Editor’s Note: If you don’t want to spend the time reading this novel, you should just scroll down to the end and read the final counts.

Possession #1 – 7 passes around the perimeter leads to a badly missed 3 from Babb. Nobody posted up once to call for the ball. Entry Pass Count – 0. Center Touches – 0. Shot Clock Usage – :28 seconds

Possession #2 – Jeff Brooks receives the first pass and drives into the lane. His penetration forces Derrick Nix to help, leaving Andrew Jones open on the low block. Brooks sees it and passes the ball. Jones fumbles the pass out of bounds for an unforced turnover. Poor execution on both players’ account. EPC – 0. CT – 1. SCU – :09.

Possession #3 – Ball screens and dribble handoffs for 20 seconds. Nobody posts up once. Battle is left with the ball 30 feet from the hoop. His forced drive marked the first time the ball crossed the 3 point line. He doesn’t even make it past the foul line before he loses the ball. Turnover #2. EPC – 0.  CT – 1. SCU – :28.

Possession #4 – Miscommunication on MSU’s part leaves Chris Babb with the ball at the wing and an open baseline. Good recognition by Babb to drive and draw the foul. He made 1 of 2 at the line. EPC – 0. CT -1. SCU – :14.

Possession #5 – Another questionable switch by MSU leaves Kalin Lucas on Jeff Brooks. Brooks actually posts up, which leads to the first entry pass by PSU. Good recognition by the team on the mismatch, but Brooks misses the shot because of good help defense by Nix. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :21.

Possession #6 (Transition) – Battle, probably bored from the last 5 possessions, forces a 2 on 3 break. He gets caught underneath after he drives it all the way to the hoop, but right when it looks like he’s about to pull it back out, he makes a crafty spin move and puts up a reverse lay up. He misses, but David Jackson grabs the offensive board and lays it back in. Good job by Brooks and DJ crashing the boards. Poor job by MSU getting back and boxing out.

Possession #7 (Transition) – A mishandled MSU pass leads to a steal by Chris Babb, who recognizes Battle running down the court. Battle makes a pretty over the shoulder catch and slams it home.

Possession #8 – After some more Battle/Babb/Jackson exchanges around the perimeter, Brooks attempts to post up again. However, he does so roughly 10 feet away from the hoop and ends up receiving the pass about 17 feet away on the wing (not an entry pass). Brooks aggressively (or recklessly, depending on your perspective) drives the baseline against Durrell Summers. Summers knocks the ball out of bounds with 14 seconds on the shot clock, a blessing considering Brooks was going absolutely nowhere with the ball. The inbounds play was pass the ball back to Brooks, who’s 30 feet away from the hoop. Brooks catches the ball and motions for Battle to come get the ball. This exchange somehow takes 5 seconds. Talor Battle now has the ball 30 feet away with 9 seconds left on the shot clock. He looks to the coaching staff for direction, another 3 seconds wasted. After realizing he is on his own, he calls David Jackson out for a screen, but DJ slips and Battle feeds him the ball out of the double team. DJ has the rock near the top of the key about 22 feet away with less than :03 on the shot clock (which is audibly known by the student section). He has enough room to put up the shot, but he somehow thinks he can make another pass to Ott underneath. Shot clock violation. Turnover #3. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :35 seconds.

Possession #9 – Brooks drives this time from the corner on Draymond Green, a much better match-up. He gets into the lane and makes a nice kickout pass to David Jackson, who nails the 3. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :09.

Possession #10 – Battle forces a three early in the possession off a ball screen from Jackson. Poor shot selection from Talor, as he airballed the shot. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :08.

Possession #11 – Battle’s not in, but nothing really changes. Ott (or anybody else for that matter) never posts up. Frazier tries to split a double team and penetrate twice, but MSU plays good defense. Possession ends in a fall-away 24 footer from Babb. Clank. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :29.

Possession #12 – Battle beats Summers on a drive off the bounce and forces a foul. On the reset, PSU runs the same inbounds ‘play’ aka throw the ball into the backcourt. Mike Kebler, the defensive star apparently, nearly forces the easy turnover but doesn’t. Frazier and Battle are on the floor together this time, but again, nothing changes. Only 2 passes occur throughout this 25 second possession. Frazier to Battle back to Frazier. Frazier tries to penetrate again and force something, but he travels. Turnover #4. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :27.

Possession #13 – A foul as Battle brings the ball up leads to another opportunity for PSU to run an inbounds play. Once again, PSU is forced to throw the ball out to Frazier near halfcourt. After a few more perimeter passes, Frazier beats his man off the dribble (pretty easily in fact), but has no one to pass to. He misses a tough 8 foot runner in the lane. EPC – 1. CT – 1. SCU – :18.

Possession #14 – Battle forces the issue after a rebound, despite once again not having numbers. He still beats his defenders and gets to the hoop, but there’s no way he’s getting a shot up. He makes a nice dish to Jones in the paint, who gets fouled. The inbounds play goes to Brooks on the wing this time, but MSU wasn’t pressing the issue. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what MSU is doing here. They did not seem to be ready as the ball was inbounded. It took them a while for everybody to get on a man, and their confusion led to Battle being guarded by Draymond Green. After driving by Green on the break before the foul, Battle decides to pull up from 3 in Green’s face. Swish. EPC – 1. CT – 2. SCU – :14.

