Feb. 29, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Nittany Lion basketball team will be seeking its fourth consecutive Big Ten home win on Saturday when it hosts Michigan (9-19; 5-11 Big Ten) in a critical conference clash and Senior Day. Tipoff is 8:00 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Seniors Geary Claxton (West Haven. Conn.) , Brandon Hassell (Farmersville, Ohio) and Mike Walker (Lewisberry) will be honored prior to the contest, as will managers Curtis Fenton and Zachary Smith.
The game can be heard on the Penn State Sports Network (WMAJ 1450 AM in State College) with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi calling the action and will be streamed to www.GoPSUsports.com. The Big Ten Network will televise.
Penn State (13-14; 5-10 Big Ten) will be looking to even its overall record and maintain seventh place in the Big Ten standings against the Wolverines. The Nittany Lions, Iowa (5-11) and Michigan (5-11) are battling for seventh through ninth place in the conference as the regular season enters its final week.
A Penn State win would give the Lions six Big Ten victories, tying its high under Ed DeChellis (6-10 in 2005-06), with two games to play.
The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive Big Ten home games for the first time since January 2000 and are looking for a fourth win in a row for the first time since the 1995-96 squad was 9-0 at home in Big Ten play, including an 8-0 mark in the Jordan Center.
The Wolverines lead the series, 21-8, and have won the last 11 meetings, including a 68-63 decision in Ann Arbor on Feb. 9. The Nittany Lions are 4-8 at home vs. Michigan. Penn State's last win in the series came in the first round of the 2001 Big Ten Tournament.
The Lions are coming off a thrilling 65-64 comeback win over Iowa on Wednesday. Penn State trailed by 12 points early in the second half and by a 64-57 count with 2:40 to play. But, behind Jamelle Cornley's (Columbus, Ohio) 18 second half points (22 total), the Lions stayed in striking range and scored the final eight points to win the game. Freshman Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) nailed a three-pointer with 1:05 to play to bring Penn State within 64-62. Freshman David Jackson (Farrell) scored on a put back with :18.3 to play and was fouled, hitting the free throw to give the Lions the lead. Battle then stripped an Iowa player of the ball just before the buzzer sounded to preserve the important win. Junior Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) tallied 14 points (3-6 on 3's) as the Penn State bench out-scored Iowa's, 23-10.
Fans can purchase four tickets for $40 for the Michigan game, which also includes four hot dogs and four sodas. All scouts in uniform will be admitted for free, with patches available at Portal 15. Also, there will be a Nerf Hoop Giveway, sponsored by Subway and Back Yard Burgers, while supplies last.
Tickets for Nittany Lion Basketball can be purchased by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office, calling 814-865-5555 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics. Penn State offers discounts for groups of 15 or more. Any groups interested in purchasing single-game tickets should contact the ticket office at 814-863-6757.
Penn State plays its final road game of the season, visiting No. 10 Wisconsin on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET. The Nittany Lions host No. 12 Indiana on Sunday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. in the regular season finale.
Game Notes
Penn State (13-14; 5-10 Big Ten) vs. Michigan (9-19, 5-11 Big Ten)
Sat., March 1, 2008 @ 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pa.
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Series At A Glance: The Wolverines lead the series, 21-8, and have won the last 11 meetings, including a 68-63 decision in Ann Arbor on Feb. 9. The Nittany Lions are 4-8 at home vs. Michigan. Penn State's last win in the series came in the first round of the 2001 Big Ten Tournament.
Coaches: Penn State: Ed DeChellis - 55-90 (5th at PSU); 160-183 (12th Overall); Michigan: John Beilein 9-19 (1st at Michigan); 560-337 (30th overall)
Television: BTN: Matt Devlin (p-by-p) & Trent Tucker (analyst)
Radio: Penn State Sports Network: Steve Jones (p-by-p), Dick Jerardi (analyst). Flagship: WMAJ (1450 AM)
WEB: Audio and Gametracker links at GoPSUsports.com.
Up Next: Penn State plays its final road game of the season, visiting No. 10 Wisconsin on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET. The Badgers won, 80-55, at the Jordan Center on Jan. 15. The Lions host No. 12 Indiana on Sunday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. in the regular season finale.
