Feb. 18, 2012
Contact: Brian Siegrist Penn State Athletic Communications 814-865-1757 tbs1@psu.edu
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., FEB. 18, 2012 - Penn State (12-15; 4-10 Big Ten) will take a two-game win streak into the weekend as the Nittany Lions seek their first Big Ten road win of the season Sunday at No. 15/17 Wisconsin (19-7; 8-5 Big Ten). The game will tip live on the Big Ten Network at 4:00 p.m. (ET) and can be heard across Pennsylvania on the Penn State Sports Network.
Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) enters Sunday's game needing just two points to become the first Nittany Lion ever to record at least 500 points, 150 assists and 50 steals in a season. Frazier had a team-high 18 points in Penn State's 69-64 victory over Iowa Thursday in the Jordan Center and stands second in the Big Ten posting 18.4 ppg. Frazier is posting 20.7 ppg in Big Ten road games on the season and, despite being the focus of every opposing defense, has exceeded his scoring average nine times and his Big Ten leading assist average (6.3 apg) six times in Big Ten play.
Penn State will be seeking its first win in Madison since 1995 - a string of 13-straight losses. Wisconsin has dominated at the Kohl Center in 11 seasons under coach Bo Ryan posting a 163-15 record in that span. The Badgers posted a hard-fought 52-46 victory in State College earlier this year as Penn State closed within two with 3:36 to play but couldn't capitalize on four chances to tie or take the lead. Jordan Taylor had18 points in that game and leads Wisconsin posting 16.5 ppg in Big Ten play.
Sophomore Jermaine Marshall will bring a career-best tying six-straight double-figure scoring games into the weekend after posting 10 in the victory over Iowa. He is averaging 12.3 ppg over his last six games.
Nittany Lion lone senior Cammeron Woodyard will celebrate his 22nd birthday in Madison on Sunday and has posted back-to-back double-figure scoring games while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three over his last two outings - posting 13.5 ppg over that span.
Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday for its second-to-last home game of the season vs. Northwestern. That game will tip off at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU.
PENN STATE (12-15; 4-10 Big Ten) vs. #15/17 WISCONSIN (19-7; 8-5 Big Ten)
SUNDAY, FEB. 19, 2012 @ 4:00 P.M. (ET)
KOHL CENTER (17,230)
MADISON, WISC.
GAME INFO
TELEVISION: BTN: Tom Hart & Gary Williams
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network; Local: 1450 AM; Sirius: CH 93; XM; CH -
Steve Jones (p-by-p) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
LIVE STATS & AUDIO:
COACHES:
PENN STATE: Patrick Chambers - 12-15 (1st at PSU); 54-43 (3rd Overall)
WISCONSIN: Bo Ryan - 261-98 (11th at UW); 644-201 (28th Overall)
RPI: Penn State: #130; Wisconsin: #25
NEXT UP:
Penn State will get six days off before returning to the the BJC Saturday to face Norhwestern. The Lions fell at NU 68-56 in the second Big Ten game of the season. PSU leads the overall series 26-13 and is 15-2 at home vs. the Wildcats who last won in the BJC in 2002. Penn State has won 10 of the last 12 meetings and seven straight in the BJC, including a 65-41 win last year.