Possession #15 – Battle is coming off the ball, but Chris Allen is able to stay with him through some screens. Multiple exchanges around the perimeter once again. Andrew Jones gets a pass off a slip screen from Battle, about 12 feet from the hoop on the baseline. Jones makes a nice explosive move to the basket, but too bad he can’t explode vertically. He gets blocked by Raymar Morgan, and MSU gets the deflection. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :25.

Possession #16 – Not sure what the hell MSU is doing this possession, either. Summers and Allen miscommunicate right away and leave Battle wide open. Deep 3 is good. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :11.

Possession #17 – PSU tries to find Battle coming off a double screen, but it’s well-defended. After a few more exchanges around the perimeter, Battle gets a little daylight and puts up a long 2-pointer. He is fouled on the attempt. He makes 1 of 2 at the line. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :26.

Possession #18 (Transition) – Fast break with Battle going 1-on-1 with Chris Allen. Impressive defense by Allen forcing Battle to miss a tough layup without fouling. Not sure if CA got a piece of it or not.

Possession #19 – More of the same as far as exchanges around the perimeter.  With 8 seconds left on the shot clock, Battle has the ball 40 feet away from the hoop. He dishes to DJ, who pretty much has to put up a contested 3. No good. EPC – 1. CT – 3. SCU – :29.

Possession #20 – I should mention this possession is coming after ED called a timeout. Andrew Jones receives a pass this time. He catches it at the top of the key and immediately passes it off. I don’t even know how else to describe this anymore. It’s more of the same, but I’ve felt like I’ve said that at least 4 times already. Actually, no. I’m going to call it ‘Ring Around the Perimeter’ or RAP, for short. I think everybody on the court touches the ball once, but the ball never crosses the 3 point line. Babb is left with the ball at the top of the key with time running down. He’s doubled and forces a pass to DJ at the elbow with 5 seconds left. Derrick Nix inexcusably fouls to bail PSU out. The inbounds goes back to halfcourt again (this is after a media timeout because of Nix’s foul). Jones gets another pass, but he’s not a threat 25 feet from the hoop. After plenty of RAP, Babb fakes out Lucas (off the ball) and drains an open 3. EPC – 1. CT – 5. SCU – :31/:18.

Possession #21 – RAP. Jones doesn’t touch the ball and sets weak screens. A little dribble penetration by Battle and a kick to DJ for yet another 3. He misses but the rebound is deflected out of bounds. Good hustle by Brooks to save it to Battle under the hoop who gets fouled. He makes both free throws. EPC – 1. CT – 5. SCU – :18.

Possession #22 – Babb gets some separation as his defender gets caught behind Jones after a screen, but he forces a three from the top of the key and misses badly. Not a good shot, considering Babb took 3 or 4 steps backwards before shooting off the dribble. EPC – 1. CT – 5. SCU – :15.

Possession #23 – RAP. Only thing different is Battle forces a drive and tries to kick it to Jones. It’s a low pass and Jones isn’t gonna do anything with it anyway, so he kicks it back out. Battle drains a 35 footer with :06 on the shot clock. Go team! EPC – 1. CT – 6. SCU – :29.

NOTE: Should I even mention at this time that Michigan State gets Durrell Summers a WIDE OPEN jumper as the shot clock expires? And they had to inbound the ball with only :07 on the shot clock.

Possession #24 – Andrew Jones gets the ball twice on this possession. Both times are out at the 3 point line. This great possession ends with an 18-foot airball off the dribble from Cam Woodyard as the shot clock expires. EPC – 1. CT – 8. SCU – :35.

Possession #25 – Frazier tries to penetrate and gets fouled after 20 seconds of RAP. He goes to the line for 1-and-1. Frazier makes the first and misses the second. EPC – 1. CT – 8. SCU – :20.

Possession #26 – RAP. Jones gets a touch out there. Frazier splits another double team and gets penetration, but MSU recovers nicely on defense. Battle has to force a contested 3 that doesn’t drop. EPC – 1. CT – 9. SCU – :32.

Possession #27 – Battle’s dramatics draw a foul on Chris Allen early in the possession. Talor makes the first at the line, but misses the 2nd. Jones makes a nice tip on the rebound, though, and PSU gets the ball again. Steve Lavin comments that PSU now has a chance for a 2 for 1 at the end of the half, but PSU RAPs it for 30 seconds. Jones is included. Tim Frazier, the pure shooter that he is, has to put up a contested 3. “Wow, a rock” was the description from Lavin. EPC – 1. CT – 10. SCU – :32.

HALFTIME: Thanks to some crazy hot shooting by Battle, PSU is down only 6. Yes, they only threw one entry pass to somebody posted up on the low block (when Brooks was posting up Lucas).

