Dec. 5, 2014
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Dec. 5, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State travels to Marshall for the first time since 1992 to take on the Herd at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Cam Henderson Center. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network, as well as on the radio through the Penn State Sports Network.
Penn State owns wins in all six games of the series, including a 13-point victory, 90-77, last season in Happy Valley. All five starters turned in double figure scoring efforts in the win.
| QUICK HITS |
- The Nittany Lions (7-1) have won each of their last five games, after clipping Virginia Tech, 61-58, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge Wednesday night [RECAP] and are off to the best start since the 2008-09 season.
- The win over the Hokies was the seventh of the eight Big Ten wins needed to capture the Challenge title, giving the title to the league for the sixth-consecutive season.
- At five games, Penn State has the longest winning streak among all 14 big Ten teams and is tied with Maryland for the highest win percentage.
- Through eight games, Penn State has had three decided by one possession, winning each of them. Last season, the Lions had eight games decided by three points or fewer in the regular season. They lost each of the first five and won the last three, giving them a six-game win streak in regular-season one-possession games.
- The Lions are outscoring opponents 316-269 (+47) in the second frame through eight games this season. They have battled back from second-half deficits of 14 (Akron), 13 (Cornell), 8 (Virginia Tech) and 6 (Southern California) in recent wins.
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- D.J. Newbill is averaging 24.1 ppg on the season, tops in the Big Ten and third in the country among Division I players. Through Thursday games this week, his 193 total points and 65 made field goals were the most of any DI player in both categories.
- With 1,301 career points at Penn State, Newbill needs 10 to take over the No. 14 spot from John Amaechi (1,310; 1993-95) in all-time career points. Amaechi's point total is the record among players to spend just three years in the Blue and White.
- Newbill earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors Monday after producing 28.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg in the Lions' wins over Akron and at Bucknell.
- Ross Travis is fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding with 7.8 per game after a 10-carmon outing vs. Virginia Tech. He is 13th all-time at Penn State and with his career average produced this season, will end up in the Top 3.
- Shep Garner is second on the team in both scoring (11.1 ppg) and assists (1.9 apg) as a freshman. He has scored 10+ in all but two games this season. Garner is shooting 42 percent from behind the arc and 92 percent from the charity stripe with his lone FT miss (12-13) being on purpose to run tim off the clock vs. USC.
| THE MATCHUP |
SCOUTING MARSHALL
The Herd enters the weekend with a 3-4 record after falling to South Carolina 77-59 Monday night at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W. Va. The Herd was led in scoring by Ryan Taylor, who finished the game with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists before fouling out. Austin Loop scored 10 points, added 4 rebounds and went 4-4 from the line. Nine Herd players scored on the evening and Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds, six on the offensive end. Taylor currently leads the Herd with 16.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Shawn Smith had been second with 12.0 ppg, but has has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury.
The Herd is coached by Dan D'Antoni, the older brother of Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, who is in his first season at Marshall after serving as an NBA assistant coach for the past nine seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State has won all six meetings with Marshall, including a 90-77 win last season in the Bryce Jordan Center, which marked the first meeting since 1992. This is just the second visit to Huntington in the now seven-game series for Penn State.
12/14/1944 - W, 34-32 (H)
12/28/1962 - W, 75-65 (N)
12/8/1990 - W, 79-72 (H)
12/29/1991 - W, 78-64 (N)
1/16/1992 - W, 67-60 (A)
12/7/2013 - W, 90-77 (H)
LAST TIME VS. THE HERD
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Dec. 7, 2013) - All five starters turned in double figure scoring efforts as the Penn State men's basketball team downed Marshall, 90-77 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Ross Travis and Donovon Jack set the pace for the Lions, tallying 20 and 18 points, respectively. Jack entered Penn State's single-game record books after blocking a career-high seven shots, which ties Calvin Booth's (Bradley, 1999) effort for 10th all-time. The forward also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in the win while Travis tacked on six boards and two assists. Penn State led by as many as 27 in the second half. [RECAP]
| UP NEXT |
The Nittany Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center for a 9 p.m. tilt with Duquesne Wednesday night. The Dukes are 3-1 on the season with a game vs. Pitt Friday evening. The first 1,000 fans in attendance Wednesday will receive a Ross Travis caricature t-shirt [PROMOTIONS].