I Wednesday, Jan. 27, LINHUP NCAA Basketball Illinois at Penn State 6:30 p.m., BTN Notre Dame at Villanova 7 p.m., ESPN Ohio State at lowa 8:30 p.m., BTN Florida State at Duke 9 p.m., ESPN Philadelphia at Milwaukee 8 p.m., CSN QUICK HIT* PENN Sift Single-game tickets to increase in fall While public and student season tickets for football games will stay the same next season, the cost of individual games will increase, the Penn State athletic department announced Tuesday. Single-game tickets will rise from $64 this past season to $67 in the upcoming fall. Public season tickets will remain at $55 per game in the 2010-11 season, while student season tickets will stay at $29 a piece. Oakland, Sheets agree to 1-year deal The Oakland Athletics added anoth er veteran arm to their young rota tion, agreeing to terms Tuesday with free-agent righty Ben Sheets on a Sheets $lO million, one-year con tract The 31-year-old Sheets has been plagued by injuries. The four-tune NL All-Star didn’t pitch in the majors last sea son while recovering from elbow surgery but last week held a pitching session for several scouts in Louisiana. The A’s sent two represen tatives to watch Sheets throw, director of player personnel Billy Owens and minor league roving pitching instructor Gil Patterson. Sheets spent his first eight major league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. OUR IKIH Raiders drop ball with coaching hire The Raiders decided to kick the JaMarcus Russell project into high gear by bringing in former Ravens quarteibacks coach Hue Jackson as their new offen sive coordinator. That’s right, folks: THE Hue Jackson is going to make the No. 1 pick of the 2007 draft a real NFL quarterback. To refresh your memory, this is the man who took Joe Flacco, a second-round pick from Delaware, into a super star QB in Baltimore, some one who has amassed a 3-2 playoff record his first two years in the league. We’ll throw out the fact that Baltimore’s offense had almost nothing to do with Flacco, who threw 223 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in his two post season games this year. The fact is, Hue Jackson is going to make a star out of JaMarcus Russell because A 1 Davis said so. For more of our thoughts, and to share yours, visit the MAKE PLAYS blog at psucol leglan.com. TRIVIA NFL Q: Which teams have never appeared in a Super Bend? Monday’s answer: The North Carolina men’s basket ball team was unranked was January 2006. Following last season’s buzzer-beating win over Illinois, the Penn State men’s basketball team looked NCAA-toumament bound. Now sitting at 0-7 in conference play, Penn State players and fans are wondering... HAPPENED THIS SEASON Andrew Beam.'Collegian Freshman guard Tim Frazier lies on the floor after being knocked down against Robert Morris on Nov. 16. After winning the NIT last season. Penn State is 8-11 this year and currently on a seven-game losing skid. LAST SEASON Penn State fans storm the Bryce Jordan Center court last March after the Nittany Lions beat Illinois, 64-63, on a buzzer-beating shot. The win helped the Lions earn a berth in the NIT. which they went on to win last April. Sophomore Molinaro to face Big Ten’s best By Ryan Loy COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Being the underdog in three straight bouts is rare for the No. 5 wrestler in the nation. But that’s what P enr > State 149- WRESTLING pounder Frank WKfcblLmu Molinr ~ ' lolmaro is e;. riencing right now at least on The sophomore i. is set to square off | * with No. 1 Brent Metcalf of lowa and No. 2 Kyle Ruschell of Moiinai-o Wisconsin during the wrestling team's dual meets Friday and Sunday. Molinaro heads into the match es coming off a tight 5-3 loss to Ohio State’s No. 3 Lance Palmer. Though the rankings suggest Molinaro is the underdog in these matchups, he believes he's just as talented as his opponents, and teammate Adam Lynch said Molinaro’s mental strength may equal his physical strength. “He’s a very confident kid," Lynch said. “He definitely has a good mental frame of mind.’’ Comparing his mentality to his physical strength is high praise, as Lynch considers the 5-foot-5 Molinaro to be among the strongest on the team despite his smaller stature. Molinaro said he’ll prepare for his marquee matchups by watch ing a little more film this week. While looking at Metcalf, he’ll see a 2008 NCAA champion, as well as a 2009 Big Ten champion and NCAA runner-up, who cur rently has a 21-0 record this sea son. Meanwhile, Ruschell is current ly 20-1 on the year and is coming off a third-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships. With four wrestlers in the top five, it’s clear to see why Penn State assistant coach Cody Sanderson said the Big Ten’s 149- pound wrestlers make up possibly the toughest weight class of any conference in the country. Lynch believes Molinaro's task of competing against the top three wrestlers in the span of a week is one of the toughest any wrestler can experience. However, Molinaro doesn't believe he's facing anything See MOLINARO. Page 10. Keep up with the latest PSU wrestling news with the Back Points Twitter feed: TWITTER twittercom/|)su _ bac kpoints Peter Tesoriero/Collegian Freshman lan Hendries (12) jumps to spike against Juniata Tuesday. Lions bounce back, claw past Eagles By Emily Kaplan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER When Jeremy Price saw the Penn State mens volleyball team struggle in its wan over Springfield College last Friday, he had his team's fate sealed at the door of Rec The head coach of Juniata ' an Hendries and Penn College the top-ranked team in State’s middle hitters Division-Ill— knew the Eagles stepped up Tuesday night: had just a glimmer of hope ONLINE psiicolleglan.com MEN’S VOLLEYBALL The Daily Collegian By Andrew J. Cassavell COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER When Illinois invaded Happy Valley last March, Talor Battle’s last second shot one that bounced four times on the rim ~ before dropping sent hundreds BASKETBALL of students sprint- ing onto the Bryce Jordan Center floor. Earlier this season against the Fighting Illini at Assembly Hall, the Nittany Lions were affected by a similar bounce this time, one that didn’t go their way. Illinois guard Demetri McCamey managed to gain pos session of the ball he had been fumbling and got off an off-balance 3-pointer with a hesitation in mid air. Somehow it found the bottom of the net. Plays like the McCamey 3-point er have characterized the Lions' season one that already fea tures seven losses by six points or less, and one that has quickly turned into a rebuilding year for head coach Ed DeChellis. When the mini, losers of three straight games, take the BJC floor at 6:30 tonight, there will be a dis tinctly different meaning, and, in all likelihood, a distinctly different atmosphere from that contest last March. Much of that can be blamed on the Lions’ 0-7 record in conference play and 8-11 mark overall. Penn State has followed up last season’s National Invitation Tournament title with its worst start to conference play since it started the 2002-03 season 0-10. The Lions' 10 losses to start Big Ten play that season is their worst start since beginning Big Ten play in the 1992-93 season. The Lions are coming off an overtime loss Sunday in which they blew a 16-point second-half lead against No. 16 Wisconsin. While DeChellis said the losses haven’t changed his preparation aside from necessary lineup changes, he acknowledged they have taken a toll on his young team. "We’re upset, frustrated, all those kinds of adjectives See STRUGGLES. Page 10. Men’s basket ball vs. Illinois 6:30 tonight Bryce Jordan Center TV: BIN against the No. 5 nationally ranked Nittany Lions. “I don’t like it when these guys struggle in a match before they play us,” Price said. “Be cause they rarely struggle two matches in a row.” See WIN, Page 10 MEN’S Penn State Juniata
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