Feb. 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Feb. 5, 2010 - The Nittany Lion basketball team will don "Throwback Uniforms" Saturday as they welcome approximately 30 former players for their 2:00 p.m. showdown with Minnesota (13-8; 4-5 Big Ten) in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network and can be heard on the Penn State Sports Network.
Penn State (8-14; 0-10 Big Ten) will wear especially made uniforms that resemble the Nittany Lions' garb of the late 1970's. Each of the 16 vintage looking uniforms will be awarded to a lucky fan as part of a funding raising effort for Penn State Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society. Fans can purchase $2 chances to win one of the uniforms on the concourse during the first half of Saturday's game or at select locations around State College. All proceeds will go toward Coaches vs. Cancer. Winning ticket numbers will be announced at halftime on Saturday and posted on GoPSUsports.com.
"Throwback Day" will also welcome back 30 former players who will be honored at halftime - among them No. 3 all-time scorer Pete Lisicky and three-point ace for the 2009 NIT Championship team Danny Morrissey. Saturday is also a Subway Full Court Four Pack game with fans able to get four tickets, four soft drinks and four six inch subs for $40.
Penn State will look to end a 10-game losing skid as it plays its first weekend home game in a month. Talor Battle, the Big Ten's leading scorer at 19.0 ppg, will be looking for his sixth 20-point outing in his last seven games and is coming off a stellar 24-point, nine-rebound and seven-assist effort at Ohio State on Wednesday. Fellow junior David Jackson has posted a career-best four-straight double-figure games and has 11 on the season.
The Lions and Gophers are both coming off games at Ohio State. The Gophers suffered a 22-point loss (85-63) in Columbus last Sunday and trailed by as many as 28 in the game. Rodney Williams led UM with 13 points as the Gophers shot 51 percent but committed 17 turnovers playing without starting point-guard Al Nolen who has been ruled academically ineligible for the semester. Minnesota has lost five of its last seven games after starting the season 11-3. They lead the Big Ten in steals (9.8 spg), blocked shots (6.33 bpg) and scoring offense (75.5 ppg) and play 10 players 10 minutes or more per game led by Lawrence Westbrook's 13.3 ppg.
Minnesota won the first meeting between the team's this season, 75-70 in Minneapolis, in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Westbrook scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Gophers in that game, while Battle had 23 on 5-of-8 shooting from three for Penn State.
Penn State season basketball tickets, PNC Bank Flex Book plans (10 tickets to use at any game for $99) or single game tickets can be purchased by visiting GoPSUsports.com, Ticketmaster or calling 814-865-5555. Single-game tickets for Nittany Lion games are $18 for lower bowl seating, $15 for upper bowl seating and $7/$5 for youth. Penn State also offers special group ticket rates (15 fans or more) of $10 for adults.
Penn State summer sports camps offer the very best in individual and team instruction, and now is the time to start planning for summer 2010! With 26 sports to choose from, not only will campers get the absolute finest instruction from some of the nation's elite coaches, but they'll also enjoy Penn State's terrific campus and state of the art facilities. And Penn State sports camps pride themselves on providing each camper a safe environment with twenty-four hour supervision and on-site medical personnel. Registration fills up fast, so get your information today by visiting www.psusportcamps.org , or calling (814) 865-0561."
-NITTANY LIONS-