Midweek top 10: Expanded NCAA tourney would be great for Penn State, Pitt

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Just so everyone knows, college basketball is my favorite sport. And there is absolutely nothing in sports that I love more than the NCAA Tournament.

Which is going to be getting much bigger before too long, and that will be terrific news for Penn State and Pitt.

With college hoops season starting this week, here's a basketball-heavy midweek top 10. And don't worry, there's lots of football in here, too.

1. Expanded NCAA Tournament will be great for Lions, Panthers

The big news came out last month that the NCAA is considering expanding tournaments in all of its sports to include roughly 25 percent of the total participants. There are 363 Division I men's basketball programs, so that would mean an NCAA Tournament of 90 or so teams (96 is a number that's been suggested as possible).

There's no guarantee that this will happen.

Except for this: Yeah, it's gonna happen -- eventually -- because of the one thing that always makes these kinds of things happen.

Money.

Just like the College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams in 2-3 years, it seems inevitable that college basketball will tweak the men's tournament within the next few years.

But what's interesting is that, while so many people -- fans and media alike -- have been on board and calling for a football playoff expansion for some time, there has been a widespread backlash over the past few weeks about the possibility of expanding the basketball tournament.

The argument basically goes like this: The NCAA Tournament is a sacred piece of American sports, and it shouldn't be messed with.

Hey look, I can buy into that argument because, as mentioned above, there's nothing I love more in sports than the NCAA Tournament.

But let's get real here: Money rules the world, there will be more money from an expanded tournament, and so the powers that be are going to make sure it happens.

As with anything in life, your feelings about change often are a direct reflection of how that change impacts YOU.

So, whether you like the possibility of an expanded tournament or not, it probably depends on which college basketball team you root for.

Which brings us to Penn State and Pitt. Both could stand to benefit tremendously from an expanded tournament, because it would significantly increase their chances of going dancing in a given year.

Pitt's program has been in bad shape for some time, long removed from the heyday started by Ben Howland and then taken to another level by Jamie Dixon. The Panthers were a perennial NCAA Tournament team from 2002-16, but they haven't been back in six years, and have had a losing record each of those seasons.

Penn State has been to a total -- yes, TOTAL -- of five NCAA Tournaments since 1965. It would have been six had the 2020 tourney not be canceled because of COVID.

If the tournament expands to 90 or 96, then goodness, there might not be another program in the country that could go from tourney afterthought to regular participant more than Penn State. The Lions are rarely one of the 68 best teams in the country, but top 80 or 90 would be very doable.

As for Pitt, it's probably safe to say that the program will never return to the consistent national powerhouse that it was during the Dixon era. Still, with their tradition and playing in the ACC, you would think the Panthers could get back to a level where they're in the top 90 on a regular basis.

There's no doubt that expanding the NCAA Tournament field would primarily benefit middle- and lower-tier teams in power conferences more than any others. It's not like a whole bunch more mid-majors would be getting all the at-large bids, because many of them would go to teams closer to the bottom of the standings in the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12.

And if you're Penn State or Pitt, that would be a great thing, because even going just 7-11 in the league probably would be enough to get into the field a lot of years.

Sure, it stinks that the tournament will include a whole bunch of teams that, quite frankly, aren't all that good. But an expanded tournament would keep a ton of teams still alive into Selection Sunday, and we all know that craziness happens in the tournament, so there will always be a possibility that some team in the 80-90 range could get hot and go on a nice little run.

2. Boeheim is right: You judge teams based on the tournament

I'm a lifelong Syracuse basketball fan. Have been since, as a little kid, I saw a highlight of Pearl Washington hitting a half-court shot to beat Boston College in 1985.

Syracuse has been a perennial NCAA Tournament team my entire life, and has made five Final Four appearances since 1987.

Just like you Steelers fans who have long judged the Black & Gold not on the regular season, but how far the team gets in the playoffs, that's exactly how I've always viewed Syracuse basketball. A top 10 or 15 regular season means very little to me unless my team made a nice run in the tournament -- at least to the Sweet 16 most years, and sometimes even further.

The tournament is the season. Period. That's how I've always viewed things. And if you're a Pitt fan, it's also why I was so critical of Pitt for many years during the Dixon era because, even when the Panthers had a good season, they would often underachieve in the NCAA Tournament.

For the record, I have not always loved everything Jim Boeheim as done at Syracuse. In my opinion, he's wasted a lot of talent over the years and has underachieved on numerous occasions.

But there is one thing I absolutely, unequivocally agree with Boeheim on, and it's really a big reason why I have always been such a big Syracuse fan. Here it is:

Bingo!

"If you can't play in the tournament then you're not good."

