The magic number for Penn State in the Big Ten tournament

The 2022-23 college basketball regular season has officially come to an end. After 31 games, the Penn State basketball team currently boasts a 19-12 record (10-10 Big Ten) heading into the Big Ten tournament later this week. Right now, the Nittany Lions are still looking like a bubble team, though there’s a magic number to fix that during the conference tournament.

What is the magic number for Penn State basketball?

My magic number for the Penn State basketball team is one — if the Nittany Lions can pick up just one win, I believe their tournament hopes will be solidified. The Lions are already a bubble team, and are listed in the “last four byes” column on ESPN’s bracketology. Penn State sits with the likes of NC State, Pitt, and Boise State. Right now, the Nittany Lions record is at 19-12 — one more win to get to 20 on the season (Penn State’s first 20-win season since Pat Chambers’ final season in the Blue in White in 2019-20).

The good news for Penn State

If there is any good news for Penn State basketball heading into the Big Ten tournament, it’s that the draw could have been much worse. The Nittany Lions are scheduled to start the conference tournament against Illinois — a team that Penn State has dominated twice already this season. The winner of that game will play Northwestern, another team that the Nittany Lions are unbeaten against this year.

Most of the Big Ten’s best teams are on the other side of the bracket — Penn State should just need one win to be comfortably in (perhaps two), though four wins would be enough to hang a Big Ten title banner. All bets are off now, the Nittany Lions are four wins away from the program’s first-ever Big Ten title banner and perhaps more later this March.

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