Dec. 10, 2010
Watch the Next Game Primer Video Scout of Virginia Tech with Coach Preston
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Dec. 10, 2010 - Penn State (7-2) will make its second road trip of the season to a fellow big six conference member Sunday when the Nittany Lions take on Virginia Tech (4-4) in a 1:00 p.m. tip in Blacksburg.
The game will be televised by CSN (Washington) and can be heard live on the Penn State Sports Network as well as on Sirius channel 218 and XM channel 190.
The Hokies will be the second ACC opponent for Penn State on the year. The Nittany Lions fell on a tough shooting night to Maryland (62-39). The Nittany Lions played an up-tempo game at Ole Miss earlier this year, falling 84-71 in their one previous road trip of the season.
The Nittany Lions hope to have the services of forwards David Jackson (6-7) and Billy Oliver (6-8) Sunday. Both were held out of Tuesday's victory over Mount St. Mary's due to injuries suffered in the previous game and are listed as day-to-day. Junior Cammeron Woodyard (6-5) took Jackson's spot in the starting line-up and scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting Tuesday vs. Mount St. Mary's.
Sunday's game will be a match-up of two of the top guards in the nation as Penn State's Talor Battle enters the game ranked fourth in the Big Ten posting 19.4 ppg and adding 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. The Hokies are led by 6-3 senior guard Malcolm Delaney who averages 20.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 3.2 apg. The pair combined for 59 points in last year's game in the Bryce Jordan Center as Battle logged a career-high 32 points and Delaney 27 in a 66-64 Virginia Tech Victory. Last year's game was tied at 36 at the half. Battle scored five-straight points in the closing minutes to pull Penn State within one, 65-64, with nine seconds to play. After a Tech free throw, Battle's driving lay-up in traffic to tie the game came up short at the buzzer.
The Hokies will be coming off a seven-day lay-off and attempting to break a three-game losing skid. Tech lost 57-54 to intrastate rival Virginia in its last outing and fell to Purdue (58-55) at home and at UNLV (71-59) in its previous two outings. The Hokies other loss on the season came to a top 10 ranked Kansas State team. The Hokies are 4-4 and have a non-conference win at Oklahoma State (56-51). Delaney leads the Hokies shooting 21-of-48 from three, while no other Hokie has more than seven threes. Senior forward Jeff Allen is getting 11.5 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Tech returns all five starters from a 25-9 team that finished tied for third in the ACC last year.
Sunday will be the third meeting between the programs in the last four years. The teams split the first two in State College. The Hokies won 66-64 last year in the first game of the home-and-home series and PSU won 66-61 in the 2007 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. V-Tech leads the series 5-1 and is 1-0 in Blacksburg. PSU last played in Blacksburg in 1979 dropping an 83-68 decision. The Lions are 19-45 overall vs. ACC teams, but are 3-2 the last four seasons having won games at Virginia and at Georgia Tech on the road.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Assistant Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist on Twitter (@PSUSTRETCH) and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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