May 18, 2008
Coach Wine on the radio postgame show after Saturday's game(mp3)
Big Ten Tournament Bracket (pdf)
Minneapolis, Minn. - Penn State clinched third place and the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday and the Nittany Lions will take on the No. 6 seed Indiana in its first game of the tournament on Wednesday at 3:35 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Nittany Lions will be the No. 3 seed for the second straight year at the Big Ten Tournament. Last year, Penn State finished tied for second place with Minnesota and was awarded the No. 3 seed. After dropping its first game to Ohio State last year, the Nittany Lions put together a memorable run at the tournament, winning one game in extra innings against nationally-ranked and top-seeded Michigan and winning the other two games in come-from-behind fashion against Iowa and Illinois to stay alive before bowing out to Minnesota in extra innings in the semifinals.
This year's third place finish combined with last year's tie for second place marks the first time since Penn State joined the Big Ten that the Nittany Lions have finished in the top three in the Big Ten standings in back-to-back years. This is the first time that Penn State has finished in third place in the Big Ten and it marks Penn State fourth-best finish in the Big Ten, behind only last year's tie for second place, a second place finish alone in 2000, and the program's Big Ten championship in 1996.
Wednesday's game will mark the third-ever meeting between Penn State and Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions are 1-1 against the Hoosiers in Big Ten Tournament play. The Hoosiers won the first meeting back in 1996 at Penn State while the Nittany Lions beat the Hoosiers in the 2003 tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. This year, Penn State swept Indiana in a four-game series at home the weekend of April 18-20. As the higher seed, Penn State will be the home team in Wednesday's game as well.
Up to six Big Ten Tournament games will reach a national television audience as the Big Ten Network will televise the Big Ten Tournament beginning on Friday. The BTN will broadcast three games on Friday, two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday if the tournament goes to 11 games.