THE GAME:
Penn State will play its second to last road game of the season Sunday at Wisconsin as the Lions look for their first Big Ten road win and just second road win overall (at B.C.) on the year. The Badgers pulled out a hard-fought 52-46 victory in State College on Jan. 31 and lead the series 27-10 and 15-2 in Madison. The Lions have won two of the last four meetings, including a 36-33 neutral site win in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Big Ten Tournament, but haven't won in Madison since a 78-67 victory in 1995 and have lost 13-straight games at UW. The No. 10 ranked Badgers posted a 76-66 victory in the Kohl Center last year behind 22 points each from Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil. Talor Battle posted 23 points on seven threes for PSU as the Lions cut a 19-point second-half Badger lead to nine with 56 seconds left. Tim Frazier had 12 points, six boards and four assists in one of his best games of the season. The Badgers shot 54% and 8-of-15 from three.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN:
The Badgers (19-7) are coming off a 69-55 loss to No. 7 Michigan State at the Breslin Center Thursday night as the Spartans put up the most points on the Badgers since Iowa posted 72 in a 72-65 victory in Madison on Dec. 31. Wisconsin entered Thursday leading the nation allowing just 51 ppg and ranked third allowing opponents to shoot 37.3 percent from the floor. Wisconsin has lost a nearly unheard of three Big Ten games at the Kohl Center, falling to Iowa, Michigan State (63-60, OT) and Ohio State (58-52) and have four losses at home on the year where they have been a dominating 163-15 (.916) in 11 seasons under Bo Ryan. Jordan Taylor leads UW and ranks fifth in Big Ten games posting 16.7 ppg and 10th with 3.5 apg. Taylor led UW with 18 points in the first meeting this year. One other Badger, Ryan Evans (11.2) is posting double-figures in Big Ten games. Evans led UW with 17 points and seven boards at MSU Thursday. The Badgers rank 11th in Big Ten games posting 59.6 ppg and 11th, just ahead of Penn State, shooting 38.9%. They lead the Big Ten hitting 77.1% at the foul line and are second allowing opponents to shoot just 28.9% from three.
LAST TIME VS. UW:
Penn State State was within two, 40-38, of the No. 19 Badgers with 3:36 to play, but couldn't capitalize on four chances to tie or take the lead and never got that close again as Jordan Taylor scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the final five minutes, 10 of those at the foul line, to lead Wisconsin to a 52-46 victory. Tim Frazier scored 17 of the Lions 23 second half points on his way to a game-high 21 points and seven assists. Penn State took a 23-17 lead to halftime after shooting 45.8% in the first 20 minutes and holding Wisconsin to 27% shooting. The tables turned in the second half as the Lions went cold shooting 27% and were out-scored 35-23 by a UW team that hit 45%. Penn State hit just one of its first 13 second half shots and trailed by seven before closing to within two. The Lions won the rebounding battle 36-31 over the taller Badgers and grabbed 12 offensive boards, but were only able to turn those into two second chance points as the Badgers blocked six shots.
WOODYARD TO TURN 22 IN MADISON:
Senior guard Cammeron Woodyard will celebrate his 22nd birthday in Madison on Sunday. The Lions' lone senior has posted back-to-back double-figure scoring games averaging 13.5 ppg and shooting 50% (8-16) from the floor and from three (6-12) over that span. He has four double-digit outings in his last six games, including two in road games at Iowa (11) and Ohio State (10), and 14 on the year.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS BEGIN FAVORABLE FINISH:
Penn State began a regular season finish of four of its final six games at home with back-to-back wins over Nebraska (67-51) and Iowa (69-64). It marked Penn State's first back-to-back wins since downing Mount St. Mary's and Cornell on Dec. 18 and 21. The Lions are shooting and scoring much better at home on the year, posting 42% and averaging 67.4 ppg on the year compared to 35% and 55.3 ppg away from the BJC. After facing five ranked foes in their previous six games and playing seven their first 12 Big Ten games vs. teams in the top half of the Big Ten, the Lions play four teams in the bottom half (three at home) in their final six conference games. All of the Lions' four home games in the final stretch mark the second meeting with a team Penn State previously lost to on the road and the second meeting all-time for the present coaching staff.
FRAZIER 2 POINTS SHY OF FIRST-EVER 500, 150, 50 SEASON AT PSU:
Just the THIRD Lion ever to eclipse 400 points and 150 assists in a season - joining Talor Battle (635 points & 189 assists in 2009) and Joe Crispin (649 points & 178 assists in 2000), Tim Frazier's 18 points in a victory over Iowa Thursday have him on the cusp of a Nittany Lion FIRST. Frazier enters Sunday with 498 points, 171 assists (6th all-time) and 60 steals (9th all-time) on the year - just two points shy of becoming the FIRST LION EVER to eclipse 500 points, 150 assists and 50 steals in the same year. He needs 22 points to become the FIRST LION EVER to post a top 10 season in scoring, assists and steals in the same year. He is currently SECOND among active career assist leaders in the Big Ten with 417 (Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor leads with 427).