Possession #28 – Jackson off another slip screen makes a nice, aggressive drive to the hoop. He just doesn’t finish the lay up. EPC – 1. CT – 10. SCU – :09

Possession #29 – Michigan State falls asleep on defense. Jones is left open on the low block. We’ll count it as an entry pass even though he’s not posting up anybody. Battle finds him and Jones slams it home. EPC – 2. CT – 11. SCU – :07.

Possession #30 – RAP. Kalin Lucas backs off Battle, I guess respecting Battle’s driving ability (and possibly his own bum ankle), so Talor puts it up and buries another 3. EPC – 2. CT – 11. SCU – :16.

Possession #31 – Jones gets two more touches out at the top of the key (and a shot fake one time to boot! He had me fooled). Battle makes an NBA 3 with a guy in his face at the buzzer. Go team! EPC – 2. CT – 13. SCU – :32.

Possession #32 – Jones gets the ball because Battle picks up his dribble. Chris Allen cheats way too hard to help on Battle and leaves Babb wide open in the corner for a 3. EPC – 2. CT – 14. SCU – :20.

NOTE: At this time, I’m starting to feel like I’m coming across as criticizing Jones throughout this post. I just wanted to clarify that is not my intent. I’m simply informing what his ‘role’ is in this offense the coaching staff is running.

Possession #33 – Jeff Brooks wants his own possession. After a defensive rebound, Jeff brings the ball up the court himself. He then decides to not give it up to anybody and drive all the way to the hoop. His short 5 foot floater goes in and out. EPC – 2. CT – 14. SCU – :08.

Possession #34 – Jones participates in RAP. Brooks gets an open look from 3 but it’s long. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :12.

Possession #35 – RAP for 15 seconds until Kalin Lucas reaches in on Battle. On the reset, more RAP until Battle dishes while in mid shot to DJ in the corner for a clean 3. He buries it. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :18/:14.

Possession #36 – RAP until a switch has Babb guarded by Garrick Sherman. Chris makes a nice drive and kick to DJ, who dishes off to a wide open Talor Battle. MSU was chasing as soon as Babb drove. Battle’s 3 is money. At this point Talor has 24 of PSU’s 41 points and is 6-8 from 3. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :25.

Possession #37 – This possession starts with Brooks coming off a down screen and receiving the ball at the top of the key. Jeff then dribbles the ball back towards Battle like he’s going to hand it back off, but he keeps it and splits the double team with a smooth spin move. He finishes the play with a tough 8 foot fall-away bank shot. It was his usual glimpse of greatness that usually happens once a game.  EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :15.

Possession #38 – Brooks, now overconfident, forces a baseline drive that isn’t there. He attempts to pass it back out to Babb, but it’s low. Not really sure why Babb makes such a feeble effort to catch it, either. He most likely wasn’t ready for it, but who knows. Turnover #5 as Lucas picks up the loose ball.

Possession #39 – RAP for 25 seconds. Battle then has to decide on his own what to do. He makes the pass to Babb who puts up a contested 23 footer as the shot clock winds down. It’s long but the rebound goes out of bounds off MSU. The inbounds pass has to be tracked down by Battle 85 feet away from the hoop. More RAP for 25 seconds. Battle then penetrates and draws the defense. He kicks it out to DJ for an open 3. PSU takes the lead. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :33/:30.

Possession #40 – Battle shoots a quick 3 early in the shot clock, but the ball goes out of bounds off MSU. I must make a note that Mike Kebler has entered the game sometime before this possession. Kebler got screened by DJ before this shot, and I wouldn’t say he contested it more than Allen/Lucas or anybody else on Battle’s shots all game. It was just a quick shot by Battle (who was moving to his left when he caught and fired) and he missed. I don’t think Kebler’s defense had anything to do with it. The inbounds pass is the first time PSU executes any sort of set. Frazier catches a pass on the wing, not in the backcourt. Battle, the inbounder, comes off a nice downscreen by Ott and fires up a clean 3. Steve Lavin called it a ‘good’ look. Unfortunately,  Talor misses again (progressing toward the mean?). Kebler was guarding Frazier on the shot, anyway. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :10.

Possession #41 – Tim Frazier gets a little too crazy here. He’s once again able to get right to the rim but the MSU defense collapses on him and swats his shot. The deflection goes out of bounds off Ott. Wasted possession. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :06.

Possession #42 – Andrew Ott gets called for 3 seconds. Mind-numbing turnover considering what this offense has done in the paint the entire course of this game. Turnover #6. EPC – 2. CT – 15. SCU – :12.

Possession #43 – More RAP. Although this time Frazier comes off a curl cut and receives a pass at the foul line. MSU defense is chasing. Eventually Battle ends up with the ball and drives the baseline. He’s cut off, but finds Ott, who makes a strong dribble towards the hoop. Maybe his move was too strong, or Draymond Green wrapped around his body and picked his pocket. All I know is Ott loses the ball going up and it deflects high off the backboard and back in play. Frazier corrals the loose ball but there’s only :10 on the clock. I guess he felt the need to penetrate and create on his own because he misses a wide open Chris Babb, who was calling for the ball 5 feet from him. Frazier instead drives and dishes to Talor in a bad spot underneath the hoop. Talor then tries to dribble amongst a big crowd with nowhere to go and it goes off his foot. Turnover #7. Nothing impressive by Kebler, yet. EPC – 2. CT – 16. SCU – :31.

