After flu, Davis returns to sidelines

For about a week, some fans might have been searching for Mike Davis.\nHe didn't coach Saturday against Iowa because of a flu-like illness. His practices have been uncharacteristically closed to the media. And he left assistants Kerry Rupp and Donnie Marsh to do his radio show Monday night.\nBut tonight, Davis will return to the sidelines at Penn State (11-11, 3-8 Big Ten), according to IU's media relations department.\n"I am feeling a little better," Davis said in a statement. "This (sickness) just comes and goes at this point, but it is much better than what I was feeling like Saturday and Sunday ... I am feeling better right now."\nDuring a teleconference Monday, Davis explained the criticism he's faced during his six-year tenure, saying that maybe IU needed "one of their own" as a coach.\nHis comments were misunderstood nationally, he said. He cleared everything up Tuesday morning.\n"I'm not quitting," he told Sporting News Radio's James Brown Show. "I'm going to coach the remainder of the season."\nDavis will make his first public appearance since Wednesday against the Nittany Lions -- a team with a guard-dominated starting lineup similar to the Hoosiers (13-8, 5-5).\nPSU's biggest starter, freshman Jamelle Cornley, measures in at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds and will likely draw senior forward Marco Killingsworth on defense. Travis Parker might be the only other feasible candidate from Penn State's opening rotation to guard the Hoosier big man, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 242 pounds.\nKillingsworth said he thinks a road win will boost his team's confidence.\n"We just have to take it one game at a time," Killingsworth said in a statement. "It will help prepare us for the other three conference games we have on the road."\nSimilarly, the Nittany Lions get the majority of their scoring from their frontcourt, which accounts for 39 points per game. Forward Geary Claxton leads the effort with 15.8 points per game.\n"They are a very athletic team," Davis said in a statement. "Playing on the road is always a tough task, but we have to come out strong and establish our tempo, make shots and get it done defensively."\nSenior guard Marshall Strickland -- the only IU backcourt member averaging double figures at 12 points per game -- is coming off a career showing against Iowa. Strickland dropped 18 points on the Hawkeyes, coming within three points of surpassing Isiah Thomas on the all-time scoring list.\n"It will be a nice accomplishment to have when I reach 1,000 career points," Strickland said in a statement, referring to his current total of 966. "I am not sure where I am at right now, but I am just going to keep playing hard and try to help this team win."\nThe Lions look undermatched and outsized on paper, but they proved earlier this season they are capable underdogs when they knocked off Illinois in Champaign.\n"They are the only team this year to win at Illinois, so that goes to show you they are capable of beating anyone at any time," Davis said in a statement.