Penn State left out of NCAA Tournament – The Collegian
Sigh — as recently as Friday afternoon, it looked as though Penn State would return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight years. Sadly, their non-conference schedule and a series of upsets this weekend sunk Penn State’s bid. They have to settle for the NIT which the are a #2 seed in. They play George Mason (my brother graduated from there), at home on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m (PennLive.com). Something tells me that big 13,000 crowd won’t be repeated. Also, what bad luck to be hosting a team with green as a color on St. Patrick’s Day.

Hopefully, Penn State can make a big run at the NIT and use it to build tournament experience. That formula worked nine years ago when a NIT semi-finals appearance preceded a NCAA Sweet Sixteen run in 2001. In 1998, they finished second in the NIT as well, losing to a Minnesota team that was full of cheaters. I attended the semi-finals both times at Madison Square Garden.

Penn State, Nittany Lions, college basketball, NIT, George Mason