Paterno Lends Support to Nittany Lions’ Cause

One of the bigger ovations of the evening at the Georgia Dome was for Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno, who arrived during the first half of the Michigan State-Gonzaga game and took a seat behind what would be the Nittany Lions’ bench.

He couldn’t root Penn State to victory against Temple, but Paterno gives the team plenty of support, Coach Jerry Dunn said.

Dunn mentioned the time Paterno called a basketball recruit 30 minutes before a Penn State-Alabama football game.

“He’s bent over backward, and certainly a legend like himself didn’t need to do that,” Dunn said.

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With Michigan State’s victory, Coach Tom Izzo’s tournament record improved to 15-2, making him the winningest active coach in the NCAA tournament at 88.2%.

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Gonzaga’s loss meant that 12th-seeded teams are a cumulative 0 for 11 in NCAA regional semifinal games.

No team seeded higher than No. 11 Louisiana State in 1986 has reached a regional final.

Nevertheless, Gonzaga departed as a prime example of what’s wrong with the Rating Percentage Index (RPI).

With a rating in the mid-70s, Gonzaga made the field by earning the West Coast Conference’s automatic bid--beating Santa Clara by three points in the WCC final.

“Looking back, if we lost, we wouldn’t have even been in the tournament,” freshman Blake Stepp said.

Gonzaga made it, was snubbed with a 12th seed, and reached the Sweet 16.

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Temple Coach John Chaney, who dubs himself “the black Knight” for some of his antics, defended Bob Knight, introduced Friday as Texas Tech’s coach.

“A guy spends 30-some years, and somehow you take a snapshot and flash that over and over and suggest that’s a capsule of his whole body of work,” Chaney said. “I believe that’s unfair.”

That’s right: People harping on Knight grabbing that student hardly ever mention the Puerto Rican policeman anymore.

Chaney stood his ground.

“He needs a situation where someone’s counting on him and needs him. Because I think he’s a fine teacher. . . ,” Chaney said. “He’s going to do a good job.”

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Chaney says his team relies on only a few players. Here’s how much: Until Friday, Temple’s bench had not scored in the NCAA tournament.

Greg Jefferson came off the bench to score 15, a career high.

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Temple’s average halftime lead in the NCAA tournament has been 19 points.

Temple led Texas, 41-22, Florida, 45-25, and Penn State, 39-21.

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Temple guard Lynn Greer has made 49 consecutive free throws and is 27 for 27 in the NCAA tournament.

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Joe Crispin, Penn State’s leading scorer, was held to 12 points and fouled out with 4 1/2 minutes left.

It was the last game together for Crispin and his brother Jon, a rival and teammate who has two years left.

“I enjoyed it in high school when he left because then I would be able to take more shots,” Jon said. “And I had a feeling we would be together somewhere down the line.

“Now we will probably never play together again unless it’s three-on-three in the backyard. So it’s going to be tough.

“I will definitely miss him--even though he drives me nuts sometimes.”