It’s time to give Penn State basketball the respect they’ve earned

Penn State isn’t a perennial power in college basketball and that could be why they’re so underrated this year.

Put some respect on Penn State’s name.

Pat Chambers has been the head coach of the Penn State basketball program since the start of the 2011-2012 season. Gaining the reigns of the program a year after they made their most recent NCAA tournament appearance. In his first six seasons under the helm, Chambers’s teams went a lackluster 87-109.

But in the 2017-2018 season, his team had a bit of a breakthrough, they didn’t make the NCAA tournament but they won the NIT. After losing leading scorer Tony Carr to the NBA draft, last year’s squad had a bit of setback. Now in 2020, the Nittany Lions are having one of the best years in program history. Sitting at 19-5, Penn State has won seven games in a row.

Not only is the win streak impressive, so too is the fact that they are second in the Big Ten, and only one game behind Maryland at 9-4 in the conference. The fact Penn State is this close to the top 10 with just under a month left in the season is something that we have never seen before.

The Nittany Lions have never won the Big Ten in either the regular season or the tournament, and they have a legitimate shot to win both at this point in the season. They’re ranked in the AP poll at  No. 13, ranked top 15 in the BPI, Ken Pom, and Sagarin ratings. If that isn’t enough, they have six Quad 1 wins and an 11-5 record against Quad 1 and 2 teams combined.

How has Penn State propelled to such success this season, and why is seemingly no one talking about them as a legit contender?

It all starts with senior guard Lamar Stevens, who not only is averaging 17 points per game but also is second on the team with seven rebounds per game. Stevens powers this offense, when they need a lift late in the game, he is the person they go to. It doesn’t matter if it is from the mid-range or getting to the rim, Stevens is a player that can score in multiple ways.

Stevens isn’t a great three-point shooter though, and in today’s age of basketball, finding those players that can knock it down from deep is important. Especially if you want to be known as a national contender.

Sophomore guard Myreon Jones is their main guy from deep as he is shooting the ball 41 percent from deep. Along with that, Jones is the second-leading scorer on the team at 14 points per game. Combine him with guys like Jamari Wheeler and Seth Lundy who are both shooting above 40 percent from deep as well, and you have the recipe for success that Penn State has lacked for so many years.

To top it all off, the Nittany Lions have Mike Watkins holding things down in the post. Not only is he menacing to other teams that try to score inside averaging 2.6 blocks per game, but he can score the ball a little too. The 6-foot-9 senior is averaging 10 points per game, good for third on the team and leading the team in rebounding with eight per game. He has plenty of ways to score down low, and also possesses the vision to pass the ball out when things get muddled.

This is the type of talent that you would expect from a blue blood, but still, the Nittany Lions aren’t getting enough respect, largely because of their lack of success in the past. The fact that this team, sitting at 19-5 and second in the Big Ten isn’t at least in the top ten of the AP poll is beyond me.

You substitute names in like Michigan State, Michigan, or Indiana with this resume, and they are easily a top-five team in the country. So why isn’t Penn State treated the same? They are easily the most underrated team in the nation.

I don’t think that Chambers and the Nittany Lions are complaining though. I think they still want to be known as the Penn State of old that can’t win anything of importance. It gives them a chip on their shoulder and allows them to be the hunter instead of the hunted.

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