Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball
| Penn State Nittany Lions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| University | Pennsylvania State University | ||
| Conference | Big Ten | ||
| Location | University Park, PA | ||
| Head coach | Pat Chambers (6th year) | ||
| Arena |
Bryce Jordan Center (Capacity: 15,261) |
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| Nickname | Nittany Lions | ||
| Student section | Legion Of Blue | ||
| Colors | Blue and White |
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| Uniforms | |||
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| NCAA Tournament Final Four | |||
| 1954 | |||
| NCAA Tournament Elite Eight | |||
| 1942, 1954 | |||
| NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 1952, 1954, 1955, 2001 | |||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
| 1942, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1965, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2011 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| Atlantic 10: 1991 | |||
| Conference division season champions | |||
| Eastern Collegiate League West: 1977 | |||
The Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team is a NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the Pennsylvania State University. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and play home games at the 15,261-seat Jordan Center, moving there from boisterous Rec Hall during the 1995–96 season. Their student cheering section is known as The Legion of Blue.
The program has nine NCAA tournament appearances with its best finish coming in 1954, reaching the Final Four. Its most recent appearance was in 2011, when the team lost to the Temple Owls in the round of 64. The program also has 10 appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, with the most recent being in 2009, when they beat Baylor to win the NIT championship.
At a school where the football program captures the vast majority of media and fan interest, the basketball program has historically struggled for relevance. According to ESPN.com writer and Penn State graduate Dana O'Neil,
In O'Neil's view, the "stepchild" status of the program was most starkly illustrated by the last weeks of the 2010–11 season. The team normally practices at a dedicated facility within the Jordan Center. However, for nearly a week in February, while the team was making a run for an NCAA at-large bid, Bon Jovi took over the entire BJC—including the practice facilities—for rehearsals for their upcoming concert tour, which opened at the BJC. The following week, the team was evicted from the BJC for a career fair and for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. On both occasions, the team was forced to practice at the nearby Intramural Building, a facility normally used by Penn State's volleyball teams. Although retrofitted with basketball hoops, the space left much to be desired. Multiple holes for volleyball net stanchions had to be taped over. During the Bon Jovi rehearsals, the hoops had been visibly lower than regulation height. While this error was corrected the following week, one of the hoops remained visibly misaligned.
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Wikipedia