Talor Battle has been playing these past three days for a chance to make the first and only NCAA tournament of his career. Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis, the senior guard broke the record for all time minutes in the Big Ten , breaking Dee Brown's record. None of those minutes have come in an NCAA tournament game. With the gutty victory over Michigan State, that might very well change.
Talor Battle led his team in a spectacular 25 point performance, with 7 assists and 3 rebounds to boot. Battle's play has been key in all three of the Nittany Lions' victories in Indianapolis, and his legend could grow even more when he takes the court against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game tomorrow afternoon.
For the Spartans, the Big Ten season will not end in a championship, but they can probably be more confident in their tournament chances with the two wins they did earn. Kalin Lucas was the most consistent player for the Spartans again today, but his 16 points and 4 rebounds were not enough to compensate for the smothering Penn State post defense.
Tomorrow's championship game will be an even greater challenge for Penn State though, as only one team has ever won the tournament playing all four days, and last year's six seed contender, Minnesota, was blown out by these same Buckeyes. One thing fans in Indianapolis have learned well this weekend though, is to never count a team out when they have Talor Battle playing for them. propels