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Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions flying under radar for 2019-2020

By Ben Andreatta

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 01: The Penn State Nittany Lions bench celebrates in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 01: The Penn State Nittany Lions bench celebrates in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 03: Lamar Stevens #11 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts in the second half while playing the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on January 03, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 68-55. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 03: Lamar Stevens #11 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts in the second half while playing the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on January 03, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 68-55. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Penn State Basketball finished under .500 this past season. But could the Nittany Lions be a sleeper in the Big Ten for 2019-20?

Welcome to week two of Sleeper Watch for the upcoming 2019-2020 season. In week two I take a look at a team that has consistently been in the middle to the bottom half of the BIg 10 for quite a while. Penn State Basketball is this week’s Sleeper Watch team and I’m going to be breaking them down.

Penn State is a football school, let’s get it out there. All of the success that the football team has seen over the years has forced the basketball team into its shadow for a long time. Basketball has taken a back seat at Penn State and with just two tournament appearances since 2000, it’s hard for the fans to get excited for Nittany Lion Basketball. This season Patrick Chambers enters his ninth season in charge without a single tournament appearance, it’s do or die time for him.

Penn State narrowly missed out an NCAA Tournament Appearance back in the spring of 2018 after a 26 win season. The Nittany Lions would claim the consolation prize by winning the NIT and fans felt maybe the tides were turning in Happy Valley, but a disappointing follow-up season saw the Nittany Lions finish with just 14 wins.

Can they build off of that success from two seasons ago and sneak their way into the tournament? They’re a team that has a chance, I’ll dive into some of the key players, take a look at the Penn State schedule and talk about Pat Chambers as a head coach.

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