That's the mentality I want from my coach. The mentality that anything and everything has to be done to prepare for and then make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Because THAT is what matters in college basketball.

Except for in the Big Ten. A league that always has a lot of good teams that get a lot of praise, and then when tournament time rolls around, falls apart.

“At the end of the day, you play for the tournament,” Boeheim said last month. “You can say what you want about the Big Ten. They sucked in the tournament. To me, that’s what they did. All of their wins were in their league."

The Big Ten has not had a national champion since Michigan State in 2000. Wow! That's just a staggering element, because year after year, the league has a bunch of teams in or around the top 10 that also get high seeds in the tourney.

We all know what happens. The Big Ten teams beat up on each other so much all season that, come tournament time, there's not a lot left in the tank for many of the teams.

3. Huggins is right: Gonzaga would get "awakening" in Big 12

Did I mention that college basketball is my favorite sport? I watch a TON of games each week all across the country, because I have always loved watching the different styles of play.

I also have worked late at night my whole life, so I get to stay up and watch a lot of West coast games every year. Which means I watch Gonzaga a lot -- against St. Mary's or BYU, or the host of nothing teams they play in the West Coast Conference.

The Zags destroy most of those teams -- again, besides St. Mary's and BYU -- pile up a bunch of wins each season and get a very high seed for the NCAA Tournament. And to their credit, they usually make a good run in the tournament because Mark Few has that team ready to play.

BYU is joining the Big 12 next year, and there has been speculation Gonzaga could join that league, as well.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was spot on when he said this last week about the possibility of Gonzaga joining the Big 12:

"To get in this league and play who we play day after day, I would think it would be a tremendous awakening. You don't get to make your own schedule in the Big 12."

Having watched Gonzaga a lot and having great respect for Few, I do believe the Zags would compete well in the Big 12. But there is ZERO chance they would dominate the league and just roll over everyone, and instead would probably lose 4-5 conference games each year, if not more.

You know what that would mean? Lower seeds in the NCAA Tournament, tougher first-and second-round games and quicker exits in a lot of years. Just like a whole bunch of strong programs from around the country that play in tough leagues and aren't always just gift-wrapped a top 3 seed because they destroy everybody in their weak conference.

I applaud Huggins for saying what he did. Because he's really speaking for all coaches and fans everywhere who have long felt the same way about Gonzaga.

4. Penn State's offensive line dealt tough blows

You have to wonder if we'll see left tackle Olu Fashanu play again for Penn State. He came out of the final series against Ohio State two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury and then didn't make the trip to Indiana last week.

We don't get injury updates from James Franklin, so we have no idea the severity of Fashanu's injury. Maybe it's nothing serious and he'll be back this week against Maryland.

Still, with only three games left, and Fashanu already having gained the attention of NFL scouts as a potential first-round pick, there is very little reason for him to rush back from any kind of injury. The young man already has made himself a ton of money with his play this season, and he has to do whatever he can to protect his health and be ready for the draft, if he choose to turn pro.

Franklin did confirm Tuesday that left guard Landon Tengwall had surgery and will miss the rest of the season. What a bizarre situation that has been. Tengwall suffered an injury during pregame warmups at Michigan and hasn't played since. You cannot help but wonder just what a player could be doing during the pregame warmups to hurt himself so badly that he has to miss the rest of the season.

Sure, anything can happen in football, but that's just ... wild.

With Fashanu and Tengwall, the left side of Penn State's line had a chance to be outstanding. But now the team is dealing with having to play backups in both spots and possibly burning redshirts. I'll have much more on the offensive line Friday and how the unit did an excellent job last week despite all the adversity.

There was some good news on the O-line Tuesday as Hunter Nourzad announced he will return for one more season. That certainly will help next season.

5. Lions move up in CFP rankings

Penn State moved up one spot to No. 14 in this week's College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday night. If the Lions can finish 10-2, they almost certainly will finish in the top 12 for the fifth time in seven years.

I wrote extensively earlier this week about how Penn State could still get into the Rose Bowl if Ohio State and Michigan both make the playoffs. There were a lot of good comments from readers on that story, including how Tennessee would have a stronger case than Michigan as a one-loss team.

That certainly could be a possibility, since Michigan's non-conference schedule was terrible (Colorado State, Hawaii, UConn) and the Wolverines have only beaten one ranked team so far (41-17 over Penn State).

Tennessee, meanwhile, beat Alabama, and we know the committee loves Alabama, even when the team is down like this year.

Still, as I mentioned in the earlier story, a close loss by Michigan at Ohio State could be enough to sway the committee to include the Wolverines in the playoff over Tennessee.