Possession #44 – Frazier is holding the ball as the Lions try to run a set to get either Battle or Babb open coming off the ball. Ott sets a great pick of Kebler and Battle is open. It was a tough angle, but I’m not sure why Tim didn’t try to make the skip pass. Anyway, nothing happens for 20 seconds so Battle has it at the top of the key with the clock winding down. DJ starts to come out for a screen so Kebler prepares for it by taking away Battle’s right. Battle waves off DJ, and then drives to his left. The problem is the entire team is on the right side of the court. Poor spacing gives Battle nowhere to go with the rock when the D collapses. He pulls it back out and Ott tries to come out and screen. At this point, there’s just not enough time for anything to materialize, and Battle is stuck trying to heave a fadeaway 30 footer, but it’s after the shot clock buzzer. Kebler is in his grill on this ‘attempt’, which prompts praise from MSU’s bench and the broadcast team. However, I don’t see how Kebler is responsible for the outcome of this possession. Turnover #8. EPC – 2. CT – 16. SCU – :35.

NOTE: At this point, I would also like to note that I have no hate or bias towards Mike Kebler. I’m just very skeptical that a walk-on player, who has not played much at all this year, can shut down somebody as good as Talor Battle.

Possession #45 – RAP all day. Ott gets two touches. Possession ends with Battle driving 1 on 3. O’Brien calls it ‘a wild shot in the lane’. Lavin calls it a 9.8 out of 10 as far as degree of difficulty. Kebler is not even one of the 3 Spartans defending Talor’s drive. EPC – 2. CT – 18. SCU – :29.

Possession #46 – RAP. Ott gets a touch and get this. When he does, he passes it to Battle, who is posting up Kebler (about 15 feet from the hoop, not an entry pass). Just interesting to me that our center is feeding a posted up point guard. Frazier eventually gets the ball this time with the clock winding down. He penetrates and forces a wild shot that has no chance of going in, but it comes after the shot clock buzzer anyway. Turnover #9. EPC – 2. CT – 19. SCU – :35.

Possession #47 (Transition) - We’ll call this transition just because of how quick the shot is. After a block by David Jackson, Battle brings the ball up the court and immediately finds Babb open in the far corner. He’s got some daylight to put up the shot, but I don’t think Babb has earned the right to shoot whenever he wants. Then again, that might have been the best shot we could have gotten all possession. He misses. EPC – 2. CT – 19. SCU – :04.

Possession #48 - Battle races down the court after a missed free throw and uses his theatrics to draw a foul on Kebler. Another weak inbounds set results in Brooks catching it in the backcourt. Battle sets up the offense and somehow Lucas is on Brooks again. Brooks posts up, DJ feeds him, and Brooks gets an easy two points. First high-low action from PSU in the game. Too bad MSU already went on a 13-0 run. EPC – 3. CT – 19. SCU – :11.

Possession #49 – Battle forces the issue again after a miss. He penetrates and kicks to Babb, who swings it to DJ. MSU hasn’t gotten back on defense, and DJ puts up an open 3. Unfortunately, DJ’s shot is a brick. Steve Lavin called the shot ‘a grenade’. O’Brien says, “We’ve seen a bunch of those today.” EPC – 3. CT – 19. SCU – :08.

Possession #50 - Battle comes down the court and Ed calls a play. I swear, all that happens is Battle comes off a weak ball screen by DJ to advance from the wing to the top of the key. All four players are now watching Battle dribble the ball. Talor then tries a very weak attempt at a dribble weave with Babb. As Babb passes the ball back, Kebler knocks it away. Good defense by Kebler, but I think I could have deflected the incredibly weak pass. PSU inbounds the ball and Talor roams around the arc with DJ attempting some slip screens. Battle eventually drives past Kebler, who was screened, and makes a tough floater in the lane. EPC – 3. CT – 19. SCU – :30.

Possession #51 – RAP for 20 seconds. Battle then splits a double team (DJ set up for another ball screen) and gets fouled by either Kebler or Green. The inbounds set is just a lob into Andrew Jones at the wing. More RAP for 20 seconds after the reset. Babb drives and pulls up for a 15-footer from the corner. Brick. Not a good shot. EPC – 3. CT – 20. SCU – :22/:23.

Possession #52 - After some more 2 man game with Battle, Jackson slips to the basket and posts up. Battle swings it to Babb on the wing, but he doesn’t drop it in to DJ. It looks like PSU is making a concerted effort to get it inside here, but I really don’t know why Babb doesn’t make this entry pass. DJ looks to have Raymar Morgan sealed. Babb instead throws it to Drew Jones at the foul line, who has a much worse angle on the pass to DJ. He kicks it back out to Babb, who then forces a pass to Jackson, who is clearly no longer open. The refs call it off of PSU. Questionable call, but Ed doesn’t argue despite it happening right in front of his face. Turnover #10. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :17.

