Jan. 27, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Coming off its largest victory over a Big Ten opponent since 2000, the Penn State men's basketball team returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday vs. Minnesota in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game vs. the Gophers will be broadcast on BTN with Cory Provus and Shon Morris calling the action.
The Nittany Lions downed Rutgers by 28 points, 79-51, Saturday for their first Big Ten win of the season. Last year, Penn State started 0-6 in conference play before going on a three-game winning streak.
PROMO PLANS
- Dollar Dog Night, presented by Dietz & Watson
- Giveaway: All fans receive a voucher for a free bucket of balls to the Blue White Golf Courses for 2015
QUICK HITS
MINNESOTA | The Gophers are 13-8 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten with wins in two of their last three games.
THE SERIES | Penn State and Minnesota have met 42 times, with all but one meeting taking place as Big Ten foes. The Nittany Lions are 8-10 on their home court.
40 MINUTES | Patrick Chambers said after the game Saturday it was the first time the Nittany Lions had played 40 full minutes of Penn State basketball. It resulted in 51 percent shooting, a season-high 18 assists, 10 3-pointers and the six-largest win over a Big Ten team in program history. [RECAP]
LEADER | Senior guard D.J. Newbill, the top scorer among the Power 5 conference players and fourth in Division I, has paced the Nittany Lions throughout the season with 22.0 ppg. He is averaging 29.0 ppg over the last three games with 12 outings of 20-plus points and two with more than 30. He is 7th all-time in PSU career scoring and has the record for a three-year player.
SENIOR CLASS AWARD | D.J. Newbill was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to a four-year student-athlete who excels in all four areas of classroom, community, character and competition. Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky is only other Big Ten candidate. [MORE: seniorclassaward.com]
THE MATCHUP
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
- The Gophers are 13-8 on the season and 2-6 in Big Ten play after defeating Illinois, 79-71, Saturday in Williams Arena. They have won two of their last eight games after starting the season 11-2. Minnesota is 0-4 on the road in Big Ten play.
- The Gophers have defeated Rutgers and Illinois and have losses to Purdue, Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska.
- As of Monday, the Gophers are second nationally in steals per game (10.7) and sixth in assists (17.5), ranking first and second among Big Ten schools in those categories.
- Andre Hollins is the leading scorer for Minnesota, averaging 14.5 ppg and 15.8 ppg in eight conference games. He also grabs 5.1 rpg, which is second on the team.
- Maurice Walker is the leading rebounder (6.7 rpg) and shot blocker (1.3 bpg) for the Gophers, with his rebounding going up to 8.6 in Big Ten play, good for third in the league.
14-15 PLAYERS vs. THE GOPHERS
Nine current players have faced the Gophers in their careers with D.J. Newbill standing as the leading scorer in the series with 13.8 ppg in four games vs. Minnesota. His 24 points in the regular-season finale at Williams Arena last season stand as the third-most points scored by a PSU player in the series. Ross Travis, a Minnesota native, is the leading rebounder with 7.8 rpg, while tallying 7.2 ppg in five career meetings.
| PLAYER | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | MISC | PTS HIGH |
| D.J. Newbill | 4-4 | 13.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 apg | 24, at MINN, 3/9/14 |
| G. Thorpe | 3-1 | 7.3 | 2.7 | 2.0 spg | 8, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| R. Travis | 5-4 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 67%FT | 18, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| B. Taylor | 4-2 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 8-8 FTs | 10, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| J. Johnson | 3-0 | 5 | 2 | 2 assts | 4, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| D. Jack | 3-1 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 33.3% FG | 4, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| J. Dickerson | 3-2 | 2 | 2.7 | 5 blocks | 4, at MINN, 3/9/14 |
| K. Montminy | 3-0 | 0 | 0.3 | 5 mins | -- |
| A. Wisniewski | 2-0 | 0 | 0.5 | 5 mins | -- |
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State trails in the all-time series vs. Minnesota 10-32 with the Gophers taking each of the last five meetings.
- Minnesota captured both regular-season meetings a year ago, knocking off the Lions 68-65 Jan. 8, 2014 in the Bryce Jordan Center and defeating them 81-63 in the regular-season finale March 9, 2014 in Williams Arena.
- The Gophers also defeated Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, 63-56.
- Penn State's last wins in the series came in a season sweep in 2010-11 by identical 66-63 scores.
LAST TIME VS. MINNESOTA
INDIANAPOLIS (March 13, 2014) - D.J. Newbill had 16 points and Tim Frazier added 11 for Penn State, who fell to Minnesota 63-56 in the Big Ten tournament opening round. The 10th-seeded Nittany Lions struggled shooting the ball, hitting just 32.2 percent from the field. Penn State got within three just before halftime and within four, 58-54, with 2:35 to go, but Andre Hollins made a free throw and hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to close out the game.
THREE MORE NOTABALE GAMES
March 6, 2011 (PSU, 66-63): Penn State used 20-point games and clutch threes from Talor Battle and Jeff Brooks to down Minnesota, 66-63, in Minneapolis, the Nittany Lions' first win at Williams Arena since 2001.
Jan. 7, 2004 (PSU, 75-72): Penn State earned its lone win in the midst of a 14-game stretch vs. the Gophers, knocking them off 75-72 in the Bryce Jordan Center to open the Big Ten campaign. Jan Jagla had 28 points.
Jan. 11, 1996 (PSU, 76-61): The Lions downed the Gophers to win the inaugural game at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park and during the same week, earned their first Associated Press national ranking in 31 years, at No. 20.
BEFORE & AFTER
LAST TIME OUT: UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP)- D.J. Newbill scored 23 points and Brandon Taylor 16 to lead Penn State to a 79-51 win over Rutgers on Saturday for its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season.
The Nittany Lions (13-7, 1-6 Big Ten) never trailed after taking a 16-15 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the opening half. The 28-point spread was Penn State's largest margin of victory since December 2011 against Mount St. Mary's (29) and the largest vs. a Big Ten team since defeating Northwestern by 33 Jan. 13, 2000.
Shep Garner added 13 points for Penn State, including three 3-pointers. Penn State shot 10 of 20 from 3-point range and its first 12 points of the game were on 3-pointers. [RECAP]
UP NEXT: The Nittany Lions are on the road for three of their next four games following the Wednesday night matchup with Minnesota. They will head to Champaign, Illinois, to take on Illinois at 1 p.m. ET Saturday in the State Farm Center. The game will be broadcast on BTN with Eric Collins and Jess Settles on the call.
The Illini are 13-8 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten with a midweek bye before hosting the Nittany Lions this weekend. Illinois is 9-1 at the State Farm Center this season with its lone home loss coming to Indiana, 80-74, Jan. 18.
Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-USJAX-NONE Rayvonte Rice led the Illini through the first 15 games of the season with 17.2 ppg before being sidelined with an injury. Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Dunn are scoring 14.0 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.