Game Preview: Penn State vs. Jacksonville State
After taking care of North Florida, the Nittany Lions get set to take on Jacksonville State this Monday at 7 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.
New Pieces
After Tony Carr left for the NBA Draft, it was evident that the Nittany Lions were going to need to find a replacement for one of their best players. However, credit Pat Chambers, as he was able to bring in freshman Myles Dread, who had a great start to his freshman season with17 points, two rebounds and two assists against North Florida.
Another player Pat Chambers is trying to replace is senior big man Mike Watkins. While he is battling with off the court issues, John Harrar takes his place down low. He recorded seven rebounds and seven points in the opener Friday night.
Veteran Leadership
Junior forward Lamar Stevens is definitely a player to watch in this one. Because there are a lot of new faces on this team, he is crucial in setting the tone for this game.
We have seen this Penn State team get beaten by teams it probably shouldn’t lose to, so having a veteran like Stevens is huge. He was big in the North Florida game as he had 22 points and 10 rebounds. He was also perfect from the line making all eight of his free throws.
Another familiar face is Josh Reaves. He was second to only Lamar Stevens in minutes with 33 and recorded 19 points and four assists. He’s a guy that the Nittany Lions will need to rely on to win this game.
Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State had a rough opening to the season as they lost their season opener to Samford 92-72. A loss of this caliber is definitely a hit to morale.
However, the Gamecocks have a chance to pull off an upset in State College. Even in a tough loss there still were some positives. Forward Jason Burnell put up 16 points and had eight rebounds, and forward Christian Cunningham had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Matchup to Watch
Penn State’s John Harrar vs. Jacksonville State’s Christian Cunningham
Harrar is going to have to deal with arguably Jacksonville State’s best player. It’s going to be very interesting to see this understudy compete. Harrar is going to need to be very physical down low if he wants to get the best of Cunningham.
Score Prediction
PSU: 82. JSU:61
Ben Borus is a freshman majoring in Advertisement and Public Relations to contact him email bqb5475@psu.edu.
