State fights on in the Big Apple

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Penn State's basketball team was actually winning games to start the year. Granted wins against Penn and NJIT were nothing to brag about, but the ball was beginning to roll. For the first time in who-knows-how-long PSU won its Big10/ACC Challenge game against Georgia Tech. As the season rolled on senior James Cornley, Stan-the-Man Pringle and sophomore Taylor Battle led our boys in blue to season sweeps against traditional powerhouses Illinois and Indiana. They fought for their lives and came out of East Lansing victorious against the NCAA tourney finalist Michigan State (then #9 in the nation). Penn State fans, usually counting down the days until the Blue-White game in April, were following....basketball. What the hell was going on?! Penn State was a bubble team leading into the final week of the regular season.

And then the bubble burst. A loss to lukewarm Iowa to end the regular season capped off with a sha-lackin' in the Big Ten tourney by Purdue all but sealed the team's fate in the eyes of the NCAA Selection Committee. An invitation to the NIT (Not Invited Tournament?) and the chance to host the first two rounds was received more like a consolation prize than a reward for a hard fought season.

The road to Madison Square Garden was almost over with the first game against George Mason. Down three with 4.8 seconds to play, Battle (honestly, you better be a-mazing at basketball with a name like that) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send it all into overtime. Video of the shot is here - turn your volume down if you value your ear drums. Then there was a game in the Swamp against Florida, where the Gators were 18-1 on the season. Again, victorious. Off to Madison Square Garden to play the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish in the NIT semi's.

It is easy to feel like a number when attending a university the size of Penn State. Greater than 40,000 students at the University Park campus alone, there are over 450,000 living alumni. But on the flip side, it is very easy to feel like part of something bigger. It is an allegiance-like pride that we paint on our faces, tattoo on our bodies, and incorporate into our weddings. When the call came to support our boys in the Big Apple, 16 buses of fans left State College for the ND game. Thirty three more were packed to the brim for the final game against Baylor. Joe Paterno not only postponed his weekly press conference, but he sat court side for both games. Penn State filled MSG with its very own whiteout. The Penn State faithful showed up, and our guys did not disappoint.

To those of you who do not follow Penn State, we are not a basketball school. This year's team won more games than the past two seasons COMBINED. This was our first men's basketball championship title in the history of the program. Getting snubbed by the NCAA tourney turned out to be the best thing that happened to us all season. Hey Wake Forest, Florida State, BC, and West Virigina - how'd it feel to be one and done? Mmm hmm.

Our players came to Happy Hoops Valley to play four more years of ball and receive a quality education. Tournament bids were not a realistic year-in-year-out expectation. But things are changing. Cornley led this program to the national spotlight. He made us relevant. He will go down in Penn State sports folklore as the reason the program turned around. Head over to BSD for a more poignant take on the importance of this victory.

The victory was capped off on the walk home. Past the Fullington buses re-filling for the productive trip home, a blue and white Empire State Building cut through the foggy night. Turns out it was in honor of the Nittany Lions. Cheers, guys. You made us proud.

Video highlights of the game bring chills to my spine the way only PSU football videos do. Like I said - things are changing.