One more thing: I think the most likely scenario is that TCU loses a game (either at Texas or Baylor) and that the SEC and Big Ten both get two teams in (Georgia and Tennessee, Ohio State and Michigan).

6. We learned his name for no reason, unfortunately

Most people expected Christian Veilleux to be Penn State's backup quarterback to start this season, with Drew Allar maybe taking over that role as time went on. But Allar wound up beating out Veilleux in preseason camp for the backup job.

It was during that time that we learned everyone had been saying Veilleux's name incorrectly all along -- as Vay-you when it really is Vay-your.

Fast forward nine games into the season, and we really haven't even heard Veilleux's name at all, because Sean Clifford has remained healthy and everyone keeps calling for Allar to get more playing time. Veilleux completed 6 of 8 passes for 37 yards early on in mop-up duty and has only played in two games (Ohio and Auburn).

Veilleux certainly will face a big decision after this season. He's still just a freshman, so he can stay at Penn State knowing that he will be Allar's backup for most of his career, or he could decide to enter the transfer portal and compete for a starting job elsewhere.

Franklin gave a great answer Tuesday when asked how Veilleux has handled the season.

"He's been phenomenal, he really has," the coach said. "I think that whole quarterback room has been great. I think Sean has kind of set the tone for that whole room. But Christian has been phenomenal. Those are tough conversations and tough decisions that have to be made.

"It's interesting because I've kind of used this with the players before. You look at some players that may play as a true freshman and play well, and another guy redshirts and they're in the same class. And then you look three years down the road and the guy that redshirted ends up having what people would describe as maybe a better career.

"There's a lot of twists and turns along these journeys, but I think Veilleux has been phenomenal. His attitude has been great. He's been great in meetings. He's totally engaged. We've been rotating those guys down to the scout team. They've been awesome down there. He's been great. His body language, his demeanor, his leadership, his attention to detail, the way he's preparing as if he was the starter has been really good. Those types of things specifically at those positions I think are really important.

"We'll see how this all plays out, but I hope he stays at Penn State and continues to chase his dream and gets his degree and see how it all plays out, because again, there's a lot of twists and turns along these journeys."

Franklin then mentioned the human element in all of this

"There's part of me that it breaks my heart a little bit about the conversations and the things that you're having now in college football that you didn't used to have," he said.

7. Oh boy, what if Devyn Ford had not scored against Indiana in 2020?

Franklin told a fantastic story Tuesday about Penn State's trip to Indiana over the weekend, and how a guy on the chain gang there also was at the 2020 game. In that one, the Lions would have won had they just run out the clock late, but instead, Indiana let Ford have a path to the end zone and he wound up scoring instead of falling down.

The Hoosiers got the ball back, wound up tying the game and won in overtime on the controversial 2-point conversion.

"This guy is trying to talk to me, and he's saying, 'You know what's funny?'" Franklin recalled. "I'm kind of giving him that body language demeanor like I don't really want to get into a conversation with you during the game, but he doesn't read my body language and he says it again, 'You know what's really funny?'

"I kind of turned, and he goes, 'You know, I'm a pastor of a church.' So now I have to listen, right? He goes, 'I'm a pastor at a church, and two years ago you were here and you were talking on the sideline about 'don't score, don't score, don't score,' and I've never heard a coach in 30 years talk about not scoring. Then you go on the field and you're screaming, 'don't score, don't score, don't score,' and then you scored, and obviously, you know how it plays out over time and how the game plays out. But I've used that in my sermon I don't know how many times."

Franklin noted, "I'm like, I still don't really understand what he's talking about.

"What he says," the coach continued, "is what may look good in this moment may not be the right thing for you down the road. So finally, the message kind of comes. But it was just an interesting interaction after all these years. I've never really had that kind of conversation, and during the game."

8. Lions land second straight top 30 recruiting class in basketball

Shrewsberry has done a sensational job recruiting during his short tenure at Penn State, and Tuesday the Lions landed their second consecutive top 30 class with three signees.

One of them just so happens to be Shrewsberry's son, Braeden, a 6-foot-3 guard.

The Lions' class ranks 24th by 247Sports.

Here's a look at the three signees, from Penn State's release:

Carey Booth: 6-10 Forward, Englewood, Colo., Brewster Academy

• ESPN Top 100 recruit (No. 75). Ranked as the No. 15 power forward in his class per 247 Sports.

• The second-highest ranked recruit in program history behind Tony Carr. Highest-ranked recruit of Shrewsberry’s tenure and Shrewsberry’s second ESPN Top 100 signee (also Kebba Njie).

• Father, Calvin, was a two-time team captain at Penn State who still owns the school record for blocked shots, was the 1998 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the highest-drafted Nittany Lions in program history. Calvin is currently the General Manager of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.