Possession #53 - Desperation mode. There’s two minutes left with a 12 point deficit. Battle recklessly drives into the lane and is fouled. He makes 1 of 2 at the line. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :08.

Possession #54 – Battle, after getting abused on defense by Lucas, comes right down the court and nails a pull up 3. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :04.

Possession #55 – Highberger is in. He brings the ball up the court and gets mauled from behind by Derrick Nix. Officials don’t call the foul and the ball goes out of bounds off PSU. Turnover #11. EPC – 3. CT – 21. SCU – :07.

Possession #56 - Babb misses a 3. I got tired of waiting for the ESPN360 feed, but I have to assume there were no Center Touches or Entry Passes.

FINAL COUNT:

• Just 3 total entry passes for the entire game from Penn State. It was really more like 2, but I was generous and counted Battle finding a wide open Andrew Jones as one. Jeff Brooks posted up twice when he was guarded by Kalin Lucas. That is the only time Penn State fed the ball to the low block.
• Just 21 touches by Andrew Ott and Andrew Jones combined, 13 of which came out past the 3 point line. They did attempt to post up throughout the game, but it was seldom. Even when they did, they never seriously called for the ball and it looked like they were just going through the motions. 56 possessions, 8 touches inside the 3 point line. We’re playing 4 on 5.
• 22 times PSU ran the shot clock to under :10. I’m not going to figure out the success rate because it’s probably half decent, considering Battle hit some ridiculous shots.

Now, for everyone wondering why I haven’t been blogging, try being motivated to do so when watching a team whose offensive gameplan is as frustrating as this. This is all we’ve seen the last month. It’s a miracle that we’re even in games. Talor Battle is phenomenal in that regard. With the same personnel coming back next year, how can we expect things to change?

Going into the game, I really believed PSU didn’t have a chance. But the Nittany Lions showed some toughness on the road and lost a hard-fought game to a supposedly much better team.

It didn’t look like it was going to be that way at the start. PSU looked dreadful in the first 10 minutes or so of the game as Minnesota raced out to a 21-10 lead. The offense was sputtering and Minnesota was getting further and further ahead. Stephen Bardo, the ESPN color guy, pointed to the foul on a Chris Babb 3-pointer as the turning point for PSU. Talor Battle hit a 3 on the next possession and PSU cut the lead to 5, but what seemed to be forgotten was Minnesota then extended their lead back to 10 at 26-16. I thought Tim Frazier was a huge key to why PSU stayed in the game in the first half. He came in and had 3 pretty assists that set up easy baskets in the half-court offense, something PSU wasn’t able to get before (except for a few long range jumpers from Battle). They went into halftime down only 7, a moral victory considering their play.

But a different PSU team came to play in the 2nd half. The Nittany Lions came out roaring to start the second half, as they hit their first 7 field goals. In the first 7 minutes, PSU outscored the Gophers 17-5 as they jumped out to a 44-39 lead. Talor Battle only contributed 2 of the 17 points. The damage was done mostly by Drew Jones and Jeff Brooks, who were getting great looks inside and finishing. It was exciting and encouraging to watch.

Minnesota weathered the early storm to the half as Hoffarber and Westbrook really started to get going, but PSU wouldn’t go away. Frazier hit a pretty 8 foot floater on a fast break and Battle then hit one of his patented 30-footers. The score was in PSU’s favor at 53-50 with 9 minutes left, when the turnovers came at all the wrong times. Minnesota stepped up the pressure and the Lions weren’t able to handle it, whether it was fatigue, inexperience, or inability to hang onto the rock. They turned it over on 4 straight possessions.

David Jackson did his best to keep PSU in it, hitting a big 3 to tie it at 56, but that’s when a huge swing really killed PSU. First, after struggling with the full-court pressure, PSU finally beat it until Andrew Jones couldn’t finish a contested dunk. That was a momentum killer, as Minnesota grabbed the board, raced down to court, and scored on a putback. PSU beat the pressure yet again, but Jeff Brooks took an ill-advised elbow jumper that he missed. It was a shot that even if he made it, I think DeChellis still would’ve been fuming. Penn State was playing into Minnesota’s fullcourt game, which is exactly what ED didn’t want to do, especially at such a critical point in the game. Jackson and Battle hit some big shots to keep PSU in it, but another turnover by Chris Babb (or should I say he got tripped and there was no call) was killer. It didn’t help that PSU couldn’t stop Westbrook, who scored 29 points (11-16 from the floor). Battle was guarding him most of the night, but it’s hard to be critical of a player’s defense when he had to play all 40 minutes. He’s understandably not going to be able to exert the necessary defensive pressure down the stretch. DeChellis finally put DJ on Westbrook towards the end of the game, but his damage was already done.

All in all it was a very encouraging performance, but the turnovers killed the Lions down the stretch. After making the first 7 shots on their first 7 possessions of the 2nd half, PSU finished with 9 turnovers in the remaining 12 minutes of play. Westbrook and Hoffarber hit some timely threes that put away the game.

