Jan. 7, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., JAN. 7, 2012 - Coming off its most dominating Big Ten win in six seasons, Penn State (9-7; 1-2 Big Ten) will look to remain unbeaten at home in Big Ten play under first year coach Patrick Chambers when the Nittany Lions take on No. 12 Indiana (14-1; 2-1 Big Ten) in a noon tip at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across Pennsylvania on the Penn State Sports Network.
Penn State will introduce new Nittany Lion football coach Bill O'Brien during Sunday's game. O'Brien was introduced as the 15th head coach in Penn State football history on Saturday.
It is a Subway Full Court 4-Pack game with fans able to get four reserved game tickets, one voucher good for four 6-inch subs at any of seven State College Subway locations, and one voucher good for four soft drinks at the BJC, for just $40. Fan favorite "Quick Change" will also perform at halftime. It is also Penn State Basketball Alumni Day. Approximately 40 former lettermen are returning for the game and will be introduced at halftime.
Penn State has won six of the last seven meetings with Indiana, including a pair of games last year. The Lions won their Big Ten opener at Bloomington, 69-60, last year and downed the Hoosiers, 61-55, in the first round of the 2011 Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are one of the surprise teams in the NCAA on the 2011-12 season having knocked off No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State in Bloomington and risen to the No. 12 ranking in the nation behind the play of stand-out freshman forward Cody Zeller.
Penn State rolled to a 65-45 victory over Purdue on Thursday in the Bryce Jordan Center behind a career night from junior Billy Oliver (Chatham, N.J.). Oliver scored a career-high 21 points and downed a career-best 7-of-11 from three as Penn State led by double-digits for more than 24 minutes in the game. Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) nearly posted his fifth double-double of the season logging 15 points and nine assists and enters Sunday's contest leading the Big Ten and ranked sixth in the nation in assists (6.8) and third in the conference scoring 17.1 ppg.
Penn State will hit the road after Sunday's contest for a first-ever Big Ten clash at Nebraska on Wed., Jan. 11. That game is set for an 8:30 p.m. (ET) tip on the Big Ten Network.
PENN STATE (9-7; 1-2 Big Ten) vs. #12 INDIANA (14-1; 2-1 Big Ten)
SUNDAY, JAN. 8, 2012 @ 12:00 P.M. (ET)
BRYCE JORDAN CENTER (15,261) • UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.
GAME INFO
PROMOTION: Subway Full Court 4 Pack (4 tickets, 4 drinks, 4 subs for $40); Halftime entertainment with "Quick Change"
TELEVISION: BTN: Tom Hart & Dan Bonner
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network; Local: 1450 AM; Sirius: CH 94; XM; CH 190
Steve Jones (p-by-p) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
LIVE STATS & AUDIO:
COACHES:
PENN STATE: Patrick Chambers - 9-7 (1st at PSU); 51-35 (3rd Overall)
INDIANA: Tom Crean - 42-67 (4th at IU); 232-163 (13th Overall)
RPI: Penn State: #127; Indiana: #8
NEXT UP:
Penn State will hit the road for its first ever Big Ten contest at Nebraska. It will be the Lions' third trip overall to Lincoln, where PSU is 1-1 and downed the Huskers 65-59 in the second round of the 1995 NIT in their last trip and last meeting between the schools. PSU leads the overall series 2-1. The teams split a home and home series in 1980 and 1981, each team winning on its home floor.
THE GAME:
Coming off one of its most well played games of the season, a 20-point rout of Purdue, Penn State will look to continue its recent success vs. Indiana when the teams meet Sunday in the BJC. It is Penn State Basketball Alumni Day with approximately 40 former lettermen returning the weekend. They will be introduced at halftime. Penn State has won two straight and six of the last seven in the series with IU. Indiana leads the series 28-9 and is 11-5 in State College, including a 67-61 victory in their last trip to the BJC in 2010. The Lions won at Indiana in last year's Big Ten opener and downed the Hoosiers in the 2011 Big Ten Tournament first round.
MILESTONE WIN VS IU:
Patrick Chambers earned his first victory as a head coach when his Boston University team downed Indiana, 71-67, at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan on Nov. 20, 2009. BU had started the season 0-3 before downing the Hoosiers despite shooting just 29 percent. BU won the rebounding battle 52-32, including 19 offensive boards, in the game. IU was led by 17 points from Maurice Creek and 14 from Verdell Jones III.
