Welcome to the Show, Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones is seen here taking it to Michigan State
during last year's upset in East Lansing.
This year in the BJC, it was the same story
for both Penn State and Jones.
(Photo: PennLive.com)

After tough losses to Michigan and Purdue, I was having deja vu of Penn State basketball one year ago. This weekend's upset over Michigan State may not send Penn State the NCAA Tournament but it did give fans something to look forward to this spring.

In my last post before the Penn State-Michigan game I emphasized on the importance and potential of Andrew Jones. Well Andrew Jones stepped up against the Spartans by going 4-4 scoring 8 points in the first ten minutes of the game and finished strong with an impressive 16 points. Jones also finally showed some toughness on the boards with 4 offensive rebounds. This was the Andrew Jones from two years ago in the NIT we saw and hopefully this was his 2011 coming out party. As happy as I am to see Jones play well, he was not the only Lion to show his worth.


Jeff Brooks went above and beyond this weekend with 17 points and 12 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive rebounds. Talor Battle and David Jackson were not accurate against the Spartans, shooting 7-27 combined, but both managed to score in double figures and one of Battle's the FGs was a clutch jumper with less than a minute left in the game to give the Lions a 3 point lead. Let's not forget Jermaine Marshall who is making the best of his opportunity by scoring 8 points.

This Big Ten schedule is still a tough road for Penn State and they are just only scratching the surface. This win against Izzo and the Spartans showed that Penn State will not win with Battle going for 30 points every game. Positive output from Brooks and Jones will open the court for Battle and the other Nittany shooters. Let's see if Penn State fans will get to another upset this Tuesday against Illinois.

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