PHILLY CONNECTION:
Coaches Patrick Chambers (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Bo Ryan (Chester, Pa.) were raised in areas approximately 12 miles apart and about 20 minutes west of downtown Philadelphia. They are joined by Iowa's Fran McCaffery, who was born in Philadelphia and played at Penn, among Big Ten coaches who are native to the Philadelphia area. Northwesterns' Bill Carmody (born in Spring Lake, N.J.) and Michigan's John Beilein (born in Burt, N.Y.) make five Big Ten coaches with East Coast ties.
RISING TO BIG TEN CHALLENGE:
Despite being, at times, the nearly singular focus of every opposing defense and playing in the No. 1 RPI rated conference in the nation containing the three most efficient defensive teams in the country (OSU, WISC & MSU) according to Ken Pomeroy, Tim Frazier has scored in double-digits in 17-straight games and EVERY GAME in Big Ten play. NINE TIMES in Big Ten play he has exceeded his season scoring average of 18.4 ppg, which ranks second in the Big Ten, and SIX TIMES he has exceeded his Big Ten leading assist average of 6.3 apg. He has led the Lions in scoring in 21 games on the year, including THE LAST SEVEN-STRAIGHT AND 11 TIMES IN 14 BIG TEN GAMES. He is averaging 20.7 ppg while shooting 44% in Big Ten road games.
FRAZIER FIRST LION TO POST 170 ASSISTS TWICE; EYES 500 POINTS:
Tim Frazier needs just two points to become the 12th Nittany Lion ever to post 500 points in a season (a feat accomplished 15 times overall; three times by Talor Battle and twice each by Jesse Arnelle and Joe Crispin). His four assists in a win over Iowa (2/16) produced just the sixth season of 170 assists or more in PSU history and made him the first Lion ever to accomplish the feat twice adding his 171 assists on the year (6th all-time) to his 173 last year (5th all-time). Frazier currently stands ninth in career assists (417), one behind Ben Luber (418) in 8th, and 183 behind Freddie Barnes' (1989-92) career record mark of 600.
LAST TIME OUT:
Penn State 69, Iowa 64, Feb. 16 • State College, Pa.
Penn State led by as many as 16 early in the second half, but saw Matt Gatens hit his first five threes of the second half and score 19 of 21 points in the half to get Iowa within two, 63-61, with 2:00 to play. Jermaine Marshall hit a big three to push the lead to 66-61 and with Iowa within three with 24 seconds to play Jon Graham stepped to the line and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to ice the game. Graham finished with a career-best 10 points and six rebounds, going 4-of-4 at the line. Tim Frazier struggled in the first half, but led PSU with 18 points, four assists and four steals. Marshall added 10 points and Cam Woodyard 13, 12 in the first half as the Lions led 38-24 at the half after holding Iowa to 26.9% shooting in the first 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes hit 56.5% in the second. PSU went 22-of-28 at the foul line.
All of Penn State's games can be heard live on the Penn State Sports Network throughout Pennsylvania with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi calling the action. "The Penn State Basketball Show" featuring Nittany Lion coach Patrick Chambers and Steve Jones airs each Thursday live from Damon's Grill in State College. Fans are encouraged to attend the live broadcast or call in their questions for the coach at 1-800-52LIONS.
Nittany Lion Basketball single-game tickets or group tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-NITTANY, visiting GoPSUsports.com or through Ticketmaster. Single-game tickets are $18 for the lower bowl and $15 for upper level tickets for adults. Youth tickets (18 and under) are $7 for the lower bowl and $5 for upper level seating, while Penn State student tickets (University Park or branch campus) are $5. Penn State also offers special basketball group ticket rates for groups of 15 fans or more. Nittany Lion group rates are $10 for adults and $5 for youth.
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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