MMPG - Will Penn State Go Dancing?

Jan 30, 2023 - 12:31 PM

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I am a basketball fan, but far from an aficionado. As far as winter sports go, basketball has always been #2 for me (hockey being #1), and upon becoming aware of Penn State wrestling, has honestly slipped down to #3.

Add in that Penn State has historically been #notgood, and, well, it’s just always been a back burner sport for me. Something to put on in the background when I need to kill some time or work out.

But here we are, just a few days removed from February, and it appears that Penn State could go dancing. But will they?

Right now, the Lions are 14-7, with 10 regular season games to go. Thus far, they’ve gone an even 5-5 in conference, which puts them fairly solidly in the middle of the pack.

The good news is they have time to improve on their record, plus the Big Ten Tournament to boost their stock.

The bad news is the Big Ten is actually pretty good, and their remaining schedule looks to be a tough one.

The combined record of their remaining opponents is 133-76, with all but two opponents boasting winning records. Six of the remaining 10 games are on the road. The Lions are favored (per BPI) to win just three of those games.

The good news? Except for Purdue, every other team is within one game of Penn State. The Lions currently sit at 14-7, and the two teams with the highest win totals (aside from the Boilermakers) are Illinois and Northwestern - both at 15 wins.

Will the Lions win every game? No, not likely. But will they go 3-7 down the stretch? Again, to me, that seems unlikely.

In any case, the team currently finds itself on the bubble, with different bracketologies predicting different things. The team is clearly talented, and when they play well they’re quite good (see last night’s drubbing of Michigan).

Only time will tell if they can gut out a few more wins and push their way into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.