March 7, 2011
University Park, Pa., March 7, 2011 - Penn State senior guard Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) added another accolade to his brilliant career Monday as he was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the conference media voters and to the second-team by conference coaches.
Battle, who finished second in the conference in scoring (20.4 ppg) and threes per game (3.0), became the first Penn State player ever to earn multiple first-team all-conference selections and garnered the program's sixth first-team All-Big Ten selection overall in 19 seasons in the conference. Battle also earned first-team honors from the media and coaches in 2009 and was a second-team selection by both in 2010. He is the first Lion to earn All-Big Ten recognition in three seasons and the first to earn first-team selection in two seasons. His senior running mate Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) earned honorable-mention honors from both the coaches and media.
Battle was joined on the media's first-team by Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year selection JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jared Sullinger (Ohio State), Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin) and E'Twaun Moore (Purdue). Jon Leuer (Wisconsin) replaced Battle on the coaches first-team selections as Battle joined Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota), William Buford (Ohio State) and David Lighty (Ohio State) on the coaches second-team.
Purdue's Matt Painter was selected by both the coaches and media as the Big Ten Coach of the Year and Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft was named the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.
Battle posted the highest scoring average at Penn State in nearly 50 years as he led the Lions to a 9-9 Big Ten mark and a fourth place tie in the final standings, equaling the second-best finish in program history. In the Lions last regular season game on Sunday, a win at Minnesota, Battle became just the third player in NCAA Division I history to post at least 2,00 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists and is the first Big Ten Player ever to reach 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
Battle stands 16th all-time in Big Ten career scoring with 2,119 points and is 20 shy of eclipsing the 56-year-old all-time scoring mark of 2,138 set by Jesse Arnelle in 1955. Battle is the first Lion ever to post three seasons of 500 points or more and his 593 points on the year rank as sixth-best season scoring total in Penn State history.
Battle has logged 15 games of 20 or more points on the season and leads the Big Ten with eight games of 25 or more. His 87 threes (3.0 per game) on the year rank second in the conference and are just two shy of the fourth-best season total in Penn State history. His 298 career threes rank eighth all-time in the Big Ten and third at Penn State and stand one shy of tying Dee Brown (ILL, 299) for seventh in Big Ten history.
Battle, who has made 69-straight starts, led the Big Ten in minutes played, logging nine complete games of 40 minutes, and stands third all-time in career minutes played in Big Ten history with nearly 4,600. He is just the third Big Ten player in the last decade to record 2,000 career points and ranks third all-time at Penn State in assists and seventh in steals.
Brooks posted by far the best season of his career as he ranked 13th in scoring (14.4 ppg), 10th in rebounding (5.6 rpg), fourth in shooting percentage (58.6%) and fourth in blocked shots (1.47) in Big Ten conference games. Brooks posted a career-best 21 double-digit scoring games on the year and five times eclipsed 20 points in a game, including a career-high 23 in Penn State's Big Ten opening win at Indiana.
Penn State will head to the 14th Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday in preparation for a first round game Thursday vs. Indiana. The Lions earned the No. 6 seed and will take on No. 11 seed Indiana in 7:30 p.m. (ET) tip on the Big Ten Network. Penn State is 6-13 all-time at the Big Ten Tournament and has twice advanced to the semifinals (2000 & 2001). Penn State lost its first round game last year to Minnesota, 76-55. The Lions defeated Indiana in the 2009 first round, 66-51.
All-session and single-session tickets for the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament can be purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000, and through the Conseco Fieldhouse box office and www.consecofieldhouse.com.
For the men's tournament, single-session tickets range from $30 to $80 depending on session and seat location. All-session tickets are available for $220 or $165 depending on seat location, which represents a savings over purchasing single-session tickets for all five sessions. Orders will be limited to 12 all-session or single-session tickets.
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.
-NITTANY LIONS-