In a thrilling back-and-forth game that could have gone either way, Penn State saw their season come to an end with a 66-64 loss to Temple. The Nittany Lions got off to an ideal start, scoring 20 points on their first 13 possessions and taking an early nine point lead. Talor Battle was on a roll in his first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, hitting three of four from downtown, and his running mate Jeff Brooks had six points and two assists. The Nittany Lions were looking unstoppable.

Less than two minutes later, Brooks drew his second foul and was relegated to the bench. From there, things turned sour for Penn State, as Temple outscored them 22-13 the rest of the half. The Nittany Lions were down two points at the break, but Ed Dechellis probably figured he'd be able to use Brooks for the entire second half thanks to his long benching.

Instead, only a minute and change passed in the second half before Brooks suffered a shoulder injury that would keep him out for good. Penn State would have to win this one without their best rebounder and second-best scorer. That's no easy feat, but it was one the Nittany Lions came tantalizingly close to accomplishing.

Penn State relied on a typically low turnover rate and some timely three-point shooting to keep up with the Owls sans Brooks, but the same old defensive woes prevented the Lions from taking control. In the game's waning moments, Talor Battle nailed a huge three--from at least 5 feet behind the line--to even the score with 14 seconds remaining. It was a moment that illustrated why we Geeks were so excited to see Battle get his chance in the Tournament.

Temple, as you'd expect, held for the final shot, and Penn State's defense did well to force Temple guard Juan Fernandez into a tough two. Fernandez shot just 37 percent on twos this season, and this was by no means a good look, but the Argentinian nailed it anyway to end Penn State's season in heartbreaking fashion.

For the game, Penn State scored 1.10 points per possession--an impressive total considering Jeff Brooks' 10 minutes of playing time. The Nittany Lions shot well from all over the court, including 42 percent from three, and turned it over on just 15.5 percent of their trips. This should have been enough scoring to get a victory, as only four teams had scored this well on Temple all season, including Duke, Villanova, and Xavier. This was truly a fantastic scoring effort from Penn State.

Talor Battle ended his career with 23 points on 21 shots, while David Jackson chipped in 14 points on 11 shots. Tim Frazier continued his fantastic finish to the season with 15 points (6 shots), 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Frazier quietly shot 60 percent on threes over his final 10 games (9-15), giving some hope that he'll be able to increase his output next season as one of the team's main guys.

Unfortunately, all that good offense went for naught, as Penn State allowed Temple to shoot 61 percent on twos and score 1.14 points per possession. That end of the floor was the problem for Penn State all season, and it ultimately led to their demise. It was a very good season for the Nittany Lions, but to come so close to an NCAA Tournament win and fall short has to sting.

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Michigan State got off to a wretched start against UCLA, falling behind 7-0 right out of the gates. Things wouldn't get any better for the rest of the first half, as the Spartans turned it over on 28 percent of their possessions and shot terribly (35 percent on twos, 14 percent on threes). All the while, the Bruins, not normally a great rebounding team, were dominating the glass at both ends and retrieving over half of their misses. When the dust settled, Michigan State went into halftime staring at an 18 point deficit. 

After the break, it appeared that Tom Izzo had spoken some sense into his team, and the Spartan offense suddenly looked crisp in a quick 11-2 run. The lead, which had briefly touched 20 points, was down to 11 with 16 minutes remaining. Michigan State had hope.

After some back and forth play, UCLA went on a run of their own, this one 15-2 over just seven possessions, to swell the lead to 23 points. That outburst was the only positive stretch of the second half for the Bruins, but it would prove to be just enough to hold off the Spartans. Michigan State kept fighting and nailing threes down the stretch, and UCLA kept missing free throws, allowing the Spartans to claw within a single point on a Keith Appling three with 4.4 seconds left. UCLA then went to the foul line, made the first, and missed the second, but the Spartans were out of timeouts and Kalin Lucas hurried into a travel as he prepared for a half court heave. UCLA prevailed by a 78-76 score.

This game was a microcosm of Michigan State's season, with a terrible start forcing them to play in desperation mode down the stretch. The Spartans absolutely dominated the second half, scoring at 1.39 points per trip and holding UCLA to a 0.96 efficiency, but they had already dug themselves too deep a hole.

Lucas had a very rough night--he didn't score until a breakaway layup with just 7:44 remaining and finished with 11 points (14 shots), 5 assists, and 4 turnovers. Draymond Green did all he could, posting a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, along with 4 steals. Durrell Summers put up 15 points on 15 shots in his final game in a Michigan State uniform.

So ends a disappointing season for the Spartans, one that began with inflated preseason expectations and ended with a whimper. Looking back at Michigan State's schedule, there really weren't a lot of terrible results if you simply had considered the Spartans a middling Big Ten team from the start. Their four nonconference losses were to teams that all currently reside in Pomeroy's top 14, and the conference losses that looked bad at the time (at Penn State, vs Michigan) turned out to not be so bad after all. The only real headscratcher was the blowout loss at Iowa. This was a decent team weighed down by unrealistic expectations, a problem they don't figure to have this fall.

- Posted by Mike Portscheller