A Talor-Made Tournament Berth: Penn State punches NCAA ticket on Battle's last-second shot

Penn State's joyous magic carpet ride of a basketball season has seemed too good to be true at times. Thursday night against an Illinois team seeking the second seed at the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions felt there was no use in trying to change the tone of their feel-good run in 2009.
 
Sometimes nervous, occasionally deficient, but never outhustled or lacking in hunger, coach Ed DeChellis's youngsters somehow stayed in the ring against a formidable foe, absorbed numerous punches, and then stormed down the stretch to steal yet another win with fabulous endgame defense and clutch playmaking. Long on drama and never short on heart, Penn State pulled another heartstopper out of the crucible of crunch-time pressure. This has been the Lions' modus operandi all season long, so how fitting it was that the Nittany Nation got to see their hardwood heroes rise to the occasion one more time at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa.
 
With one more ballsy shot from guard Talor Battle--a 4-foot leaner that rolled around the rim, bounced off the backboard, and then rolled into the net with three tenths of a second remaining--Penn State knocked off Illinois, 64-63, to lock up an NCAA Tournament at-large bid by any reasonable measure. Now at 10-7 in a terrifically tough conference, even a loss at Iowa--and then in the early rounds of the Big Ten tourney--would probably not be able to unseat the Lions from the field of 65. When Battle's shot finally dropped through the basket after seemingly deciding whether or not to go down, a remarkable story turned into a pure fairy tale. Yes, after eight years in the college hoops wilderness, Penn State is back in the Big Dance, thanks to a group of kids that has refused to quit at every brush with adversity.

As was the case in several other league games this year, the Nittany Lions--not playing at their best, but always courageous when it counted--shut out their opponent over the final three minutes of regulation. The Fighting Illini generated great rhythm and good spacing for the first 37 minutes against PSU, but in the final three minutes, Bruce Weber's team stagnated, and the white-shirted Lions pounced. Aided by two missed front ends from the Illini (who went 2-of-7 at the line, 2-of-9 if the missed front ends are factored into the equation), Penn State steadily chipped away at a deficit that stood at a daunting eight points (63-55) with 3:41 remaining. When Illinois' Mike Davis barely drew iron on a front end with eight seconds left, everyone in the Jordan Center knew who would claim the ball, with the Lions now trailing, 63-62, and having a chance to win a ticket to the Dance.
 
It couldn't have been anyone else, just as the Lions--as a team--couldn't have ended their tournament drought in any other fashion.
 
Battle took the ball before halfcourt, and would not give up the rock. He dribbled into traffic in the left corner, and met two orange-shirted defenders. He got by that first wall, but then ran into two more long-armed bodies roughly six feet from the rim. Battle leaned to his right, found a small window of space, and lofted a soft shot high off the backboard before a fourth Illini defender (Calvin Brock) could arrive to swat the attempt away. When the roundball cruelly teased the whole arena but ultimately touched nylon, the same narrative that's graced so many Penn State Houdinis in 2009 resurfaced one more time.
 
The team that wouldn't quit is now the team that's wearing its dancing shoes.
 
Go celebrate, Penn State. This season has been Talor-made for every Nittany Lion basketball fan. And now, the fun will extend deep into March; the dance with destiny has only just begun.

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