Dec. 21, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State looks for its 10th-consecutive and record 12th non-conference win when it hosts Dartmouth at 4 p.m. Monday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game is the final non-league matchup for the Nittany Lions, who will open Big Ten play on New Year's Eve at Wisconsin.
The Nittany Lions are 11-1 on the season and riding an nine-game winning streak, both of which are the best marks since the 1995-96 season when the Lions started 13-0 en route to making the NCAA tournament. The 11 non-conference wins tie the program record from 2008.
| PROMO PLANS |
- Fans will receive a Penn State basketball holiday hat while supplies last.
- Over 2,000 tickets were purchased for the game through the Hoops for the Holiday program, which allotted tickets to well-deserving children and their families though programs like The Jared Box, Mt. Nittany Hospital, Easter Seals, The Park Forest Pre School, Janet Weiss Children's Hospital, Friends of Jaclyn and Hershey Medical Center.
| QUICK HITS |
EARNING VOTES | Penn State received votes in the Dec. 15 versions of both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since the 2011 season. The Nittany Lions have not been ranked in either since 1996.
THE SERIES | The game Monday will be the first meeting between Penn State and Dartmouth since 1973 and will be the fourth overall. The Lions lead 2-1.
DARTMOUTH | The Big Green is 5-5 on the season with wins in four of its last five games.
LAST TIME OUT | Penn State defeated Drexel at the recently-opened PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., Saturday afternoon. Brandon Taylor posted a double-double and D.J. Newbill had 20 points in the Lions' 11th win. [RECAP]
NON-CONFERNCE WINS | Penn State has hit 11 conference wins, tying the program record set in 2008, and goes for its 12th for the first time vs. Dartmouth Monday.
BEST IN THE B1G | Penn State was the first conference team to 11 wins and now sits atop the league with Maryland at 11-1. The duo is tied for 10th in Division I with a 91.7 wininng percentage. At nine games, Penn State has the longest winning streak among all 14 Big Ten teams.
HOME SWEET HOME | Penn State is 6-0 in the Bryce Jordan Center this season and has won each of its last 11 non-conference games in the BJC.
UP NEXT | Penn State opens its 23rd season in the Big Ten by taking on No. 5 Wisconsin at 1 p.m. ET at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
| THE MATCHUP |
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
- The Big Green enters Monday with a 5-5 record after defeating Northern Illinois, 58-55, in overtime Friday evening. Dartmouth has won four of its last five games after starting the season with losses in four of five games.
- In the win Friday, Alex Mitola hit four 3-pointers in overtime, including the game-winner at the buzzer. He scored all 12 of Darmouth's points in the extra period.
- The Big Green was outscored 27-13 in the second half after leading 33-19 at the half.
- Mitola leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game to go with 2.3 boards and 2.9 assists. Two others - Gabas Maldunas and Connor Boehm - are scoring in double figures.
- Sixteen players have seen action on the season with eight of them taking the court in all 10 games.
SERIES HISTORY
- The teams have met just three times with the last meeting taking place in 1973. The first meeting was during the 1917 season, ending with a 44-22 win for the Nittany Lions.
- The four meetings are spread out by an average of 32 years.
- Penn State's lone loss came in the 1942 NCAA tournament, 44-39, in the first round of the East Regional.
| POSSIBLE STARTERS |