA committee advisors Greg Shaheen and Dave Worlock emphatically tell the 10 committee members every year: the number of games a team wins is immaterial. It does not matter in the slightest. ..."
All Big Ten Talor Battle: First team coaches' and media Jamelle Cornley: Second team media and third team coaches' Stanley Pringle: Honorable mention coaches' and media Ed DeChellis: Media coach of the year
"So, you might’ve seen the highlights of the court storming last night and saw that moron student seemingly tackle Battle. I have come to confess and defend my actions. But first, let’s get to how it all happened. ..."
Bob Knight, asked to assess bubble team chances for Arizona, Michigan and Providence:
"I really don't think the best case has been made yet. The best case it to make sure that Penn State gets into the NCAA tournament.
"They've won at home, they've won on the road, they've played with good defense, they've had good shooting. I think that Penn State is a bubble team that should definitely get to the NCAA tournament without exception.
"Far more so in my judgment than any of the three teams that have been presented prior to my argument for Penn State. ... It is a straight victory for Penn State as the best bubble team to get to the NCAA tournament.'"
"Penn State's NCAA tournament landscape shifts so violently and often that it's hard to get a moment to savor a game.
"But while we have one -- barely -- let's pause to analyze exactly how impressive was the Lions' 64-63 win Thursday over Illinois before an announced 13,091.
"I've seen better games, but not that many. I've seen Penn State teams that played better in big games, but not many.
"What I've never seen in 20 seasons of covering this program is a more resilient and tough-minded PSU team. What they overcame against Illinois was a staggering array of obstacles...."
"Just got back from the game. Students were remarkable from tip to horn, and beyond. We were down double digits and after each basket, they all got loud. They never quit. I'm not sure how much of an impact a loud and highly motivated student body has on a team, but they definitely let their voices and appreciation be heard. I went up to Danny after we all left the court and thanked him for 4 great years. His response was humbling: 'None of this would be possible without you guys. You could all be home celebrating spring break and here you are, celebrating with us. And we appreciate it.' Well, Danny, we appreciate you and your guys. Let's take care of business on Saturday and go dancing! WE ARE......"
"For anyone who's been around Penn State basketball any length of time, this game reminds you of one eight years ago.
"When 23rd-ranked Illinois invades the Jordan Center for the Lions' home finale tonight, the stakes and the consequences will remind of the 2001 match with Ohio State.
"Like that game, Penn State is scrambling in the middle of the Big Ten pack, worried about its NCAA tournament standing. Like that game, the visitor is secure in third place, an NCAA bid not in doubt. Like that team, this one enters its final two games with the consequence of a home loss being a must-win at Iowa.
"This is the first time since then that PSU has been engaged in any NCAA bubble talk. ..."
