Jan. 31, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State completes the season series with Indiana, traveling to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a 6:30 p.m. Wednesday matchup on the Big Ten Network.
STORYLINES
- The Hoosiers captured the first meeting, 78-75, with a 3-pointer at the buzzer Jan. 18 in University Park.
- The Lions are coming off a Saturday win over Illinois, earning their fourth Big Ten victory in the month of January for the first time since 2008-09. The Hoosiers have dropped each of their last two, both on the road.
- Penn State is 4-5 through the first half of the Big Ten slate, in a five-way tie for sixth place. A win over Indiana would put Penn State at .500 through 10 games for the first time since 2010-11.
- Penn State leads the Big Ten in forced turnovers. PSU opponents average 15.1 turnovers on the season.
- The Lions are 3-3 in true road games and tied with Wisconsin for third-most road wins among league teams.
- Four players are averaging in double figures for Penn State this season, led by junior captains Shep Garner (12.4 ppg) and Payton Banks (11.9).
- Three freshmen round out the top five scorers and are each of top three rebounders. Tony Carr is the team's leading scorer in Big Ten action with 11.8 ppg.
SETTING THE SCENE
- The Nittany Lions earned four Big Ten wins in the month of January for the first time since 2008-09.
- They are 4-5 through the first half of the Big Ten slate. A win over Indiana would put Penn State at .500 through 10 games for the first time since 2010-11.
- The Lions are 3-3 in true road games this season and tied with Wisconsin for the third-most road wins among Big Ten teams. Only Maryland (5-0) and Northwestern (4-2) have more.
- Penn State enters the week in a five-way tie for sixth place in the Big Ten standings. Among the other four teams is Indiana.
SCOUTING INDIANA
- The Hoosiers have gone 2-2 since their visit to Happy Valley, sitting at 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the league. They are coming off back-to-back road losses, last to Northwestern 68-55, Sunday in Evanston.
- Indiana was without leading scorer James Blackmon Jr. (17.6 ppg) in the loss to the Wildcats. Thomas Bryant led Indiana in scoring, tallying a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
- Without Blackmon and OG Anunoby, who the Hoosiers lost to injury for the remainder of the year, Indiana was without nearly one-third of its scoring on the season.
- Robert Johnson is the second-leading scorer behind Blackmon, averaging 13.9 ppg and 14.7 ppg in Big Ten play.
- Indiana averages nearly 40 boards per game with a rebound margin of +8.7. Three players average more than 5.0 per game, led by Bryant's 7.0.
SERIES HISTORY
- Indiana leads the all-time series 36-11 and 18-3 in Bloomington.
- Eight of Penn State's wins have come in the last 17 meetings, including two in the last four games.
- Each of the last five games have been decided by five or fewer points.
- In the last meeting in Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers had to survive a replay review on Brandon Taylor's 3-pointer that would have forced overtime, winning 76-73. Officials determined the shot came after the buzzer after Penn State battled back from a 12-point deficit.
CURRENT ROSTER VS. INDIANA
Eleven current players have taken on the Hoosiers, led by Tony Carr's 24 points per game in his first career meeting. Shep Garner averages a team-high 13.7 ppg in multiple games, taking on Indiana three times.
Player | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | SERIES HIGH |
T. Carr | 1-1 | 24 | 4 | 24, vs IU (1/18/17) |
S. Garner | 3-3 | 13.7 | 4.3 | 15, vs IU (1/18/17) |
L. Stevens | 1-0 | 8 | 6 | 8, vs IU (1/18/17) |
J. Moore | 3-2 | 5 | 2.3 | 8, vs IU (1/18/17) |
M. Watkins | 1-0 | 4 | 0 | 4, vs IU (1/18/17) |
J. Reaves | 2-1 | 3 | 3 | 6, vs IU (1/18/17) |
P. Banks | 3-1 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 10, vs IU (1/18/17) |
I. Washington | 1-0 | 3 | 1 | 3, vs IU (2/6/16) |
T. Samuel | 1-0 | 0 | 5 | 5, vs IU (1/18/17) |
N. Bostick | 1-0 | 0 | 2 | -- |
D. Zemgulis | 1-0 | 0 | 1 | -- |
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HOOSIERS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Jan. 18, 2017) - James Blackmon finished with 17 points and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Indiana to a 78-75 win over Penn State. Thomas Bryant and Robert Johnson also scored 17 points each as Indiana survived a late Penn State rally. Tony Carr scored a career-best 24 points and Shep Garner added 15 for the Nittany Lions who trailed by 14 with 9:19 left. It was the second straight win for the Hoosiers who took control by halftime and led the entire second half until a pair of Lamar Stevens free throws tied the game with less than five seconds left.
MEMORABLE MATCHUPS
Feb. 12, 2014 (PSU, 66-65): Tim Frazier scored on a driving layup with 6.1 seconds to go capping off a 13-1 run in the final 3:19. Frazier finished with 14 points as the Nittany Lions defeated Indiana for the first time since March 2011.
March 12, 2009 (PSU, 66-51): Jamelle Cormley put up 22 points as Penn State downed the Hoosiers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. The 2008-09 Lions went on to win the NIT Championship.
Jan. 27, 1996 (IU, 85-70): Pete Lisicky tallied seven 3-pointers in the loss at Assembly Hall. The seven treys are tied for the most by a PSU player in Big Ten action.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home for matchups with Rutgers (Feb. 4) and No. 17 Maryland (Feb. 7). Team Ream will take over the Bryce Jordan Center vs. the Scarlet Knights, striping out the lower bowl with tshirts and providing a halftime BMX show.