Jan. 2, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Jan. 2, 2011 - The Nittany Lion basketball team (8-4; 1-0 Big Ten) will look to begin the New Year as well as it ended it on Sunday when Penn State takes on Michigan (10-3; 0-1 Big Ten) in Ann Arbor.
The game tips at 4:00 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and can be heard live on the Penn State Sports Network (1450 AM locally) with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi.
Penn State won its fourth Big Ten opener in the last five years on Dec. 27 with a 69-60 victory at Indiana. The win marked Penn State's second-straight victory in Bloomington as senior forward Jeff Brooks posted a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. The Lions will look for their second straight victory in Ann Arbor on Sunday having posted a 55-51 victory last year in Crisler Arena behind 14 points from Talor Battle.
Battle enters Sunday's game as the second leading scorer in the conference posting 20.5 ppg and is on pace to eclipse the Nittany Lions all-time career scoring mark of 2,138 set by Jesse Arnelle in 1955. Battle has played every minute of the Lions' last three games and 40 minutes in four of the last five as he leads the Big Ten playing more than 36 minutes a game.
Penn State will be looking for its third 2-0 Big Ten start under Ed DeChellis and fourth in program history. It would also mark the second time the Lions have won two Big Ten games on the road to start the conference season, having also accomplished the feat under DeChellis in 2008.
The Wolverines bring a 10-3 record into Sunday having lost their Big Ten opener 80-57 to Purdue in Ann Arbor. Michigan trailed 30-26 at the half in that game but allowed Purdue to shoot 63 percent in the second half. Stu Douglas led UM with 15 points. The loss ended a seven-game win streak and nine-game home win streak for UM on the year. Darius Morris leads UM averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.3 apg while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Tim Hardaway, Jr. also posts 11.5 ppg. Michigan has a victory at Clemson (69-61) and a close loss to Syracuse (53-50) in significant non-con action.
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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