Penn State takes a nine point lead into the half against Indiana in the Lions conference opener at Assembly hall. Let's take a look at the important developments.
- Jeff Brooks and David Jackson have stayed out of foul trouble. Jackson picked up his second foul late in the half, but was on the floor until the last minute or so. Given that, no surprise both guys have been important in staking Penn State to an early 34-25 lead, as both have 13 points to lead all scorers.
- Talor Battle has six points for Penn State. The rest of the team beyond him, Jackson and Battle has a combined two points. Yay for depth.
- In case you haven't heard already, guard Taran Buie has been suspended for a violation of team rules. We'll get your more information when it becomes available, but this is a bad development for an already thin Penn State bench.
- Both teams are 5-10 from the perimeter. That's good news for the Penn State offense, but bad news for the defense. The Hoosiers are only averaging 38% from deep on the season, so the Nittany Lions are once again allowing a team to shoot well above it's regular percentage from 3-point territory.
- Surprisingly, Penn State got out rebounded on both ends in the half and still managed to take a comfortable lead into the locker room.
- Penn State held Indiana's leading scorer, Christian Watford, to just one point in the half. Watford is averaging 18 per game, so that's good news for the interior defense. It's also surprising as Penn State has been playing a lot of 3-2 zone which favors interior post players.