It might be easy to have a negative outlook on Penn State. The Nittany Lions have never been a basketball school and have only made the NCAA Tournament three times in the 21st century.
But a flash of what Penn State can be under Mike Rhoades was shown Saturday, when the team took No. 9 Michigan State down to the wire in a 76-72 loss inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo didn’t shy away from complementing the Nittany Lions postgame.
“This team is going to beat some people,” Izzo said. “This team is going to have some ups and downs because that's what young teams do.