Nittany Lions adjust after loss of Frazier

The IU men’s basketball team has had its fair share of injuries early this season, with the season-ending loss of sophomore guard Austin Etherington as well as games from junior guard Maurice Creek and senior forward Derek Elston. However, the Penn State Nittany Lions, IU’s opponent tonight, may arguably have it worse.

Just one season after he led the team with 18.8 points per game and scored a place on the All-Big Ten Second Team and conference All-Defensive Team, senior guard Tim Frazier had been averaging 21.7 points to lead the Nittany Lions through their first three games.

However, on Nov. 18, 2012, the preseason All-Big Ten selection suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon in the team’s 85-60 loss to Akron in the Puerto Rico Tipoff and was declared out for the season.

Although he is eligible to apply for a medical redshirt, IU Coach Tom Crean said Frazier’s teammates will miss his offensive presence.

“They miss Tim Frazier, but every game they are that much more comfortable with one another, and you can see that,” Crean said.

So far, Penn State ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring margin (-1.2) as they prepare to take on the nation’s most lethal scoring offense in the country — the Hoosiers — tonight in University Park, Pa.

Through 14 games, IU has averaged 87.9 points to lead the Big Ten and the country, while Penn State has averaged 64.3 points per game, second-to-last in the conference.

The Hoosiers rank second in the league in both field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, while the Nittany Lions sit last and second-to-last, respectively.
Crean said two Penn State guards, though, have picked up some slack left by Frazier’s absence.

“(Jermaine) Marshall and (D.J.) Newbill are handling the ball,” Crean said. “They are taking most of their shots. Their teammates feed off of them. They are really dangerous when they’re in the same action, whether they are on the same side, which they seem to be a lot.

“They both have things that they really, really do well. They have strengths that you really have to go into and try to attack those.”

Newbill, a sophomore, is averaging 15.5 points through 13 games this season, good enough for seventh in the conference. Junior Marshall sits just one spot behind in the league rankings at 14.9 points.

From there, however, the Nittany Lions have only three more players who average more than five points per game and no others in double figures, while the Hoosiers have put their top-five scorers in the top 30 of the conference to front the team’s balanced scoring attack.

Crean said that even though Penn State’s offense drops off after Newbill and Marshall, the Hoosiers have to make certain they don’t overlook the Nittany Lions and play hard to prevent the two guards from keeping their team in the game.

“They’re a physical, tough and demanding team, and we are going to have our work cut out for us,” Crean said. “They are a team that relies on pace and wants to play a certain way, so we have to go in there and make the game go our way as far as pace goes.”