Men’s Basketball
Ryan Burnett

For a season-opener this game is very lightly attended. I know they’re only playing William and Mary, but what the hell else is there to do at 6:30 on a Friday night in Happy Valley.

The Good: The Nittany Lions seem to have really improved their outside shooting.

The Bad: They seem to think they have improved their outside shooting more than they have ’cause they are taking A LOT of them. If this continues, it could turn what should be a good thing into a net-negative. Lets call it Vince Cater Syndrome.

The Lions are challenging everything on defense. Guard Taylor Battle is particularly active on the perimeter.

Battle’s shooting the ball VERY well too. He kind of reminds me of Allen Iverson. TO BE CLEAR, Taylor Battle is NOT Allen Iverson, AI is a once in a generation type player. But Taylor can do some of the things AI can do. He creates wreaks havoc in the passing lanes around the perimeter, has supreme confidence in his mid-range jump-shot, and is a much better finisher than his small stature would lead you to believe (he’s all of 5′11).

Penn State is little. William & Mary starts 3 players 6′7 or taller. Penn State starts one (Andrew Jones III). This is gonna be a huge problem for them against more quality competition. They are going to have no choice but to shoot jump shots.

The Lions win the game by 15. Not a standout performance, but a solid way to start the season. Especially on defense, they held W&M to 38% shooting, and 28% from 3.