The postseason hasn’t been kind to Penn State basketball in the Big Ten tournament.
Since the tournament was created in 1998, the Nittany Lions have advanced out of the first round on just five occasions.
But facing a Nebraska team today that Penn State has already beaten, there is a reason for fans to feel some slight optimism that this could be a postseason more than one game long.
The good news, of the five times Penn State has advanced out of the first round, three different years have resulted in appearances in the tournament semifinals or finals. So if the Nittany Lions can get past Nebraska, Penn State has history on its side to make a run.
With that in mind, here are five memorable games for Penn State fans to look back on prior to the Nittany Lions taking the court at 4:30 Wednesday.
2000: 71-66 win over Ohio State
Penn State entered the game the No. 9 seed against an Ohio State team was coming off of a regular season Big Ten title. Coming off a 10 point victory over Michigan in the first round, the Nittany Lions didn’t cave under the pressure of the big game, knocking off the Buckeyes in ay the United Center in Chicago.
The success was short-lived though as Penn State fell 94-84 to Illinois in the tournament semis. Even so, the run through the postseason would help Penn State springboard into an equally memorable 2001 campaign.
2001: 65-63 win over Michigan State
The Spartans entered the game the No. 2 seed in the tournament and met Penn State in the second round after the Nittany Lions once again knocked off Michigan. This postseason was another batch of close calls. Penn State only beat the Wolverines by two points before beating the Spartans by just two. Penn State would eventually make the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament that same year but was beaten by Iowa in the semifinals to the tune of 94-74.
2006: 63-56 loss to Ohio State
After handing Northwestern a 60-42 loss in the opening round, Penn State once again met a regular season champion in Ohio State in the second round. The Buckeyes were looking to lock up a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and at least a No. 2 seed if they couldn’t win the Big Ten tournament.
Penn State gave the Buckeyes everything they could handle. A combo of Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornely kept things close with Cornely scoring 18 points. Ohio State would eventually lose in the finals by seven to No. 2 seeded Iowa.
2011: 36-33 win over Wisconsin
Nobody will ever watch this game again, but Penn State’s narrow and low scoring victory over Wisconsin kept the Nittany Lions’ NCAA tournament hopes alive — following a first round win over Indiana. The game was as ugly as the final score suggests and neither team takes much pride in the result — winning or losing. Amazingly, Talor Battle still managed to bag the honor as the tournament’s top scorer despite playing in this game. This win sets up the final game on the list.
2011: 61-48 win over Michigan State
After setting back basketball a few centuries in the Wisconson game, Penn State played one of its best games of the season against the No. 7 seeded Spartans. The Nittany Lions brought all of their weapons to the table that day in a game that would serve as Tim Frazier’s coming out party. The duo of Frazier and Battle combined for 47 total points with Frazier setting a career high at 22 after just averaging 5.5 points a game that season. A sequence of four straight three-pointers by Battle blew the game open.
The Nittany Lions would go on to lose in the Big Ten Tournament final game to Ohio State by 11, but the win over Michigan State locked up the NCAA tournament bid Battle and company had come so close to getting just two years prior.
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