Player Bullets

• Talor Battle – 40 minutes, 23 points (7-14/5-8), 6 rebounds, 4 assists. Quality game from Talor, but too many minutes prevented him from stopping Westbrook. Or at least attempt to make it more difficult for him.
• Andrew Jones – 12 points and 8 rebounds. His best game of the year, but that missed dunk was a big play down the stretch. Hopefully Drew builds off this game after such a lackluster non-conference performance.
• Jeff Brooks – 9 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Jeff played well, but I thought he could’ve been a little more assertive. Those are some good numbers for Jeff, but it didn’t feel like he had that great of an impact on the game to me.
• David Jackson – 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. I thought David did exactly what we needed him to do. He made big plays down the stretch as he tried to keep the Lions in it. His confidence was rising as he created a pretty 15 foot baseline jumper off the bounce to cut MN’s lead to 2. Didn’t seem hampered at all with the hyperextended knee.
• Chris Babb – played OK. He doesn’t have the green light to shoot anymore, as he only took 4 3-pointers (box score says 3, he was fouled on the other). I thought he did OK handling the ball as well, but his turnover (whether he got tripped or not) was killer.
• Tim Frazier – played great in the first half to get PSU back in it, but he was credited for 3 turnovers in the 2nd half. It didn’t look like he was slowed down at all from a ‘turned ankle’, but DeChellis only played him for 13 minutes.
• Andrew Ott – gave a forgettable 5 minutes. At least Drew got some rest.
• Bill Edwards – struggled heavily in his first BT game. He forced the issue quite a few times. He’s an above average ball-handler for a guy his size, but I’m pretty sure DeChellis doesn’t want him breaking a press by himself. He still contributed with 2 big putbacks in the 2nd half. I thought it was pretty telling of the coaching staff’s confidence in him when ED had Bill in there for the last 3 minutes of the game instead of Jeff, who had been playing better.

Always disappointing to lose road games that you had a chance to win in the 2nd half, but this was a great early experience for the team. Despite the loss, there was a lot of good that came out of it. The question now is can the supporting cast build off their performances? If Jones/Jackson/Brooks contribute like they did in this game, this team can win some games in this league. We’ll see if they can break the streak against those damn Bo Ryan Badgers tomorrow.

]]> http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2010/01/02/minnesota-75-psu-70/feed/ 0 http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/12/28/thoughts-before-the-real-season/ http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/12/28/thoughts-before-the-real-season/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:54:30 +0000 Eric http://www.battledoesitagain.com/?p=1777 The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same. That’s a phrase that’s been used frequently to describe politics in America (yay for the two-party system!), but it’s applicable to the Penn State men’s basketball team, as well. One thing we were all tired of hearing about come March of last year was PSU’s weak non-conference schedule. Yes, it kept PSU out of the Big Dance, but we learned our lesson, right? Apparently not. Penn State’s 2009-2010 SOS is actually lower than the pitiful 2008-2009 schedule. This year’s ‘improved’ slate is currently rated the 317th toughest schedule in the land, compared to last year’s 307th.

There’s still opportunities that the schedule ratings could improve. Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Davidson and UNC-Wilmington all look like they will make some noise in their respective conferences. But you can also basically stick a fork in Penn (who already fired their coach), American, UMBC, and Gardner-Webb.  In the end, though, does it really even matter? The bottom line is this young Penn State team is about to embark on an 18 game conference season. Their preparation was the 317th toughest schedule, and they did not fare well against it.

The NCAA tournament is a long ways away for this team. A road win against ACC bottom-feeder Virginia isn’t going to impress anyone. The Nits have set themselves up for another 11 win conference season if they want to get in. They were unable to do it last year, and it’s highly unlikely they don’t get it this year.

Have any questions heading into this season been answered? There are no consistent scoring options after Battle. As much as we all love Talor, it’s foolish to think he’s going to score 20 points in every Big Ten game. When he has a bad outing, which I’m sure will happen at least a few times, will PSU get run out of the gym or will they still be able to stay competitive? Time will tell.

David Jackson has been the best shooter on the team in terms of shooting percentages, but he continues to not be involved (only 15.2% possessions used). He rarely takes more than 5 shots a game, and it’s unlikely that since conference season is here, things will change. DJ is a great defender and a solid role player. But on a team so desperate for somebody to step up, role players aren’t going to win games.

I’ve been pretty disappointed in Chris Babb. I didn’t think he’d be as streaky of a shooter as he is. He shot his way out of the starting lineup in the Charleston Classic. But in fairness to Chris, he’s still an underclassmen and never proved to be a consistent scorer. My expectations for him were probably a little high. But Penn State’s offense needs him to hit the open jumper when he gets a clean look. He started sinking some shots the last two games, so maybe he can carry that over to conference play. Another thing I’ll say for Chris is he still contributes even if his shot is off. He’s averaging 4 boards in 23 minutes, and I’m impressed with how much he has improved defensively.

