Geary Claxton Out for Season

Penn State lost much more than just a basketball game to Wisconsin last night, as the Nittany Lions may have been watching their postseason hopes limp off the court in the first half. Senior forward and leading scoring Geary Claxton left last night's game 7 minutes in with an injury to his ACL. Penn State team doctors said after the game that Claxton's season and career are likely over as he is expected to miss the rest of the season. Claxton was leading the Lions scoring 18.7 points per game, second in the Big Ten behind only Indiana's Eric Gordon. Claxton's injury is obviously a huge blow to Penn State. Claxton was not only the team's best defender, but he also accounted for 29% of shots taken by Penn State on the offensive end. In fact, Jamelle Cornley is the only other Lion scoring in double figures. With the loss to Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions fell to 2-2 in conference play, and now with Claxton out, it's hard to see them finishing above .500 in Big Ten play this season. Tonight's action: Purdue (11-5) at Iowa (8-9) 7:00 BTN Both teams are coming off big home wins in the last week. Purdue defeated Ohio State 75-68 on Saturday to improve to 2-1 in Big Ten play. The young Boilermakers have been steadily improving throughout the year and have gotten a surprise shot in the arm from forward Marcus Green. Green is only averaging 4.9 points per game but has raised that average to 11.7 ppg in Big Ten play, including a season-high 22 in the win over Ohio State. Iowa is led by junior guard Tony Freeman, who scored 22 of the team's 43 points in their upset of Michigan State on Saturday. The Hawkeye defense will be put to the test tonight and don't expect Purdue to show up as cold as the Spartan's did over the weekend. BTC Prediction: Purdue 61 Iowa 55 Northwestern (5-8) at Chicago State (6-13) 8:00 Northwestern travels across city to face the Cougars of Chicago State. Chicago State has lost by 30+ to both Indiana and Michigan State on the season, so Northwestern better hope they can "escape" with a win. This may be the last real chance the Wildcats have at winning a road game. BTC Prediction: Northwestern 69 Chicago State 66 Michigan (5-11) at Illinois (8-9) 9:00 BTN The Wolverines got their first Big Ten win on Saturday, but it came over the only other winless team in the conference, Northwestern. The difference between the Wildcats and Illinois is that Illinois played Indiana close on Sunday, showing signs of life against the Big Ten's top team. The surprise is that the Orange Crush in Assembly Hall have witnessed four home losses this year. Still, Michigan hasn't won at Illinois since the 1994-95 season. BTC Prediction: Illinois 64 Michigan 57