No depth = certain tournament death for Penn State

By: John Williams

In yet another below-par performance against a mid-level Big Ten rival, the Nittany Lions season continues to spiral out of control.

Penn State (12-10, 5-6 conference) may not have only lost standout small forward Jeff Brooks to a shoulder injury, but they may have lost their season. This left Cameron Woodyard and Billy Oliver to fill his vacancy, thus stretching the Lions razor thin bench even further.

Fast forward to Feb. 6 at home versus Michigan and the Nittany Lions bench contributed a mere two points to the final tally. Talor Battle scored half the team’s points with 31.

Michigan 65, Penn State 62. Final.

With no balance and Battle left to pick-up-the-pieces, the future looked bleak.

It became just another heartbreaker. A game not too far from reach for a squad poised to be a legitimate tournament bubble team after their home win against Wisconsin. Almost routinely though, the game slipped through their hands.

Michigan (14-10, 4-7) is not an elite program by any standards. In the first half of the Super Sunday matchup, the Wolverines shot a dismal 11-of-26 from the field. Ironically enough, Penn State managed to hold a few double digit leads in both the first and second half.

Scoring has been an issue for the Lions, especially when it counts. Overall, in terms of points scored per game, Penn State is a tallying 64.7 (or number 280 in Division I). In field goal percentage they’re ranked 200. It goes on and on.

In Penn State’s loss to Ohio State on Jan. 15, the bench scored two. Versus Purdue only four days later, the bench didn’t notch one, single point. Nothing.

What I’m trying to get at is that no bench presence will ultimately be the Achilles Heel for Penn State. At this point, they’re an at-large bid – at best. There are no promises anymore.

They’ve got Northwestern and Minnesota at home – by no means “gimme” games. They’re at Michigan State and Wisconsin – it’s hard getting a win in Madison as it is. Then the Lions play host to the number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Senior Night. How fitting.

There’s no fixing the bench problem. The best case scenario is that Brooks warms up before the Michigan State game and maybe gives it a go. And if not Michigan State, then very soon. The Lions need him if they're to make any kind of postseason run because clearly wild-eyed Billy Oliver just isn’t the guy.

Remember there’s no “I” in team, but clearly Talor Battle is that “I.” Help wanted.

Originally published on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at BigTenHoopsTalk.