SCOUTING INDIANA:
One of the biggest surprises of the NCAA season, Indiana knocked off No. 1 Kentucky in Bloomington and started the season 12-0 before falling at Michigan State (80-65). They rebounded to defeat No. 2 Ohio State (74-70) and No. 16 Michigan (73-71) in Bloomington and bring a 14-1 record (2-1 Big Ten) and No. 12 ranking into Sunday. Indiana leads the Big Ten scoring 82 points per game and shooting 50.5% from the floor and 45.6% from three. They are second with 8.7 steals per game. Freshman forward Cody Zeller leads the team posting 14.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg and is second in the Big Ten shooting 65.6% on the year. Jordan Hulls is second in the Big Ten shooting 55% from three and fourth making 2.1 threes per game. Five Hoosiers average double-figure scoring and four have 22 or more assists on the year.
LAST YEAR VS INDIANA:
Penn State won a pair of meetings vs. Indiana last year, dropping the Hoosier's 69-60 in Bloomington in the Big Ten opener for both teams and posting a 61-55 victory in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Jeff Brooks led the Lions in both games posting 23 points and 8 rebounds in Bloomington and 15 points and 7 boards in the tournament. Penn State shot 54% in Bloomington and led 34-25 at the half. Verdell Jones (15) and Victor Oladipo (14) led the Hoosiers. Penn State out-rebounded IU 34-23 in the tournament and got 17 second chance points off 15 offensive boards. Christian Watford led IU, which was within four points late, with 15 points.
LIONS THUMP PURDUE FOR CHAMBERS' FIRST BIG TEN WIN:
Penn State posted its most lopsided Big Ten win in six seasons with its 65-45 defeat of Purdue on Thursday, gaining the first Big Ten Conference win of the Patrick Chambers era in the Lions first home Big Ten appearance under Chambers. It was Penn State's largest Big Ten victory since downing Northwestern, 83-57, on Jan. 3, 2007 and the largest over Purdue since beating the Boilers, 74-54, at the Jordan Center on Jan. 18, 2006. Penn State held a double-digit lead for more than 24 minutes in the game and led by as many as 22. The Lions held Purdue to a season-low 45 points (previous low 56) and a Lion season opponent low of 31.9% shooting. Billy Oliver posted a career high 21 points on a career-best 7-of-11 (63.6%) from three, while Matt Glover posted career highs of 11 rebounds and five assists and Tim Frazier had 15 points and nine assists.
FRAZIER FILLING STAT LINES LIKE FEW OTHERS:
Leading Penn State in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, Tim Frazier is currently on pace to become the first Lion ever to post a top 10 season in scoring, assists and steals in the same year. At his current pace, he could become the first Lion ever to eclipse 500 points, 150 assists and 50 steals in the same year. Currently fourth among active career assist leaders in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor, Purdue's Lewis Jackson and Iowa's Bryce Cartwright, Frazier's 17. 1 points and 6.8 assists per game have him on pace to become just the fifth Lion ever to eclipse 300 points and 150 assists in a season. The feat has been accomplished six times total, the last by Talor Battle with 635 points and 189 assists in 2009.
FORCING TURNOVERS:
Penn State grabbed eight steals at Northwestern and seven vs. Purdue, the Lions' 10th game of the year with seven or more and fourth in the last five. Two of the top teams in the country in protecting the ball, Northwestern had 12 turnovers in the game after entering the game averaging 9.9 per contest and Purdue had 12 after entering averaging just 9.7 per game. Tim Frazier had a total of seven steals in the two games.
FRAZIER SERVING ASSISTS AT RECORD PACE:
Tim Frazier is on pace to break the Lions' single-season assist record of 189 set by Talor Battle in 38 games in 2008-09. Frazier's Big Ten leading 6.8 apg is nearly one assist per game higher than the PSU record season average of 6.1 set by Freddie Barnes (1992) and Tom Wilkinson (1978) and two ahead of his team leading 5.1 apg last year. At his current pace he would log more than 200 assists by season's end. Frazier has posted career-best assist totals in three games this year, posting at least 10 on each occasion, and has logged SIX games of 9+ assists. He had a career-best 11 assists vs YSU (11/23). Frazier's 173 assists last year rank as the fifth best season mark in PSU history. He ranks 10th on the PSU career assist chart.
MARSHALL NOW A SOLID SCORER:
Jermaine Marshall has established himself as a consistent scorer over the last nine games, posting eight double-digit outings and 119 total points and 50 rebounds. He entered the nine-game stretch having posted a total of 98 points and 24 rebounds in the previous 34 games on his career. Marshall is averaging 13.2 ppg and 5.6 rpg over the stretch while shooting 15-of-36 (42%) from three, having twice hit a career-high three treys. Marshall was 8-of-43 (18%) from three on his career prior to the stretch.
PNC Flex Books are 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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