4 conference wins in a row might now seem like much to a lot of big name schools.  To this Penn State team, though, it meant everything.  This is a team that hadn’t even sniffed the NCAA tournament since 2001, and excitement ran high.  When virtually every prognosticator counted us among tournament at-large bids after a stunning upset win against Michigan State last Sunday, fans of this Penn State basketball team actually had reason to be hopeful.  At 6-3, we were tied for second in the conference, and thought we had our signature win.

Second up in the tour of Michigan would be a game in the Crisler Center, against the same Wolverines that Penn State destroyed two weeks ago, beating them 73-58.  However, from the outset it was clear that this game would be different.  Michigan shot 5-30 from downtown in their game in the Bryce Jordan Center, but came out firing this evening, with Manny Harris leading the charge.  Harris had a phenomenal game with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Penn State could not find an answer.  Though Jamelle Cornley kept the Lions in control with 15 of their 31 first half points, it was clear that the backcourt of Stanley Pringle and Talor Battle could not keep up.  The two combined for 16 points on 6-29 shooting, and once Michigan took the lead early into the 2nd half, it was clear that Penn State wasn’t going to make up the difference.

Michigan changed up their defense in the 2nd half, reverting to a man defense, which cut down on Penn State’s three point attempts.  Cornley nailed 3 in the first half, but nobody else was getting open.  I really don’t understand Penn State’s offensive mentality against the man.  It seems that the strategy is to hold the ball at the top of the key for 25 seconds, try and drive, and take a tough shot.  When they’re falling, like against Michigan State, we’ll win.  But when we go 7 for 25 from downtown, it’s going to be tough.

I’m going to question Ed DeChellis’s coaching here, something I’ve really tried not to do all season.  First, even though Cornley had a phenomenal game, scoring 25 points on 10-12 shooting, he was rarely used to post up the smaller Michigan defenders, and when it got down to crunch time, he didn’t see the ball.  When you’ve got someone with such great touch down low, you’ve got to use him more effectively.  Also, Penn State didn’t set a single high screen against the man defense in the entire second half.  If you want to get open shots, the screen-and-roll is a great way to do that.  Another factor that killed PSU’s chances was Danny Morrissey’s pitiful performance.  He hit just 1 of 3 shots, turned the ball over twice, and had some awful defense on Stu Douglass.  At one point, Douglass beat Morrissey on three consecutive possessions, leading to 7 Michigan points.  I like Morrissey, and he’s a good kid, but he just can not play any defense whatsoever.

This game was pretty much an exact mirror image of the Penn State game against Michigan from a couple weeks ago.  In that game, Michigan couldn’t buy a 3, hitting on just 5 of 30 shots from downtown.  Manny Harris was shut down like Talor Battle was tonight, and both were blowout losses.  What’s worse is this was a game that Penn State is going to have trouble getting past.  I know that I’m a guy who tends to get a little emotional after tough games, but I could actually feel the tournament potential slipping through our fingers after this one.  I feel like we’re going to have difficulty going .500 over the rest of our games, and this would’ve been a huge win for our credentials, especially because I think Michigan might be one of the teams we are directly going up against for one of the last spots in the tournament.

But this team has got to pick themselves off the mat.  You can’t let one bad loss get you down.  What this team has is two off days before a huge game at home against Wisconsin.  The place is going to be hopping, and we need a win.  If they let this one get by, it’s going to be tough to piece together the wins we need to sniff the Big Dance.  I said it once, I’ll say it again, if you can get down to the arena, be loud and be proud of this team.  Even if they struggle down the stretch, they’ve earned our respect and our love.  Jamelle Cornley tried his hardest tonight, but he can’t get it done alone.  When the BJC is hopping, it really can be that 6th man.  Do you think that incredible comeback could’ve happened in Iowa?  No chance.

We’ll be back later in the week to analyze PSU’s tournament chances, but for now, this is it.  We didn’t go into Michigan expecting a sweep, and we didn’t get it.  This team is down, but they’ll get back up.  They’ve come too far to fall apart now.

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