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March Madness is upon us, one of the special stretches of the sports calendar.
And this year, Penn State has a chance to join the party.
Since the NCAA Tournament displaced the NIT as the nation's premier basketball event by the mid-1960s, the Nittany Lions have advanced to the Big Dance just four times (1991, 1996, 2001 and 2011).
They would have gone in 2020, but Covid got in the way.
Winning five of its last six games has put Penn State in position to gain an at large-bid to the field of 68, presuming the Nits don't win the Big Ten and capture the automatic berth.
But to remove doubt and allow them to actually enjoy Selection Sunday, the Lions would help themselves by beating Illinois tonight (6:30 p.m., BTN) in the second round of the Big Ten tourney.
Since the bracketologists have slotted State as one of the last teams in, one more win should do it.
But it won't be easy. Penn State won both meetings during the regular season -- Jalen Pickett scored 41 at home, and Andrew Funk and Myles Dread hit a combined 11 treys on the road -- and it's hard to beat a team three times.
Plus, since the tournament is at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois will get a boost from the crowd.
Penn State (19-12) will need a more even performance that it's gotten lately.
The Lions completely melted down in a home loss to Rutgers on Feb. 26 that could have crushed their hopes, blowing a 19-point second-half lead.
But in their last two games, they turned around and, despite a horrific start, showed character in an overtime, buzzer-beating win at Northwestern and then overcame a brutal 30 minutes on senior day against Maryland before rallying to beat the Terps at the buzzer.
There are times when Micah Shrewsberry's offense looks stagnant, standing around too much and launching 3-pointers, and other times when the Lions make the extra pass and look like a pretty good team.
The conference record says 10-10, which for the second year of Shrewsberry's tenure is impressive -- especially in a year where the Big Ten is greatly balanced and doesn't have any automatic wins. Even cellar-dweller Minnesota is capable.
With a star in Pickett, who is Penn State's first All-American since Jesse Arnelle 70 years ago, effective shooters Funk and Dread and Camren Wynter's penchant in the clutch, the Lions could be dangerous.
Shrewsberry has done an excellent job scouring the transfer portal, picking up Pickett (Siena), Funk (Bucknell) and Wynter (Drexel).
All are leaving, along with Dread, so a trip to the NCAA Tournament would be a selling point early in Shrewsberry's tenure.
Condolences
Former Juniata Valley athlete and then coach Mike Smith died too young last week from heart problems at the age of 54.
Smith was a football and track standout for the Green Hornets and earned a walk-on spot with the Nittany Lions in the late 1980s.
His career highlight was intercepting a pass in the Blue-White Game and returning it for a touchdown.
The quarterback was none other than Jay Paterno, who extended his condolences when learning of Smith's passing.
"It was a screen pass to a running back," Paterno emailed Tuesday. "An offensive lineman was coming out to block him, but he read the play, beat the block, picked off the pass and scored in the south end zone. It was a smart, heads-up play by a guy who was a really intelligent football player. It is always sad to see someone who gave back as a coach and as a person pass before their time."
Rudel can be reached at 814-946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.