UPenn Preview

Finally. The season begins tonight at 7:30 in the BJC. The game will be streamed on BigTenNetwork.com for a small fee of $2.99. I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT. I remember having to mess around with the antenna on my stereo just so I could get the Lancaster 1270 AM station in Harrisburg, because that was the only station with a radio broadcast of the game. How far we’ve come.

The last time these two teams met, it wasn’t really close. Penn State jumped out to a 49-24 halftime lead and went on to win 85-73 in a 70 possession game. Penn actually averages close to 70 possessions a game since Glen Miller has been coach. I expect a similar pace tonight. Also, PSU did an outstanding job protecting the ball (10% TO%) and out-rebounded the Quakers (54.8% Reb%) in last year’s contest.

Penn lost 4 guys in their 9 man rotation last year, including two starters. But two players who were lost for the year with injuries return this season. Their projected starting lineup:

• G -- Tyler Bernandini -- JR
• G -- Zack Rosen -- SO
• G -- Darren Smith -- SR
• F -- Jack Eggleton -- JR
• C -- Andreas Schreiber -- SR

Tyler Bernandini is their best player, but he did not play well against PSU last year. He scored 8 points and collected 5 rebounds, but he committed 7 turnovers and fouled out. Eggleton actually had a solid game with 17 points and 9 boards, well above his season averages. Both Darren Smith and Andreas Schreiber did not play for the Quakers last season. Smith has taken two years to recover from a fractured knee cap, and Schreiber bounces back after being shut down last season with a recurring shoulder injury. Both will be seeing their first real game action in quite some time.

You can read an informative Penn article here.

PREDICTION: There’s nothing to scary about UPenn. They didn’t force a lot of turnovers last year or rebound well. We torched their perimeter defense (9-18 from behind the arc). They also have big questions on offense. Who’s going to score in support of Bernandini? Throw in the fact that they’re playing on the road and I say PSU rolls. The Nittany Lions will cover the 14.5 point spread. I got Penn State, 82-62.

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