“I was thrilled to land the commitment of Carey Booth after his outstanding summer," Shrewsberry said. "He is someone who we targeted very early on in the recruiting process, and his decision to come to Penn State immediately elevated our program. Carey is just over 6-foot-10 now and is still growing. With his ability and his bloodlines, there is no doubt in my mind that Carey can be a gamechanger for us and a cornerstone of what we are building.”

“I chose Penn State because I felt like I have the best chance to succeed at Penn State and they did the best job recruiting me," Carey Booth said.

Logan Imes: 6-4 Guard, Zionsville, Ind., Zionsville

• ESPN four-star prospect. Ranks as the No. 24 combo guard in the 2023 class and No. 6 overall player in the state of Indiana per 247 Sports.

• Selected to Indiana Junior All-Star team.

• Averaged 17.8 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game as a team captain during junior season at Zionsville. 

 “Logan is someone that I am very familiar with," Shrewsberry said. "He played AAU with my son Braeden, which allowed me to see him a lot as a player while also getting to know him as a person. Logan has tremendous character and comes from a great family. He is a very hard worker, as evidenced by the rapid improvement he has made shooting the basketball over the past 12 months. I am very excited to add Logan to our program and have high hopes for the player he will be going forward.”

 “I chose Penn State because of the family feel that the basketball staff and team has, as well as the university as a whole," Imes said. "I believe in Coach Shrewsberry’s vision for Penn State and the future of the program, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Braeden Shrewsberry: 6-3 Guard. State College, Pa., State College Area High School

• ESPN four-star prospect. Ranked as the No. 33 shooting guard in the 2023 class and No. 4 player in the state of Pennsylvania per 247 Sports. 

• Was a first-team all-conference pick during junior season at State College Area High School in which he led the Little Lions to a District 6 championship. 

• Owns high school career marks of 1,028 points, 234 rebounds and 109 assists through three seasons. 

"Today was a special moment for our family because we got to celebrate Braeden accomplishing one of his goals," Micah Shrewsberry said. "I’ve watched him work extremely hard to become a good player. He earned the opportunity to play basketball at Penn State and in the Big Ten. He is a great shooter who is adding more elements to his game that will be helpful with how we want to play on the offensive end of the floor. I’ve never had a chance to coach him before at any level, so this will be a unique experience for us.”

“I chose Penn State because I fit the program and the community really well," Braeden said. "The style of play and player development system really stands out to me, and I feel like I can thrive in the offense. The three 2023 commits and five current freshmen fit really well together and will win a lot of games at Penn State. We get to do that in the best basketball conference in the country in front of a passionate fan base that is eager for a good basketball program. It has always been my dream to play for my dad and I get to do that, but I also have become close with the other coaches and everyone on the team in the last year, so it will be an easy transition.”

9. Wrestling season opens Friday

Penn State's defending national champion wrestling team opens its season Friday when it hosts Lock Haven. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 in the country entering the season.

From Penn State's release:

The Nittany Lions feature a line-up that includes five returning All-Americans (four of whom are returning national champions), a handful of NCAA qualifiers with the potential for some new faces to make their Penn State debuts.

Roman Bravo-Young will enter the season ranked No. 1 at 133 after winning a second straight NCAA title last season. Beau Bartlett is ranked No. 16 at 141 to start the season, down at his regular weight. Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness enters the year rnaked No. 27 at 149 while classmate Alex Facundo begins the season ranked No. 23 at 165. Carter Starocci begins the year ranked No. 1 at 174 after winning as a second straight crown. Aaron Brooks is ranked No. 1 at 184 after he claimed his second straight national title last March and Max Dean is ranked No. 1 at 197 after winning his first last year.  Greg Kerkvliet begins the year ranked No. 2 at 285 after earning his second All-America honor with a fourth place finish a year ago. 

Penn State's lineup:

125: Gary Steen, Fr.; Timothy Levine, So.
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Sr.
141: No. 16 Beau Bartlett, Jr.
149: No. 27 Shayne Van Ness, Fr.
157: Terrell Barraclough, Jr.
165: No. 23 Alex Facundo, Fr.; Joe Lee, Jr.
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Jr.
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, Sr.
197: No. 1 Max Dean, Sr.
285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, Jr.

10. Women's soccer teams captures another Big Ten title

Penn State's women's soccer team, the No. 6 seedm upset top-seeded Michigan, 3-2, in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament. It was the ninth Big Ten Tournament title in program history.

The team is coached by Erica Dambach, who led Penn State to the 2015 national championship.

The Lady Lions will host Quinnipiac on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Penn State is the No. 2 seed and is in the NCAA Tournament for the 28th consecutive year.