Nov. 22, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State me's basketball team hosts Colgate on Thanksgiving Eve, in a 7 p.m. matchup in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network with Jason Horowitz and Jon Crispin calling the action.
STORYLINES
- Penn State is looking to get back in the win column after dropping a pair of contests vs. Top 25 opponents in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament over the weekend. The Lions fell to No. 1 Duke and No. 24 Cincinnati.
- Shep Garner averaged 17.5 ppg through the two contests, earning a spot on the all-tournament team.
- This is the 75th meeting all-time between Penn State and Colgate. The Lions hold a 50-24 advantage.
- Tony Carr led Penn State with 20 points vs. Duke. It was his second 20-point outing of the season. Against Duquesne (11/13), Carr and Stevens became first freshmen duo to each score 20-plus in a game since 1989.
- The Lions are wrapping up a six-game stretch within the first two weeks of the season and a program-record tying eight in the month of November. They had three within the first five days of the season. Four players are averaging in double figures through five games, led by junior Shep Garner (16.0). Three freshmen are among the top five scorers with a rookie leading the team in scoring in each of the last three of five games.
SCOUTING COLGATE
This is the fourth of five-consecutive road games to start the season for Colgate, who has gone 1-2 through the first three. The lone win game vs. Cornell following a season-opening loss vs. then-No. 19 Syracuse, 83-55. The Raiders are most recently coming off a 74-68 setback to NJIT on Saturday.
Junior Sean O'Brien leads Colgate with 12.7 points per game and is hitting nearly 52 percent of his shots from the field. Malcolm Regisford is the lone other player to average in double-figures for the squad that is putting up an average of 63.3 points per contest. Will Rayman is the top rebounder with 6.0 rpg.
Four starters and 13 total letterwinners remain from a year ago when Colgate finished 13-17 overall and 9-9 in the Patriot League.
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday marks the 75th meeting all-time between the programs, though just the second since 1981. Penn State holds a 26-9 advantage in games played in University Park, including a 66-48 win Dec. 23, 2007. Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Nittany Lions.
PENN STATE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Penn State holds a 244-116 record over current teams in the Patriot League with the bulk of matchups coming vs. Bucknell (78-25) and Colgate (50-24).
GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE
- The Nittany Lions have once again earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 100 percent, according to statistical information released by the NCAA, this week.
- The program had a 100 percent success rate for the fourth-consecutive year and is the only Big Ten men's basketball team with a perfect score in the 2016 NCAA Graduation Rates report.
- For the 12th-consecutive year, every year the GSR data has been released, PSU basketball earned four-year Graduation Success Rates at least three points higher than the national average for its sport.
- The men's basketball graduation figure was 24 points higher than the Division I average in the 2016 NCAA report and 20 points above the Big Ten sport average.
HOT FROM CHARITY STRIPE
- Penn State has hit 79.8 percent (67-84) of its free throws attempts this season, including an 91.7 percent effort (11-12) against Cincinnati. The percentage is ranked 20th in Division I and third in the Big Ten.
- Five players are shooting 80 percent or higher from the free-throw line, led by Tony Carr's flawless rate through 14 attempts.
- Lamar Stevens has made and attempted (28-31) more free throws than any other player in the Big Ten.
BLOCK. THAT. SHOT.
- Mike Watkins has 15 blocks through five games and is ranked second in the Big Ten and 16th in Division I with with 3.0 blocks per game.
- Calvin Booth holds each of the top four places on the season blocks chart with his freshman campaign owning the No. 2 position (101/3.6 bpg, 1995-96).
40-STRAIGHT STARTS
- Shep Garner started inhis 40th-consecutive game vs. Cincinnati Sunday. He has started 70 of 71 career games, coming off the bench on senior night his freshman year in 2014 vs. Ohio State.
HIGH-SCORING OFFENSE
- Head coach Patrick Chambers stated in the preseason one of the team's goals was to score at least 80 points per game and they did just that through the first three contests.
- The last time the Nittany Lions scored 80+ points in three-consecutive games was in the 2013-14 season (vs. Longwood, Monmouth and St. John's).
- The Nittany Lions scored 48 points in the first half against Grand Canyon Nov. 15. This is the most first-half points since scoring 49 in the first half vs. Penn on Nov. 25, 2008.
DROPPING DIMES
- The Nittany Lions tallied 20 assists in back-to-back games vs. Duquesne (11/13) and Grand Canyon (11/15).
- Over 52 percent of the team's field goals are assisted so far this season , compared to 44 percent a year ago.
- The last time Penn State secured 20 assists in back-to-back contests was in three-consecutive games in the 2006-07 season (vs. Maine, VMI and Northwestern).
- Freshman Tony Carr leads the team in assists (4.2 apg) after tallying a team-high four against Cincinnati. He was eighth in the Big Ten and first among freshmen point guards.
BACK IN BLACK (AND PINK) [RELEASE]
- Penn State will wear its black and pink throwback uniforms against Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Nov. 29. The uniforms honor the original school colors from 1887.
- The Nittany Lions are 3-0 in the unis since debuting them in 2014.
EARLY-SEASON TOURNEYS
- After the losses to Duke and Cincinnati, Penn State is 77-91 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 27 third-place finishes.
- Last season, Penn State finished the Las Vegas Classic with a 3-1 record and a third-place finish. The Lions defeated Canisius and Lousiana-Monroe in the on-campus contests, before splitting with Colorado (L, 71-70) and Kent State (W, 75-69).
UP NEXT
Penn State is home for four of its next five games, beginning Wednesday vs. Colgate. The Lions travel to Washington, D.C., to take on George Washington at 4 p.m. Saturday before returning home to host Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29 in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State will wear its black and pink throwback uniforms against Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Nov. 29. The uniforms honor the original school colors from 1887. The Nittany Lions are 3-0 in the unis since debuting them in 2014.