PENN STATE (8-3) vs. Colorado (10-1)
| DATE | Tuesday, Dec. 22 | 10:30 p.m. ET |
| LOCATION | Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.) |
| RADIO | Listen: Penn State Sports Network: Steve Jones (pxp), Dick Jerardi (analysis) |
| GAME NOTES | Penn State Notes | Colorado Notes |
| LIVE STATS | GameTracker |
| BLOG | Basketball Blog |
| SOCIAL MEDIA | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | #PSUMBB |
Dec. 21, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's basketball (8-3) is set to head into the semifinals of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic , squaring off against rv/rv Colorado (10-1),who is receiving votes in both polls as of Dec. 14. The Nittany Lions and the Buffs meet Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 PT in Orleans Arena.
STORYLINES
- Following the game against Colorado, the Nittany Lions will then face either No. 18 SMU (9-0) or Kent State (7-2) Wednesday, Dec. 23.
- Penn State has won six of its last seven games, including each of the last three.
- The two games in Las Vegas as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic are the first trip to the Pacific Time Zone for the Nittany Lions since playing in the Golden Bear Classic to close out the non-conference slate during 2001-02 season.
- The Lions are away from home for a five-game stretch after wrapping up the non-conference slate with Drexel (W, 63-57; 12/19) and the two Vegas Classic contests before opening the Big Ten schedule with back-to-back road games. They will return to the BJC Jan. 5 against Minnesota.
- Three Nittany Lions are averaging in double-figures in scoring: Brandon Taylor (15.6 ppg), Shep Garner (14.6) and Payton Banks (11.8) with Garner also leading in assists (2.8) and steals (1.8), and Taylor controlling the boards (6.4).
THE MATCHUP
SCOUTING COLORADO
After dropping its season opener to Iowa State, Colorado has won each of its last 10 games, and is receiving votes in both the USA Today and ESPN polls release Dec. 14. The win streak included two as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. The Buffs downed both Nicholls State (85-68) and Hampton (95-53) in the on-campus contests of the tourney.
Through Saturday night games, Colorado has the 15th-ranked scoring offense in the country at 85.7 points per game, having scored no fewer than 81 points during the 10-game win streak. In the same 10-game stretch, opponents are averaging just over 70 points per game. Colorado is winning games by an average of 15.6 points after a season-high 42-point win over Hampton Saturday.
Three players are averaging double-figures for the Buffs, led by Josh Scott's 19.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg. Scott has five of the team's eight double-doubles this season. Tory Miller, who averages just 6.0 ppg, had the most recent double-double to date, posting 19 points and 10 boards in the win over Hampton Saturday. George King (15.4 ppg) and Josh Fortune (11.5) also average 10-plus points a night. Anchored by Scott's 9.3 rpg, Colorado is a top-five rebounding team in the nation, coming in at No. 4 in boards per game and third in defensive rebounds.
| TALE OF THE TAPE | LEADERS | |||||
| PSU | Stat (15-16) | CU | PSU | CU | ||
| 66.4 | Points Per Game | 85.7 | Points | Brandon Taylor: 15.6 | Josh Scott: 18.8 | |
| 64.7 | Opponent Points Per Game | 70.0 | Rebounds | Brandon Taylor: 6.4 | Josh Scott: 9.4 | |
| 40.5 | Field-Goal Percentage | 47.5 | Assists | Shep Garner: 2.8 | Dominique Collier: 3.5 | |
| 39.5 | Opponent FG Percentage | 40.7 | Blocks | Jordan Dickerson: 2.4 | Wesley Gordon: 2.6 | |
| 6.1 | 3-pointers Per Game | 8.8 | ||||
| 31.0 | 3-point Field Goal Percentage | 40.8 | ||||
| 35.2 | Opponent 3-point Field Goal % | 37.0 | ||||
| 67.4 | Free-Throw Percentage | 74.5 | ||||
| 37.2 | Rebounds Per Game | 45.1 | ||||
| 35.3 | Opponent Rebounds Per Game | 33.1 | ||||
| 9.8 | Assists Per Game | 17.1 | ||||
| 11.0 | Turnovers Per Game | 13.7 | ||||
| 5.5 | Steals Per Game | 5.3 | ||||
| 5.1 | Blocks Per Game | 5.8 |
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State is 0-1 in the all-time series vs. Colorado with the lone meeting taking place during the 1938-39 season.
- The Buffs won 29-26 in a neutral-site game played in Hershey, Pa. on Jan. 2, 1939. Penn State is 3-10 vs. current members of the Pacific-12 Conference with the last meeting taking place during the Charleston Classic last season. The Nittany Lions edged USC, 63-61, Nov. 23, 2014.
LAST TIME OUT
PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 19, 2015) - Payton Banks scored 20 points and keyed a second-half rally as Penn State overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Drexel 63-57 Saturday night at the Palestra in the largest PSU comeback in at least 15 years. Brandon Taylor and Shep Garner added 11 points apiece for the Nittany Lions (8-3), who have won three straight and six of their last seven. Terrell Allen scored 18 points and Tavon Allen had 16 for Drexel (1-8), which shot just 23.1 percent from the field in the second half.
