Let’s dance, folks!

For the first time in 12 years, Penn State men’s basketball punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The No. 10-seeded Nittany Lions will face No. 7-seeded Texas A&M in the first round at 9:55 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 16, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Penn State hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 when the Talor Battle-led Nittany Lions locked in as a No. 7 seed. The team was one-and-done and was upset by Temple in the round of 64.

Head coach Micah Shrewsberry drove Penn State to a 22-13 record and a .500 conference win percentage in his second year at the helm, improving dramatically from a 14-17 record in his opening season. The turnaround was spearheaded by All-American Jalen Pickett, whose record-breaking season sparked a run to the NCAA Tournament.

The Nittany Lions played their best basketball at the end of the season. They won five of their last six regular-season games and reached the Big Ten Tournament Championship for the first time since 2011.

This will mark Penn State’s 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

About the Author

Owen Abbey

Owen Abbey was a Secondary Education major before he graduated from the wonderful institution known as Penn State. When he was not writing for the blog, he enjoyed rooting for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens, supporting Penn State basketball and softball, dreaming of all of the ways he would win the TV show "Survivor," and yes mom, actually doing school work. All of this work prepared him to teach his own class of students, which was always his true passion. He still can be found on Twitter @theowenabbey and can be reached for questions and comments at coabbey22@gmail.com

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