Dec. 26, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State opens its 25th season of Big Ten play when it hosts Northwestern at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Mike Corey and Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun on the call.
STORYLINES
- This is just the second time in eight years the Nittany Lions have opened the conference slate at home.
- This is the 47th meeting between the teams with Penn State owning a 29-17 advantage in the all-time series. The Nittany Lions also lead 15-5 all-time when playing in University Park.
- Penn State is coming off back-to-back high-scoring wins, averaging 94 ppg with +28.5 scoring margin in last two games.
- Five players are averaging in double figures for Penn State, led by junior captain Shep Garner (14.6) and freshman Lamar Stevens (12.5). Three freshmen are among the top five scorers and are each of top three rebounders.
- Mike Watkins earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors Dec. 19 after posting his third double-double of the season in a 92-76 win over St. John's. He had 15 points and 13 rebounds, plus four assists and three blocks. He is the first freshman since 2003 to produce three double-doubles.
- Tony Carr produced the team's fourth double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds vs. Morgan State (12/21).
SETTING THE SCENE
- Penn State opens its 25th season of Big Ten play.
- This is just the second time in eight years the Nittany Lions have opened the conference slate at home.
- Penn State is 7-17 in 24 Big Ten lidlifters with the last win coming in the 2010-11 opener vs. Indiana.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
- Northwestern is 11-2 on the season and currently on an eight-game winning streak, holding those eight opponents below 70 points. NU opponents are averaging 63.5 points per game on the season.
- The Wildcats' two losses have been by a combined six points to a pair of teams that are currently ranked (Butler, Notre Dame).
- The Wildcats concluded nonconference play with a 72-63 win over Houston Baptist last Thursday, coming back from a 12-point deficit. Scottie Lindsey scored a game-high 19 points for Northwestern.
- Lindsey is the team's leading scorer with 14.9 ppg and is one of three players averaging double figures. Sanjay Lumpkin is top rebounder with 7.5 rpg.
SERIES HISTORY
- This is the 47th meeting between the teams with Penn State owning a 29-17 advantage in the all-time series. The Nittany Lions also lead 15-5 all-time when playing in University Park.
- This is the second meeting in a row to take place in the Bryce Jordan Center after Penn State made four-consecutive trips to Evanston.
- Penn State has won five of last 10 meetings and 13 of last 19.
NOTABLE GAMES IN THE SERIES
Feb. 25, 2012 (NU, 67-66): The Lions held a one-point lead for much of the final 2:48 until a foul call sent John Shurna to the free throw line with :03 to play. Shurna hit both to seal the win for the Wildcats, who hit 15 free throws in the contest.
Feb. 28, 2010 (PSU, 79-60): Talor Battle had 16 points to lead Penn State to what was the Lions' largest margin of victory since 2007. They shot 68 percent in the first half and ended the night at 57 percent.
Jan. 28, 2004 (PSU, 63-61-OT): The last of five overtime games between the teams went to Penn State when Marlon Smith posted 23 points and Ndu Egekeze converted on a lay-up with :01 remaining in the extra period.
UP NEXT
Penn State plays each of its next three games away from the Bryce Jordan Center, beginning New Year's Day at Rutgers. The Nittany Lions then travel to Ann Arbor for a Jan. 4 matchup with Michigan before taking the Big Ten to Philly and hosting Michigan State Jan. 7 in a sold-out Palestra.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Penn State wrapped up non-conference play with the No. 36-ranked strength of schedule in the country, fourth in the Big Ten, according to ESPN.
HOT FROM CHARITY STRIPE
- Penn State has hit 79.4 percent (196-247) of its free throws attempts this season, including a season-high 91.7 percent effort (11-12) against Cincinnati (12/20). The season percentage is ranked seventh in Division I and second in the Big Ten.
- Four players are shooting 80 percent or higher from the FT line.
- Among players with more than 25 attempts, Tony Carr leads the way with a 88.4 (38-43) showing. He is third in the Big Ten.
BLOCK. THAT. SHOT.
- After posting eight vs. Wright State (12/3), Mike Watkins has the most blocks (43) of any player in the Big Ten and the third-most of an Division I player.
- He leads the league and is fourth in Div. I - first among all freshmen - with 3.3 blocks per game.
- Watkins' eight blocks are tied for the sixth-most all-time by a Penn State player and are the most since 1999. He is the only player besides Calvin Booth to tally at least eight blocks in a game.
UNDER 40 PERCENT
- The Nittany Lions are 5-0 this season when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field.
- Penn State holds a 51-17 record under head coach Patrick Chambers when limiting opponents to a sub-40 percent field-goal percentage.
WATKINS NAMED FRESHMEN OF THE WEEK
- Mike Watkins earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after leading Penn State over St. John's (12/18) in Madison Square Garden. The award is the first freshman of the week honor for the Nittany Lions since the rookie recognition began in 2010-11.
- Watkins tallied 15 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the Nittany Lions' win over the Red Storm.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
- Mike Watkins and Tony Carr are the lone members of the squad with a double-double and have three and one on the season, respectively. Carr produced his first last Wednesday vs. Morgan State with 11 points, 10 rebounds and nearly made it a triple-double with eight assists.
DEFEND & REBOUND
- Head coach Patrick Chambers has long been a proponent of "defend and rebound" as the keys to success.
- In the team's eight wins, Penn State is outrebounding opponents by a +3.3 marin, compared to a -9.6 spread in games lost.
- The Lions also average more than two steals and three blocks more in victories compared to defeats.
SHARE THE LOVE
- Five players are averaging in double-figures through the first 13 games with all five leading the team in scoring at least once and posting 20 or more points in at least one game.
DROPPING DIMES
- Over 59 percent of the team's field goals are assisted so far this season (203/342), compared to 44 percent a year ago.
- The Nittany Lions have tallied 20 or more assists in four games this season, including 23 in each of the last two games.
- Prior to this season, 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 (4.0 apg) after tallying a season-high eight against Morgan State (12/21)
YOUTH MOVEMENT
- According to KenPom, Penn State is ranked No. 333 out of 351 Division I programs in terms of experience, with players averaging just 1.03 years.
- This average is second-lowest among Big Ten programs, trailing Iowa, and the sixth-lowest among all 'Power 5' conference schools.
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 have done that in five games this season, including each of the last two.
- On the season, Penn State is averaging 75.2 ppg, compared to 67.3 through non-conference play last season.
- The Nittany Lions scored 52 points in the first half against St. John's (12/18). This is the most the team has scored in a first half since Dec. 30, 2006, when the Nittany Lions posted 62 against VMI.
- Penn State posted 90-plus points in consecutive games for the first time since opening the 1995-96 season.