|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
March 6, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State wraps up the regular season vs. Minnesota at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 77-67 setback to No. 23 Ohio State Wednesday, while the Gophers fell, 76-63, to No. 6 Wisconsin Thursday.
Penn State defeated Minnesota, 63-58, Jan. 28 in University Park and is looking for its first sweep of the Gophers since 2011. The Lions fell to Ohio State before traveling to Minnesota for the final regular-season game of the year that season as well.
QUICK HITS
- D.J. Newbill passed both 600 (610) points on the season and 2,000 (2,011) for his career vs. Ohio State. He has led the Big Ten in scoring since the season tipped off, averaging 20.3 ppg to lead all NCAA players from power 5 conferences. He is fourth in Penn State career scoring, after three seasons, and is poised to become third player all-time to produce back-to-back 600-plus point campaigns.
- The Gophers are 17-13 on the season and 6-11 in the Big Ten, playing for a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament.
- In 12 of 17 Big Ten games, Penn State has held its opponent below their season scoring average, including 10 of the last 12.
- Ross Travis is the third-ranked rebounder in Penn State history with 791. He has the third-most rebounds among current Big Ten players and is the first Penn State player to lead the team in three-consecutive seasons since John Amaechi (1993-95).
- Geno Thorpe is second on the team in scoring over the course of the last five games, averaging 11.8 ppg in that stretch. [MORE: Page 4, 20]
- Eleven of Penn State's Big Ten games have been decided by single digits, tied for the second-most among Big Ten schools, most recently with a four-point loss to Iowa Feb. 28. The 10 single-digit losses in conference play have been separated by an average of 5.2 points.
- D.J. Newbill was named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, an accolade presented annually to the senior student-athlete with high accomplishments in all four areas of classroom, community, character and competition. VOTE: bit.ly/Vote4Newbill
- Penn State will either be the No. 13 or 14 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament. With a win or loss and Rutgers loss, the Lions will be the 13-seed. With a loss and Rutgers win, they would fall to 14th. Penn State will play either Minnesota, Nebraska or Northwestern in the first round Wednesday.
THE MATCHUP
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
- The Gophers are coming off a 76-63 loss to No. 6 Wisconsin Thursday night in Williams Arena. They are 17-13 on the season and 6-11 in the Big Ten, playing for a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament.
- Since falling to Penn State Jan. 28, the Gophers have gone 4-4, with the four losses all coming in the last five games. They are 4-4 on the Williams Arena floor in conference action.
- Andre Hollins is the team's leading scorer with 14.3 ppg, while Maurice Walker and and Carlos Morris also contribute double figures with 11.5 and 11.3 ppg, respectively.
- As of March 6, the Gophers are fourth in the nation in steals per game (9.8) and fifth in turnover margin (5.0), leading the Big Ten in those categories.
- Over the last 10 games, Andre Mathieu has tallied 26 assists with four turnovers, an assist/turnover ratio of +6.5. His ratio on the season is 2.7.
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State trails in the all-time series vs. Minnesota 11-32 with the Nittany Lions taking the first meeting this season, 63-58, Jan. 28 in the Bryce Jordan Center. This is the third-consecutive season Penn State has had to face Minnesota on its Senior Night.
- Penn State last won in The Barn in the 2011 season finale, cementing a season sweep over the Gophers. The win came just a few days after falling to Ohio State on Senior Night in the BJC.
- Minnesota captured both regular-season meetings a year ago, as well as a meeting the first round of the Big Ten tournament. The Gophers have won five of the last six games in the series.
LAST TIME VS. THE GOPHERS
UNIVERSITY PARK (Feb. 11, 2015) - D.J. Newbill scored 12 points, Jordan Dickerson blocked a shot with 4 seconds left and Penn State held off a late Minnesota rally to defeat the Gophers 63-58 Wednesday night. Nine PSU players saw action and all tallied at least three points. Four players produced or tied career highs in scoring, while the defense posted a season high in steals and helped limit the Gophers to 19.5 points below their season average. [RECAP]
LAST TIME IN THE BARN
MINNEAPOLIS (March 9, 2014) - D.J. Newbill had 15 of his 24 points in the second half for the Nittany Lions, but Penn State fell to Minnesota 81-63. DeAndre Mathieu led the Golden Gophers with 16 points and six assists, Mo Walker scored 16 points on a career-best 8-for-10 free-throw shooting performance. The Gophers led by as much as 51-26 in the second half, until Newbill helped bring the Lions back to within nine points at 55-46. Tim Frazier added 14 points, going 10 for 12 from the foul line, for the Lions. [RECAP]
14-15 NITTANY LIONS VS. THE GOPHERS
Thirteen players on the 2014-15 roster have seen action vs. the Gophers. D.J. Newbill is the leading scorer with 13.4 ppg. Ross Travis averages a team-leading 7.2 rebounds per game in six meetings, the most any PSU player.
| PLAYER | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | MISC | POINTS HIGH |
| D.J. Newbill | 5-5 | 13.4 | 4.4 | 2.2 apg | 24, at MINN, 3/9/14 |
| Payton Banks | 1-0 | 9 | 3 | 50%3FG | 9, vs MINN 1/28/15 |
| Devin Foster | 1-0 | 8 | 2 | 3-3 FGs | 8, vs MINN 1/28/15 |
| Geno Thorpe | 4-2 | 7.8 | 3 | 2.3 spg | 8, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| Ross Travis | 6-5 | 7 | 7.2 | 67%FT | 18, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| Brandon Taylor | 4-2 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 8-8 FTs | 10, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| John Johnson | 3-0 | 5 | 2 | 2 assts | 4, vs MINN, 1/8/14 |
| Julian Moore | 1-0 | 4 | 1 | 2-2 FGs | 4, vs MINN 1/28/15 |
| Donovon Jack | 4-2 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 4-4 FTs | 6, vs MINN 1/28/15 |
| Jordan Dickerson | 4-2 | 3 | 2.8 | 2.0 bpg | 6, vs MINN 1/28/15 |
| Shep Garner | 1-1 | 3 | 2 | 3 assts | 3, vs MINN 1/28/15 |
| Kevin Montminy | 3-0 | 0 | 0.3 | 5 mins | -- |
| Alan Wisniewski | 2-0 | 0 | 0.5 | 5 mins | -- |
THREE 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.
LAST TIME OUT
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (March 4, 2015) - Having led by as many as nine points in the first half, Penn State men's basketball fell short in a 77-67 decision to No. 23 Ohio State on Senior Night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Seniors D.J. Newbill (17 points) and Ross Travis (14) led Penn State (15-15, 3-14) during their final home game for the Nittany Lions. Newbill eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his career; he has 2,011 points and is one of nine active DI players to achieve the mark. Freshman Shep Garner chipped in 13 points.
D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points and coach Thad Matta tied the school record for wins in No. 23 Ohio State's victory over Penn State. Jae'Sean Tate and Shannon Scott each added 13 points for the Buckeyes (22-8, 11-6 Big Ten). Russell was 5 of 8 from 3-point range.