Big Ten Basketball: Michigan’s rout puts them on top of Power Rankings

13. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-3 Big Ten)

The Big Ten team bitten most by the coronavirus so far is Penn State. It’s been weeks since the Nittany Lions have been seen in action.

Their last few sightings on a basketball court were inspiring some confidence about a turnaround this season. While Illinois crushed them, Penn State only lost by four at undefeated Michigan and by two in overtime against Indiana. They also have impressive wins over VCU and Virginia Tech on their resume.

But the Nittany Lions have seen their last four games scrapped, stalling any momentum for the program. They are expected to return to action Sunday afternoon at Purdue, but nothing is a given at this point.

Penn State is actually ranked 40th in the NET without a single Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss and could make a run at the NCAA Tournament if they can get back on the court. They’re jamming games at Illinois and against Rutgers into next week’s schedule as they pursue the minimum amount of competition necessary for qualification.

The rest of the season will also be used to evaluate interim coach Jim Ferry. He took over from Pat Chambers from an assistant role, but he has also been the head coach at LIU and Duquesne, taking the former to the NCAA Tournament twice.