BIG TEN TOURNAMENT - FIRST ROUND
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March 9, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State begins play as the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, taking on 12th-seeded Nebraska at 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday from the United Center in Chicago. The game will air on ESPN2. The winner will take on fifth-seeded Iowa at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday in the second of four second-round games.
The Nittany Lions downed Nebraska, 56-43, in the lone regular-season meeting Feb. 7 in University Park. Both teams struggled to get back in the win column after with Huskers dropping each of their eight games and Penn State ending a six-game skid with a 79-76 victory at Minnesota Sunday.
QUICK HITS
- D.J. Newbill was selected by both coaches and media to the All-Big Ten Second Team Monday. He also was a second-team honoree a year ago and an honorable mention selection in 2012-13. He is the first player to lead the league in scoring and not be named to the first team since 2006.
- Penn State is 9-17 in the Big Ten Tournament since the event began in 1998. The Lions have one appearance in the championship game (2011).
- Eight players on the 2014-15 roster have seen action in the league tourney, led by Ross Travis' three appearances. D.J. Newbill has averaged 18.0 ppg in two tournament games.
- D.J. Newbill passed both 600 (641) points on the season and 2,000 (2,042) for his career vs. Ohio State March 4. He has led the Big Ten in scoring since the season tipped off, averaging 20.7 ppg to lead all NCAA players from power 5 conferences and own the No. 7 spot in Division I. He is fourth in Penn State career scoring, after three seasons, and owns two spots in singe-season scoring records.
- The Nittany Lions earned their 16th of the season at Minnesota Sunday. They ended the 2013-14 season with 16 wins, making this the first time a PSU team has reached at least 16 wins in back-to-back campaigns since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. [MORE: Page 2]
- In the last four games, there are three players are averaging in double figures. Newbill is producing 17.5 ppg with 10+ points of support from Geno Thorpe (12.5) and Shep Garner (11.3).
THE MATCHUP
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
- The Huskers are 13-17 on the season and finished the Big Ten slate with a 5-13 record after dropping each of their last eight games. They concluded the regular season with a 64-61 setback vs. No. 10 Maryland in Lincoln.
- Nebraska's eight-game skid began with Penn State's 56-43 victory Feb. 7 in the BJC. The three-point loss to the Terps was the closest decision of the stretch with the eight games being decided by an average of 13.3 points.
- Terran Petteway is fourth in the league in scoring with 17.8 ppg on the season. Shavon Shields also is scoring in double-figures with 15.3 ppg and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY
- The all-time series with Nebraska is tied 5-5 after the Nittany Lions' 56-43 victory Feb. 7 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
- All but three of 10 meetings have taken place once the Huskers were in the Big Ten. Penn State was 2-1 prior to being league foes; 3-4 since.
- Both teams are 4-1 when playing on their respective home courts. This will be the first neutral-site meeting between Penn State and Nebraska. The teams have met once in the postseason with the Lions capturing a 1995 NIT Tournament game in Lincoln, 65-59.
- Three of the last five meetings in the series have been decided by six points or fewer.
LAST TIME VS. THE HUSKERS
UNIVERSITY PARK (Feb. 7, 2015) - Geno Thorpe scored 14 points, Brandon Taylor and D.J. Newbill had 11 as Penn State was able to take advantage of Nebraska's cold shooting to beat the Huskers 56-43. The teams combined for just 35 first-half points before picking up the pace in the second half. Nebraska shot 15 of 51 from the field and just 2 of 20 from 3-point range. Nebraska (13-10, 5-6 Big Ten) trailed by as many as 11 points late in the game but closed to within 44-41 before Penn State (15-9, 3-8) pulled away with just over 3 minutes to play. [MORE/BOX: Page 38]
14-15 NITTANY LIONS VS. NEBRASKA
Thirteen players on the current roster have seen action against the Huskers, including 11 in the lone regular-season meeting Feb. 7 D.J. Newbill is the leading scorer among current players, averaging 14.4 ppg over five appearances. He scored 17 points in each of the last two games played in Lincoln. Ross Travis is the top rebounder with 4.7 per game through seven career games.
