Nov. 22, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Nov. 23, 2011 - Penn State (4-1) will look to remain unbeaten at home on the year when the Nittany Lions take on Youngstown State (3-0) in a 7:00 p.m. tip Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be viewed on BTN.com or heard live on the Penn State Sports Network.
Junior guard Tim Frazier leads the Big Ten in assists (6.6) and ranks fourth in scoring (20.0) after a strong showing at the Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament last week. Frazier earned Naismith Bracket All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds a game as Penn State went 3-1 in the tournament. Frazier posted career-high point totals of 26 points in a victory over Long Island and 27 points in the Lions win over South Florida on Sunday.
Penn State is in the midst of playing four out of five games away from the Jordan Center, including the two last weekend vs. No. 2 Kentucky and South Florida at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The Lions won't return to the Jordan Center until Sunday, Dec. 4 when they take on Mississippi in a 6:00 p.m. tip. After Wednesday's game Penn State will play on the road at Saint Joseph's Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and at Boston College on Wed., Nov. 30 (7:15 p.m.) as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Blocks of tickets for Penn State fans have been reserved for both road games by local alumni chapters. Information on obtaining tickets can be found below.
GAME INFO
TELEVISION: BTN.com (on-line): with radio network play-by-play feed
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network Local: 1450 AM; Sirius: CH134 XM: - ; Steve Jones (p-by-p) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
WEB: Gametracker & Audio at: GoPSUsports.com
COACHES:
PENN STATE: Patrick Chambers - 4-1 (1st at PSU); 46-29 (3rd Overall)
YSU: Jerry Slocum - 61-121 (7th year at YSU); 641-446 (37th Overall)
NEXT UP:
Penn State will travel to Saint Joseph's for a Saturday afternoon match-up. The Lions lead the series 14-9 and won the last meeting 66-57 at the Jordan Center. PSU lost in its last trip to face St. Joe's in Philadelphia, 79-67, falling in 2007 at the Palestra. PSU is 6-5 at St. Joe's. Saturday's game will be played on campus at Hagan Arena (4,200) and will be the Hawks' first official game there this season.
FRAZIER NAMED TO TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT ALL-TOURNEY TEAM:
Tim Frazier averaged 21.0 ppg, 6.7 apg and 5.8 rpg while posting three 20-point games, two career-high points totals, back-to-back doubles and two career-best assist totals (10) in four games while leading the Lions in scoring in every game to earn All-Tournament Team honors (Naismith Bracket) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament the week of Nov. 14-20. Frazier was joined on the Naismith Bracket All-Tournament Team by Doron Lamb (Kentucky), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky), Kent Bazemore (ODU) and Augustus Gilchrist (South Florida). Frazier logged a then career-high 26 points to go with 10 assists in a win over Long Island, his second-straight 20 & 10 double-double, before bettering his scoring mark with 27 points, 19 in the second half, in a come-from behind win over South Florida. Penn State went 3-1 in the tournament, playing in its first pre-season tournament since the 2009 Charleston Classic. The Lions opened play with victories over Radford and Long Island at home before advancing to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut where they fell to No. 2 Kentucky but bounced back to down South Florida. Penn State holds a 67-83 all-time record in in-season tournaments, claiming 10 titles and 11 second-place finishes.
THE GAME VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE:
Penn State and YSU have never met. The Lions are 3-3 all-time vs. Horizon League teams. Penn State's students are on Thanksgiving break with no classes until Nov. 28. Penn State is 3-0 at home on the year and 32-4 at home vs. non-conference teams the last five seasons, with losses coming to Temple (2008), Virginia Tech (2009), Maryland (2010) and Maine (2010). The Lions are in the midst of a stretch of 4-of-5 games away from home with Wednesday's contest being the lone home game until Dec. 4
SCOUTING YSU:
The Penguins are unbeaten at 3-0 having won at Samford (76-69) and downed Notre Dame College (80-62) and UC-Riverside (53-49 OT) at home. Sophomore guard Kendrick Perry leads YSU posting 18.7 ppg. Junior 6-7 forward Damian Eargle posts 13.3 ppg and 9.0 rpg. Three YSU players posted double-digit boards in their last win over UC-Riverside led by DuShawn Brooks' 14. Ashen Ward led YSU with 15 points in that game. YSU is shooting 35.4 percent from the floor while posting 69.7 ppg. YSU opponents have hit 38.7 percent. The Penguins posted a 9-21 record last year, going 2-16 in the Horizon League.