Andrew Jones, on the other hand, probably is the biggest disappointment. I’m starting to wonder if he’s maxed out. I thought last year he was ignored on offense, but he’s not using many more possessions this year (15.2% compared to 13.9% ). He struggled early in the year just establishing post position. He’s still scoring his garbage points that are set up by Battle or him grabbing an offensive rebound. But PSU needs Drew to be able to score his own points , and he hasn’t been able to do that. Will he ever?

Jeff Brooks was a pleasant surprise in November, but he has since struggled. Jeff can score with his back to the basket, but he still insists on floating around the perimeter. PSU needs him to touch the ball on the low block with regularity. His length and athleticism is tough to guard, but he needs to stay inside. It’s mind-boggling that with Jeff’s size (6’8″), he has registered 6 games with just 1 rebound or less.

Tim Frazier is going to be really good, but he’s going through the learning curve every freshman guard faces. He’s going to be inconsistent. It has to be expected from the true freshman. I like his defense and athleticism, but we’ll see how he handles Minnesota’s press. Broadcasters have exposed his inability to drive with his left, so you can be sure all the coaches in the league have noticed. His jumper has been a pleasant surprise, even so much that I would like to see him shoot more.

And then there’s Bill Edwards. The late signing has been an awesome surprise. He’s a smooth, versatile playmaker with above average passing and balling handling skills. The coaching staff has given him a lot of freedom on the court. He can shoot the 3, drive the lane, and post up. If there’s anyone who will step up into that 2nd scorers’ role, I’d bet it will be Bill. But he’s still a true freshmen and makes his fair share of bad plays (29.7% TO%). I never feel comfortable relying on a true freshman to be consistent. Especially one who hasn’t even played a game yet at 100%. He’s still hobbled by that knee injury, and I’m curious if Bill will be able to keep up with the athletes in this conference.

I’m more optimistic about the defense this year, however. Before the season, I thought PSU had the potential to put out their best defensive team in years. That wasn’t the case early on, as Sacred Heart and UNC-Wilmington tore the Lions up. But they’ve guarded much better since then, even against decent clubs like Virginia, Va Tech, and Temple. There are much better offensive teams in the conference than those 3 clubs, though, so we’ll see how improved the defense really is. Just because they could be PSU’s best doesn’t mean they’ll be elite. I’m hoping PSU could register a sub 1.0 PPP defense in conference play this year for the first time in DeChellis’ era, but I don’t think they will be at the point to win games on defense.

So, as you can probably tell, I’m not really optimistic as we enter the Big Ten campaign. Too many questions have been left unanswered and too much has been the same. The offense is in disarray. However, I certainly wasn’t optimistic last year and the team went on to post a winning conference record for the first time since 1996…Can Talor Battle really do everything?

]]> http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/12/28/thoughts-before-the-real-season/feed/ 1 http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/11/15/psu-70-penn-55/ http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/11/15/psu-70-penn-55/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:50:48 +0000 Eric http://www.battledoesitagain.com/?p=1564 You gotta love season openers. For many of us diehards, we had to wait a long 7 and a half months. Football tried to fill the void, but failed horribly. A terrible schedule/conference provided undeserved victories, which raised unrealistic expectations for this team, and it just led to disappointment, confusion, and an awkward ‘emptiness’ feeling. This might be the most unsatisfying 10-2 season in the history of football (assuming they win in EL next week, which is a complete toss-up IMO).

It didn’t help that this has been by far the most optimistic I’ve been for a Penn State basketball season since the Crispin era. With the positive end to last season, along with the uncertainty of how this team is going to be this year, I was just a little excited to get the season started on Friday. I was so excited to see basketball that I completely forgot how awful these early games are. It’s not a Penn State thing. It’s evidenced throughout college basketball. It takes a week or two for teams to get into the flow of the season and start playing competent basketball. It really makes you wonder why the hell the Selection Committee puts as much stock in these games in March. It’s all about the body of work, don’t you know.

So I would have to say the Penn game wasn’t too revealing to how PSU is going to play this year. Or maybe it was a significant sign that this is how we’re gonna be and I’m just in denial.

We all knew Talor Battle is going to produce the most, but if he’s counted on to do this much for PSU to win a game, it’s going to be a long season. Talor had a phenomenal game – 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists. He consistently broke Zach Rosen’s ankles with some incredible hesitation steps and some ridiculous craftiness in the lane. Talor could always score in the paint, but the way he did Friday made me think he did really improve over the summer. He did whatever he want against the Quakers and it was a joy to watch. I particularly enjoyed his 1 on 5 drive that put PSU up 61-49, capping off a mini 7-1 run that put the game away with 4 minutes to go.

It was a choppy game, because the officiating crew couldn’t swallow their whistles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many offensive fouls called in one game. It wasn’t unfair or one-sided, it just really kept the game from getting into any sort of flow. Three of PSU starters picked up 2 fouls in the 1st half – Drew, DJ, and Babb. That allowed for DeChellis to play 11 guys at least 5 minutes each in the first half. It was nice to see the new guys get so much time, but there was little cohesion among the ever-changing lineups. Battle was the only constant during the game.

