Here at Penn State, football is treated as a godsend and within reason. Nothing culminates and brings together more students of all backgrounds anything like it in State College. The stadium boasts as one of the largest in all of college sports, hosting to the field one of the most successful and exciting teams to watch in all of college athletics. It’s a massive affair.
Now that the season is drawing to a close, eyes look elsewhere for sporting events and the bit of excitement that comes with it. For the first time in quite a while, those fans might just be heading to the Bryce Jordan Center more often. This is because the Nittany Lion men’s basketball team might actually be making a run in the NCAA Tournament for only the third time in the last twenty years.
The Lions’ own an impressive 9-2 record at the moment, with one of the two losses coming to top-ranked Ohio State, and appear as a projected ninth seed in the Tournament come March. They have also made it in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1996, currently ranked at 23.
The team is led in scoring by senior forward Lamar Stevens with roughly 17 points a game, and defensively by senior forward Mike Watkins, averaging over nine rebounds and near four blocks a game.
Students can buy season tickets for only $35 and can watch more than double the number of home events than they can from football. Many of the games often providing free food to students and friends that come early.
The Legion of Blue marks the student section, with stylized t-shirts to boot. Oftentimes, students will be chosen at random to participate in halftime events, such as the half court shot, for prizes as big as a new flatscreen television.
The event as a whole is a great amount of fun in a warm, spacious arena, with a tremendous amount of seating. Yet, if the season continues like this, those seats might be already taken.
