What a weekend for Penn State teams, on many fronts!

Wow, talk about a phenomenal weekend! And not just for one Penn State program, either.

Numerous Nittany Lion teams and athletes enjoyed some memories of a lifetime over the weekend. Let's take a look at what happened.

WHAT A FINISH!

A week ago, Penn State blew a 19-point lead at home against Rutgers that threatened to crush the NCAA Tournament hopes.

Well, life has a way of kind of evening things out. On this Sunday, the Lions roared back from a 16-point deficit to beat Maryland, 65-64, on this incredible finish at the Bryce Jordan Center:

That's Camren Wynter with the offensive rebound and putback for one of the biggest buckets in Penn State basketball history. And if you think that's an exaggeration, well, Wynter's hoop is probably going to be the difference between this team making the NCAA tourney as opposed to sitting home feeling like it blew the chance.

Think about it: If that offensive rebound bounces anywhere else, the Lions would have lost, and everyone would be talking about what a wasted opportunity this season.

But now?

The Lions have a very good chance to play in the NCAA Tournament for just the sixth time since 1965.

Penn State finished 10-10 in the Big Ten and won five of its final six games, including Wynter's buzzer-beating 3 in overtime the last time out at Northwestern.

The wins over Northwestern and Maryland are both Quad 1 victories, which are supposed to play a big role in whether or not a team gets an at-large bid. The Lions are 5-6 in Quad 1 games, plus 4-5 in Quad 2 games. That's nine wins over very good competition, and that coupled with breaking even in the Big Ten very well should be enough to get into the tournament.

Now, if Penn State loses in the first round of the Big Ten tourney, that could be trouble. Because the Lions would be 10-11 against Big Ten foes and would still be right there on the bubble, so they could get pushed out by any bid stealers.

But as long as the Lions win at least one game in the Big Ten tourney, you'd think that will be enough to make the Big Dance. The team finished hot, which is always a good thing, plus it closed with impressive wins over solid teams.

Joe Lunardi already had Penn State as the last team in for his ESPN bracketology, and that was before Sunday's win over Maryland.

I felt last week that Penn State would need two wins in the league tourney to secure a bid. But given the quality of the two wins this week, one should be enough.

Whether they can get in if they lose in the first round remains to be seen, but the Lions do not want to mess around and have to find out.

Penn State is the 10 seed in the Big Ten tourney and will play Thursday against the 7 seed, Illinois.

WRESTLING CHAMPS

There shouldn't have been much doubt about Penn State winning the Big Ten wrestling title. The Lions are so dominant and deep that it seemed like a foregone conclusion.

And, of course, it happened Sunday at Iowa.

Penn State rolled to the team title over Iowa and crowned four individual champs: Roman Bravo-Young (133), freshman Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184).

Penn State finished first with 147 points, while Iowa was second with 134.5 points.

Penn State qualified nine for the NCAA championships, in every weight except for 125. So the Lions absolutely will be heavy favorites in two weeks to win the national title, which would be their 10th in the past 12 years.

From GoPSUSports:

This is Penn State's seventh conference championship, having also won in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019. Penn State now has 59 Big Ten Champions, spread among 32 individuals. Penn State's six finalists tied the school record for finalists in a season (2019). Cael Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, earning the honor for the seventh time. Levi Haines was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becoming Penn State's eighth honoree.

Roman Bravo-Young (133) and Aaron Brooks (184) both became three-time Big Ten Champions (Penn State's 8th and 9th respectively). Carter Starocci (174) became a two-time Big Ten Champion and Levi Haines (157) become a true freshman Big Ten Champion.

NICKAL WINS UFC DEBUT

Bo Nickal won his UFC debut Saturday night with a first-round submission against Jamie Pickett.

Nickal is expected to be a fast-rising star in UFC after his brilliant college wrestling career.

However, this win has come with controversy. Pickett has claimed Nickal kicked him in the groin and has appealed the decision.

Here's the video, and you can try to judge for yourself if Nickal's kick landed somewhere it shouldn't have.

MEN'S HOCKEY LOSES

About the only thing that didn't go well for Penn State teams over the weekend came in men's hockey, as the Lions lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes took game 1 Friday, Penn State won game 2 Saturday, then Ohio State won the rubber match, 3-1, Sunday night in Columbus.

The Lions should receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY WINS TITLE

The Lady Lions won their first College Hockey America title with a 2-1 win over Mercyhurst in overtime Saturday.

The team will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance ever.

ALL'S WELL WITH ALLAR

A rumor a couple of weeks ago about Drew Allar being in a walking boot caused concern. There was never really any confirmation or rebuking of the rumor, so maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't.

Allar showed up to Penn State's weight room media availability on Thursday and seemed fine, without wearing a boot. Then this video surfaced Sunday of him throwing at a camp.

#SundayMorningCrew spotlight…31 seconds of Penn State FR QB Drew Allar doing Drew Allar-type things🔥🔥🔥#QBExcelerate🎯💪🌪 pic.twitter.com/gVlDrttmHP

— Brad Maendler (@BradMaendler) March 5, 2023

So, everyone can breathe easy on the Allar front.