UP NEXT
Penn State will then face either No. 18 SMU (9-0) or Kent State (7-2) Wednesday. The championship game tips at 10:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. PT with the third-place game preceding it at 8 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT.
SMU: This would be the fourth meeting against the Mustangs, with each of the last two played at neutral sites, and the first in 33 years.
OVERALL: 2-1; HOME: 1-0; AWAY: 0-0; NEUTRAL: 1-1
Previous Meetings
| 12/6/80 | H - Rec Hall | 72 | 50 | W |
| 12/11/81 | N - Indiana Cl. (Bloomington) | 65 | 53 | W |
| 12/18/82 | N - Dallas Morning News Cl. (Dallas) | 68 | 75 | L |
KENT STATE: Penn State leads the all-time series with the Flashes 12-3 with the last meeting taking place in Bryce Jordan Center during the 2000 NIT en route to the Nittany Lions advancing to the consolation game and finishing in third place. The teams have never met on a neutral floor.
OVERALL: 12-3; HOME: 7-0; AWAY: 5-3; NEUTRAL: 0-0
Previous 10 Meetings
| 3/22/00 | H | 81 | 74 | W-NIT |
| 12/9/76 | A | 70 | 73 | L |
| 12/16/75 | H | 65 | 63 | W |
| 1/8/75 | A | 59 | 61 | L |
| 12/21/73 | H | 62 | 53 | W |
| 12/18/72 | A | 49 | 46 | W |
| 2/29/72 | H | 61 | 51 | W |
| 3/2/71 | A | 85 | 86 | L-OT |
| 12/3/69 | H | 61 | 57 | W |
| 12/14/68 | A | 63 | 49 | W |
SEASON NOTES
EARLY-SEASON TOURNEYS
Penn State is 75-87 in early-season tournaments. The Lions have participated in at least one each season since 1981 and have captured 10 tourney championships, 12 second-place and 26 third-place finishes.
Last season, Penn State finished the Charleston Classic with 3-1 record, defeating Akron on campus (78-72) in addition to Cornell (72-71) and Southern California (63-61) in Charleston. The loss came to Charlotte, in a double-overtime thriller in Charleston (106-97).
WEST COAST LOVE
The two games scheduled in Las Vegas as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic are the first trip to the Pacific Time Zone for the Nittany Lions since playing in the Golden Bear Classic to close out the non-conference slate during 2001-02 season. They defeated Coppin State, 66-49, Dec. 28 before falling to host Cal, 76-73, Dec. 29.
COMEBACK
Penn State battled back from a 17-point deficit against Drexel Saturday night in Philadelphia, its largest comeback for a win in at least 15 years. Since the 2000-01 season, the Nittany Lions have come back from at least 14 points down to win 10 times, three under head coach Patrick Chambers.
UNDER 40
Seven of Penn State's eight wins this season have come when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting. Foes are shooting at a 35.2 percent clip in PSU victories with the Nittany Lions hitting 41 percent of shots in the same games. Penn State holds a 43-15 record under head coach Patrick Chambers when limiting opponents to a sub-40 percent field-goal percentage, and a 7-0 mark this season.
POINTS IN PAINT
The Nittany Lions are averaging 33.6 points in the paint over the last five games with a season-high 50 vs. Canisius Dec. 10, the most since March 2, 2014, against Wisconsin (50). They are averaging 29.8 paint ppg on the season.
LINEUPS
Penn State has used three different starting lineup combinations this season and over 60 different in-game combinations. The lineup of Shep Garner, Payton Banks, Brandon Taylor, Donovon Jack and Jordan Dickerson started Dec. 10 vs. Canisius for the first time and has been used in the last three games.
BOSTON THREE PARTY
Shep Garner's performance at Boston College Dec. 2 produced eight 3-pointers, the second-most in a single game for a Nittany Lion in program history, trailing just Pete Lisicky's nine tallied vs. Penn in 1996. The effort tied the Conte Forum record, set previously by two players.
BLUE STEAL
Shep Garner leads the Blue and White, and the Big Ten, with 1.8 steals per game through 10 games.
BOARD-ER PATROL
The Nittany Lions are averaging 39.5 rebounds per game over the last six games, highlighted by a 49-rebound showing against Eastern Michigan (12/5). After out-rebounding Drexel 40-32, Penn State moved to 5-1 on the year when grabbing more boards than its opponent. The only loss came in their last road contest against George Washington.
CLOSE CALLS
Penn State's four-point win over Louisiana-Monroe Dec. 12 was the eighth-consecutive win in non-conference play decided by five points or fewer, dating back to last season. The Nittany Lions had six non-conference games separated by 1-5 points in 2014-15, winning each of them, and are 2-0 so far this season, also winning vs. Bucknell (62-58).
SINGLE-DIGIT SEPARATION
Penn State is 5-0 this season in games separated by nine or fewer points after defeating Drexel by six, 63-57. Last season, the Nittany Lions had 24 of 34 games decided by single-digits with the team going 13-11 in those contests (8-1 in non-conference play).
CENTURY MARKS
Brandon Taylor played in his 100th career game against Bucknell Nov. 28 and has now seen action in 108. He has started 84 games, the most of any current Nittany Lion, and is averaging 8.7 points per game over his four-year career.