SHOOTING NUMBERS:
Penn State equaled its best shooting half of the season hitting 52.2 percent in the second stanza vs. South Florida, including 6-of-11 for Tim Frazier, to pull out the win. The Lions are shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 42 percent from three in the second half of games this season, led by Tim Frazier (18-34; 52.9%) and Trey Lewis (10-17; 58.8%). The Lions are struggling in the first half of games hitting just 28.9 percent, 19 percent from three, on the season, including 16.2 percent in the first half in a loss to Kentucky and 22.7 percent vs. South Florida. Jon Graham (8-15; 53.3%) and Frazier (16-38; 42.1%) are the only Lions hitting better than 30 percent in the first half. Frazier is shooting 47.2 percent on the year. The only other Lion hitting at better than 40 percent is Sasa Borovnjak (42.1%).
FRAZIER IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS:
Junior guard Tim Frazier ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (20.0), first in assists (6.6) and fourth in steals (2.6). He has scored in double-digits in six straight games, dating to last season, and in seven of his last eight.
MARSHALL PROVIDES SPARK:
Jermaine Marshall came off the bench to post eight first half points on his way to a season-best 14 in Penn State's victory over South Florida. Marshall had a pair of driving three-point plays in the first half to give Penn State its first lead. He hit a pair of second-half threes to finish 5-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-5 from three while adding three steals a pair of rebounds and a block. The sophomore returned to practice on Nov. 10 and saw action in his first game of the season in Penn State's second contest vs. Radford on Nov. 14. Marshall was suspended prior to the start of pre-season practice due to a violation of team rules and had not participated in any practices or team functions prior to Nov. 10.
BOARDIN':
Penn State leads the Big Ten posting 15.2 offensive rebounds per game, nearly two more than second place Iowa (13.8). Penn State had a season-high 18 offensive rebounds vs. Kentucky.
TRAVIS & GLOVER SHINE IN SECOND HALF VS UK:
Penn State struggled in the game, but saw two newcomers shine in the second half of the Lions' loss to Kentucky on Saturday. Freshman Ross Travis and sophomore transfer Matt Glover scored all of their career high point totals in the second half vs. Kentucky. Glover hit his first three three-point attempts of the second half before finishing 3-of-4 from three for nine points in 21 minutes. Ross Travis hit a pair of threes in the second half on his way to a career-best 10 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lions on the boards.
PENN STATE TICKETS FOR ROAD GAMES AT SAINT JOSEPH'S & BOSTON COLLEGE:
Penn State at Saint Joseph's, Saturday, Nov. 26 at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia.
Reserved 100 group tickets for Nittany Lion fans.
The link to order the tickets, with pricing at $17.00 per ticket, is below.
Click Here For Tickets At St. Joseph's
Contact Information for tickets:
Tom Morse, Treasurer, Penn State Alumni Association, Delaware County Chapter
TSLTMorse@aol.com
E-mail or call at either (215) 787-2133 or (610) 329-7890
Penn State at Boston College, Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Conte Forum in Chestnutt Hill, Mass.
Big Ten/ACC Challenge group tickets and pep rally/social event for the PSU Boston Alumni Association.
Link to sign up for group tickets:
Click Here For Tickets At B.C.
Event Organizer Contact Information:
Katherine Dillaway Huber
Boston Representative, Nittany Nation Alumni Interest Group
Mobile: 610.507.9417
Email: katherine.d.huber@gmail.com
Season tickets for Nittany Lion Basketball are $200 for adults, $170 for faculty/staff and seniors, $80 for youth (18 and under) and $59 for students. Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are $117 for adults, $91 for faculty/staff and seniors and $52 for youth. Penn State students will be admitted for free to Lady Lion basketball games beginning this season.
PNC Flex Books are also available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game on Feb. 11 vs. Nebraska and the Lady Lions' Think Pink game on Feb. 26 vs. Minnesota.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate 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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