Happy to be Home: Penn State was 3-0 at home in February and looks to continue its success as the calendar turns to college basketball's final frenetic month. The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive Big Ten home games for the first time since January 2000 and will be seeking a fourth straight conference home win for the first time since Penn State was 9-0 in 1995-96, the Jordan Center's inaugural campaign. Following a win over Wisconsin to close Rec Hall, the Lions won all eight Big Ten games in their sparkling new facility en route to second place in the standings.
Lions Look to Equal Most Big Ten Wins Under DeChellis: Despite the loss of leading scorer Geary Claxton four games into the Big Ten season, Penn State has an opportunity to earn its best Big Ten finish since 2001. Penn State is seventh in the conference with a 5-10 mark, just ahead of Iowa (5-11) and Michigan (5-11). Penn State went 7-9 in the Big Ten and tied for sixth in 2001. Penn State's previous high finish under Ed DeChellis in the Big Ten came with a 6-10 mark and eighth place finish in 2006.
Seniors to be Honored : Three senior players and two senior managers will be honored with their families in a ceremony before the game. Players Geary Claxton, Brandon Hassell and Mike Walker will be honored with the traditional Penn State Varsity "S" blanket from Coach Ed DeChellis, as will managers Curtis Fenton and Zachary Smith.
Winning the Close Ones : A team that has four freshmen and a junior transfer seeing significant playing time is learning how to win close games. Penn State has had five Big Ten games decided by five points or less and has won the last two to bring its mark to 3-2 in such games.
Freshmen Making Clutch Plays: For the second consecutive home game, a freshman made the game-winning play for the Nittany Lions. In the 65-64 win over Iowa, David Jackson made a three-point play with :18.3 to play, as Penn State erased an seven-point deficit (64-57) with 2:40 to go. Freshman point guard Talor Battle made a three-pointer with 1:05 to play to draw the Lions within 64-62 and stripped Iowa's Justin Johnson of the ball as he was attempting a three-point shot just before the buzzer. On Feb. 2, Battle was fouled as he drove the lane, and made both free throws with :7.1 left, scoring Penn State's last nine points, to lift the Lions to a 52-51 win over Illinois.
D.J. Delivers-Again: In the contest prior to his game-winning three-point play vs. Iowa., freshman David Jackson delivered the best game of his young career Feb. 24 at Minnesota, posting career-highs with 19 points and eight rebounds. A starter in 10 of the last 11 games, Jackson was 6 of 10 from the floor, hitting 3 of 5 three-point attempts. He also was 4 of 5 at the line and blocked one shot in 32 minutes. Jackson is shooting a team-best 41.7 on three-point attempts (10-24), going 8 of 18 (44.4) in Big Ten games, and is second on the team in free throw shooting at 74.4 pct.
Cornley Hits 1,000-point/500 rebound total: Junior Jamelle Cornley scored 20 points at Minnesota to become just the 16th Nittany Lion to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career (28th to hit 1,000). He grabbed his 500th career rebound at Michigan State (Feb. 20). Following his 22-point effort in the win over Iowa, he has 1,041 career points, good for 22nd place, with Steve Kuhn (1,057) and Gyasi Cline-Heard (1,058) next on the list.
Dunn Returns to BJC: For the first time since his departure in 2003, former Nittany Lion head coach Jerry Dunn will be returning to the Jordan Center. In his first season as Michigan's associate head coach, Dunn led Penn State as head coach from 1995-96 through 2002-03, posting a 117-121 record and leading the Lions to two NCAA and two NIT appearances, including the 2001 NCAA Sweet 16, the 1998 NIT championship game and 2000 NIT semifinals. Dunn also served 12 seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State (1983-95), the last nine alongside current Nittany Lion head coach Ed DeChellis on Bruce Parkhill's staff. DeChellis also served one season as an assistant under Dunn (1995-96) helping guide the Lions to the 1996 NCAA Tournament. Dunn's daughter, Nichole, is married to former Nittany Lion standout Titus Ivory (1998-2001). None of the players on the current Nittany Lion roster played for or were recruited by Dunn. Penn State assistant coach Dan Earl spent five seasons as a player under Dunn at Penn State, playing in just three due to injury, and twice earned All-Big Ten honors (1996 & 1999).