| PLAYER | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | MISC | POINTS HIGH |
| D.J. Newbill | 5-5 | 14.4 | 4.4 | 2.0 apg | 17(2x), last at NEB 2/20/14 |
| Shep Garner | 1-1 | 9 | 4 | 5.0 apg | 9, vs NEB 2/7/15 |
| John Johnson | 2-0 | 9 | 2 | 3 assts | 13, vs NEB 1/23/14 |
| Brandon Taylor | 5-5 | 7 | 3 | 2 steals | 11 (2x), last vs NEB 2/7/15 |
| Geno Thorpe | 3-1 | 6 | 2 | 5-6 FTs | 14 vs NEB, 2/7/15 |
| Ross Travis | 7-4 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 44 FG% | 8 (2x), last at NEB 2/20/14 |
| Devin Foster | 1-0 | 4 | 4 | 16 mins | 4, vs NEB 2/7/15 |
| Donovon Jack | 4-2 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2 blocks | 7, vs NEB 1/23/14 |
| Alan Wisniewski | 4-0 | 2 | 2.3 | 7 OffRbs | 6, at NEB 2/9/13 |
| Julian Moore | 1-0 | 2 | 3 | 7 mins | 2, vs NEB 2/7/15 |
| Kevin Montminy | 4-0 | 0.8 | 0 | 3 pts | 3, vs NEB 1/19/13 |
| Jordan Dickerson | 3-1 | 0.7 | 4 | 2.0 bpg | -- |
| Payton Banks | 1-0 | 0 | 3 | 13 mins | -- |
THREENOTABLE GAMES
Jan. 23, 2014 (PSU, 58-54): Led by D.J. Newbill's 16 points, four Penn State players posted double-figure scoring efforts as the Lions snapped a six-game losing streak with a 58-54 win over Nebraska at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Jan. 11, 2012 (NEB, 70-58): Tim Frazier tallied a career-high 30 points, but Nebraska used 10-0 and 8-0 runs in the first half to build an early lead and take a 70-58 win for the Cornhuskers' first Big Ten victory.
March 21, 1995 (PSU, 65-59): The Nittany Lions used Rahsaan Carlton's 19 points to top Nebraska 65-59 in the NIT Second Round in Lincoln, Neb. The teams were tied at 36 at halftime, but three Lion players put up double-digits for the win. Penn State went on to finish third in the NIT that year, its second of four trips to Madison Square Garden.
LAST TIME IN THE B1G TOURNEY
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (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 March 13.10th-seeded Penn State (15-17) struggled shooting the ball, making only 32.2 percent from the field. Austin Hollins scored 18 points, Deandre Mathieu added 13 and Andre Hollins hit a late 3-pointer to help Minnesota edge the Nittany Lions. Penn State got within three just before halftime and within 58-54 with 2:35 to go, but Andre Hollins made a free throw and hit the 3 in the final minute to close it out. The Nittany Lions finally roared back late, cutting a 51-38 deficit to 58-54 on two free throws from Brandon Taylor made two free throws with 2:35 to go.
TEAM NOTABLES
16 WINS | With 16 wins, Penn State and head coach Patrick Chambers have reached a victory mark topped just three times in this millennium (21, 2000-01; 27, 2008-09; 19, 2010-11). The Nittany Lions ended the 2013-14 season with 16 wins, making this the first time a PSU team has reached at least 16 wins in back-to-back campaigns since the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
.500 | The Nittany Lions have not fallen below .500 the entire season. They evened out at 15-15 before earning the win at Minnesota for their first regular-season finish above .500 since 2011 and for just the fifth time since 2000.
FINALE VICTORY | The win over Minnesota Sunday marked the first season-ending win under head coach Patrick Chambers and the first for the program since 2011 when the Nittany Lions also knocked off Minnesota. Penn State has ended the regular season on a high note just four times in the last 16 seasons (2003, 2008, 2011 and 2015).
LAST FOUR GAMES | In the last four games, there are three players are averaging in double figures. D.J. Newbill is producing 17.5 ppg with 10+ points of support from Geno Thorpe (12.5) and Shep Garner (11.3). After seeing his average dip to 6.3 rebounds per game, Ross Travis has been grabbing 7.3 over the last four games, to go with 9.5 ppg (up from season average of 5.1).
LINEUPS | Patrick Chambers has placed eight different starting lineups on the court this season, including a different one in each of the last three games. Four lineup combos have earned a win in their first time on the court, most recently with Shep Garner, D.J. Newbill, Geno Thorpe, Ross Travis and Jordan Dickerson on Sunday at Minnesota.