| PENN STATE (13-13, 4-9) at Rutgers (6-20, 0-13) | ||||||||||||||||
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Feb. 19, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State (13-13, 4-9 B1G) travels to Rutgers (6-20, 0-13 B1G) for a 1 p.m. Saturday tilt on ESPNU. The Lions are looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since closing out the non-conference slate with three-consecutive victories.
STORYLINES
- Penn State is coming off an upset of No. 4 Iowa Wednesday, 79-75, for its second-consecutive home win over a ranked opponent and its first over a No. 4 ranked team since PSU topped Michigan 84-78 in the BJC February 27, 2013. Penn State is 2-4 on the year against ranked opponents.
- Penn State's last two consecutive wins over ranked opponents dates back to 2011, when the Nittany Lions took down No. 18 Michigan State (66-62) Jan. 8 before defeating No. 16 Illinois (57-55), Jan. 11.
- Three Nittany Lions are scoring in double-figures: Brandon Taylor (16.5 ppg), Shep Garner (13.5) and Payton Banks (10.0) with Taylor controlling the boards (6.2) and Garner also leading in assists (3.1)
- In the team's wins over Indiana and Iowa, Taylor averaged 21.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg with Garner adding 15.0 ppg of support.
GAMEDAY INFO
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- The Scarlet Knights enter Saturday with a 6-20 overall mark and a 0-13 record in Big Ten play after falling on the road to Illinois, 82-66, Tuesday. Freshman Jonathan Laurent tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to the Illilni.
- Rutgers was without leading scorer and facilitator Corey Sanders, who was suspended for four games prior to the matchup with the Illini. He averages team highs with 16.2 ppg and 4.1 apg in 24 games.
- Mike Williams is the leading scorer among active players with 12.2 ppg.
- After losing five of the first six Big Ten games by 20 points or more, Rutgers has closed the gap of late with three of the last six games separated by 10 or fewer or points.
| PSU | STAT CATEGORY | RU | STAT | PSU LEADER | RU LEADER | ||
| 65.5 | Points Per Game | 68.3 | Points | Brandon Taylor: 16.5 | Corey Sanders: 16.2 | ||
| 69.2 | Opponent Points Per Game | 80.1 | Rebounds | Brandon Taylor: 6.2 | D.J. Foreman: 6.2 | ||
| 40.9 | Field-Goal Percentage | 41.9 | Assists | Shep Garner: 3.1 | Corey Sanders: 4.1 | ||
| 42.3 | Opponent FG Percentage | 45.7 | Blocks | Jordan Dickerson: 1.6 | Greg Lewis: 1.0 | ||
| 5.9 | 3-pointers Per Game | 5.0 | |||||
| 29.3 | 3-point FG Percentage | 30.5 | |||||
| 36.6 | Opponent 3-point FG % | 35.7 | |||||
| 69.1 | Free-Throw Percentage | 67.8 | |||||
| 34.7 | Rebounds Per Game | 35.2 | |||||
| 35.7 | Opponent Rebs Per Game | 41.0 | |||||
| 9.8 | Assists Per Game | 11.7 | |||||
| 11.4 | Turnovers Per Game | 13.6 | |||||
| 5.2 | Steals Per Game | 6.8 | |||||
| 4.3 | Blocks Per Game | 3.5 |
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State and Rutgers have met 68 times previously with the Lions holding a 38-30 advantage in the series. The series is tied 1-1 since Rutgers joined the Big Ten last season.
- Rutgers captured the last meeting in Piscataway with a 50-46 decision Jan. 3, 2015, and have a 22-13 advantage of its home court.
- The Scarlet Knights and Nittany Lions were both members of the Atlantic 10 Conference from 1976-79 and from 1982-1991. Penn State was 11-12 vs. Rutgers as an A10 conference foe.
CURRENT ROSTER VS. RUTGERS
Seven current players faced Rutgers in the first season of Big Ten play, led by Brandon Taylor's 13.0 ppg in two meetings and a returning high of 16 in the 79-51 win Jan. 24, 2015.
| PLAYER | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | SERIES HIGH |
| B. Taylor | 2-2 | 13 | 6.5 | 16, vs RU (1/24/15) |
| S. Garner | 6-5 | 10.5 | 2.5 | 13, vs RU (1/24/15) |
| D. Foster | 2-0 | 4 | 2 | 4, vs RU (1/24/15) |
| P. Banks | 4-2 | 3.5 | 2 | 5, vs RU (1/24/15) |
| D. Jack | 5-2 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3, vs RU (1/24/15) |
| J. Moore | 2-0 | 1 | 2.5 | 2, vs RU (1/24/15) |
| J. Dickerson | 1-0 | 0 | 1.5 | -- |
LAST TIME VS. THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Jan. 24, 2015) - D.J. Newbill scored 23 points and Brandon Taylor 16 to lead Penn State to a 79-51 win over Rutgers. 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).
NOTABLE GAMES IN THE SERIES
Dec. 1, 2004 (PSU, 83-80): Then-freshman Geary Claxton scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half, including two decisive late-game foul shots, to give Penn State its third-consecutive win of the 2003-04 season. This was Penn State's last visit to the RAC.
Feb. 27, 1991 (RU, 92-70): Rutgers handed Penn State its largest loss of the season in the regular-season finale in Piscataway before the Nittany Lions went on a four-game winning streak through the Atlantic 10 tournament and the second round of the NCAA tournament.
March 21, 1990 (PSU, 58-55): In the National Invitational Tournament quarterfinal in Piscataway, Penn State rallied from a second-half deficit to defeat Rutgers for its first trip to the NIT semifinals.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions continue to alternate home/away games by hosting Nebraska at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25 in the Bryce Jordan Center. It will be the second meeting between the teams in 12 days, as Penn State fell to the Huskers 70-54 in Lincoln Feb. 13.