Some tempo-free analysis:

Teams	Poss	Efficiency	eFG%	OReb%	FTRate	TO%
PSU	63.0	111.1	56.5%	25.8%	31.5%	15.9%
UPenn	63.0	87.3	42.7%	25.0%	45.8%	20.6%

As you can see, PSU shot well and took care of the ball like we did last year. But the offensive rebounding wasn’t there, which is a little unusual for DeChellis’ teams. PSU also didn’t do well getting to the foul line, especially when you consider Penn was whistled for 23 fouls. I thought the pace would be faster, but like I mentioned, I think the number of fouls interrupted the flow.

I was disappointed with the offense. PSU shot 27 threes (made 9 of them). You would think a Big Ten team would be able to getter better shots against an Ivy League team with nobody over 6’9″. I know we are going to shoot a lot of jumpshots from the perimeter, but there has to be some sort of balance. How about this stat; Talor Battle scored 9 baskets inside the arc, the rest of the team scored 8. If a 5’11″ PG is going to be our inside threat, we aren’t going anywhere. Andrew Jones didn’t look like the guy he was at the end of last season. He couldn’t get open in the post and we were never able to get some inside-outside ball movement going on. There were only 11 assists on PSU’s 26 made field goals (42.7%). Talor did most of his damage on his own. This cannot be the M.O. for this season.

The defense was okay. Penn State played straight man all night. I was impressed with Penn, to be honest. They had great spacing and did a good job penetrating and getting great looks. Zach Rosen is a solid PG. He can really dish the rock in traffic. Penn had 12 assists on their 18 made field goals (66.7%). Darrin Smith’s 1-11 performance and Tyler Bernandini’s foul troubles really hurt them. Bernandini actually scored the first 10 points for Penn, but finished with just 12. Penn State did a good job rebounding, but they didn’t really force turnovers (most of theirs were offensive fouls) and posted just a 2.1% Block Pct and a 4.8% Steal Pct.We gotta be more active on defense and create plays that will generate fastbreaks and points.

Player Bullets

• Talor Battle – Phenomenal, as previously mentioned.
• Andrew Jones – Didn’t play well. Foul troubles limited minutes until he fouled out. Scored 4 points and grabbed 5 boards in 21 minutes. Missed both of his free throws.
• Chris Babb – He played just 6 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, but logged 17 minutes in the second half. Took him a while to get in a rhythm, but he hit 2 threes towards the end of the game and finished with 8 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. There are going to be nights when he goes OFF.
• David Jackson – Looked okay. He was also limited by fouls. He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting, but was steady on defense like always. His shots looked good, he rimmed out a few jumpers.
• Jeff Brooks – Second leading scorer with 10 points. He looked comfortable on the court. You gotta wonder, though, how a 6’7″ forward plays 27 minutes and only grabs 1 rebound. He’s gotta be more willing to mix it up inside.
• Andrew Ott – He was productive, despite how it looked. 5 points and 4 boards in just 14 minutes, but he also fouled out. The guys have to adjust to how the game is called.
• Cammeron Woodyard – He played the majority of the first half because of Babb’s fouls. He hit a pretty three from a feed from Talor, but shot 1-4 from behind the arc. You would like to see more production out of your sixth man who logs 16 minutes. He finished with just 3 points, 1 assist, and 1 rebound.
• Sasa Borovnjak – He’s not red-shirting. I get more and more encouraged by his play each time I see. He was diving on the floor and really hustling out there. He logged 13 minutes – scored 2 points and grabbed a board.
• Adam Highberger – I’m curious to see how much he plays this season. He’s just 6’2″ and doesn’t have the athleticism to create like our other guards. But his shot is money. Very quick release. He hit two big threes in the first half in his 5 minutes of action. He was also guarding Bernandini for a stretch, and while I found that to be a mismatch, surprisingly, Bernandini didn’t score on him.
• Tim Frazier – I thought he would play a bit more, but DeChellis I guess wanted to get his starters some run in the second half. Talor was also playing too well to come out. He didn’t do too much on the stat sheet other than record 2 assists in 8 minutes. Can’t wait to see more of Tim.
• Billy Oliver – Nice to see him see the floor. Didn’t do much in his 5 minutes to really form an impression. He did take a three and missed, but his stroke looked good.

Overall, an unimpressive first performance (except for Battle). They shot pitifully from the foul line (9-17), as usual, chucked up threes on offense, as usual, relied on Battle way too much (39 minutes against Penn?), as usual, and weren’t active on defense, as usual. But it is just the first game and I’m probably looking way too much into it. PSU got the W, so it’s on to the next one (Robert Morris, tomorrow).

PS – If you didn’t know, Denzel Washington was at the game to watch his son, Malcolm, who is a walk-on for Penn. I was disappointed that I was denied by the usher to go meet him. He’s the man.

Game Stories

• Battle powers Penn State in opener – CDT
• Penn State downs Penn 70-55 to win 5th straight season opener – GoPSUSports
• Penn short on answers in 70-55 loss to PSU – Philly Inquirer
]]> http://www.battledoesitagain.com/2009/11/15/psu-70-penn-55/feed/ 0