Claxton out for season

I generally try to feature an article each day from another Big Ten blog. Usually they're from Penn State blogs, sometimes from other sites. Please check out the author's Web site. I always supply the link in the introduction.

In what could be the worst day in Penn State basketball's pretty bad history, the heart and soul of the Lions, Geary Claxton, is out with a torn ACL.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 15, 2008 - The Nittany Lion men's basketball team lost a game and one of the best players in Nittany Lion history Tuesday night in the Bryce Jordan Center as No. 17 ranked Wisconsin won its eighth straight game with an 80-55 victory. The Badgers never trailed and shot a blistering 59.6 percent (31-of-52) for the game in front a Jordan Center crowd that included nearly 3,000 Penn State students.

Penn State suffered a much more devastating loss just over six minutes into the contest when senior preseason All-Big Ten pick Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) landed awkwardly after colliding with Badger center Brian Butch while going for a rebound. The second leading scorer and rebounder in the Big Ten was helped off the floor and to the Penn State training room where he was diagnosed with a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. An MRI is scheduled for tomorrow to confirm the initial findings.

"I just took time to tell him I loved him and hugged him," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "You know he has been a great kid for us for the three-and-a-half years he has been with us. He was a great ball player, great student, a great person for our program. I just feel horrible for him. I really can't put it in words. He has worked really hard. He wanted to do great things this year. He could have done some great things for us. But, now we've got to figure out what our next move is and regroup as a team. We need to get back to work and figure out what we are going to do."

Claxton, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week selection on the year, stands fifth all-time at Penn State in scoring with 1,542 points and fourth all-time with 755 rebounds. His nine double-doubles on the year were tied for the Big Ten lead and his 26 career double-doubles lead all active Big Ten players. The 6-5 forward who has led the Lions in scoring the last three seasons was having a career year averaging 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game to lead the team while also ranking second with 38 assists.

"The full extent of the injury cannot be fully determined yet," said Penn State Director of Athletic Medicine Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli. "He clearly has an injury to the ACL and what we need to see is if there are any secondary injuries like damage to the meniscus or cartilage.

"From all the physical testing, it looks like he has a tear to the ACL. Most of the time (with an injury like this), you are looking at six months to get back to training hard, and then anywhere from 3-6 months of game preparation."

Junior Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) attempted to rally an obviously upset Penn State team scoring 10 of his 13 points in the second half to lead the Lions. He was the only Lion in double figures as Penn State struggled from the field, shooting 22-of-60 from the floor for 36.7 percent, including just 6-of-24 (25 percent) from three-point range.

Wisconsin had four players in double figures. Michael Flowers led the way with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Marcus Landry added 16 markers and six rebounds, while Joe Krabbenhoft scored 12 points and Greg Stiemsma 10.

With Claxton out, the Badgers dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Nittany Lions 41-22. Butch pulled down a game-high 12 boards in the winning effort. With the loss Penn State falls to 10-6 on the season and 2-2 in the conference. Wisconsin, which shot nearly 60 percent for the game, improved to 14-2 on the year, including 4-0 in conference play.

The Badgers capitalized on 55 percent shooting (16-29) in the first 20 minutes of play to secure a 40-24 lead at the break. They also dominated the glass in the first half, out-rebounding the Nittany Lions 25-13, including 11 boards from Butch. Penn State suffered dismal first half shooting hitting 8-of-31 from the field and 3-of-12 from beyond the arc. Against the taller Badgers, the Penn State offense struggled to find a rhythm or good looks from the floor.

The Badgers came out of the gate hot, scoring the game's first eight points, including three-pointers from Flowers and Krabbenhoft. Penn State started the contest 0-of-7 from the floor, going 5:13 before Cornley put the Lions on the board with a soft jumper in the lane.

Over the next three minutes of play, Wisconsin remained hot as they rattled off 10-straight points to take an 18-2 lead with 11:46 to play in the half. Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) ended the run with a jumper in the lane to set the score at 18-4 with 11:38 remaining in the first half. Nonetheless, the Lions started the game 2-for-13 from the field.

Trailing 20-4, Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) and Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach Va.) put together nine points for the Nittany Lions on four possessions to close the gap to 22-13, but a lay-up from Butch, a three-pointer from Marcus Landry and a three-point play from Krabbenhoft kick-started an 11-0 scoring run for the Badgers which extended their lead to 33-13 with 6:21 to play in the initial half.

D. J. Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) came out of the locker room with pinpoint accuracy from the floor in the second half scoring seven straight points for Penn State as the Lions closed within 11 points with 18:19 to play. However, the Badgers withstood the punch and maintained a 49-33 lead with 15:54 to play after Trevon Hughes knocked down a pair of free throws.

Despite 10 quick points in 4:16 from Cornley and a 10-of-13 start to the half, which set the score at 51-37 with 15 minutes to play, Wisconsin once again withstood Penn State's attempt to regain momentum. The lead grew to 21 points with 7:25 to play. From there, the Badgers padded their edge with a scoring run that totaled 19 straight points, which put a cap on the 80-55 victory.

The Nittany Lions will next travel to Indiana on Sunday at 2 p.m. to take on the ninth-ranked Hoosiers in Assembly Hall.