Jan. 6, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State takes Big Ten basketball to Philadelphia, hosting Michigan State in The Palestra at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN with Dave Flemming and Dan Dakich on the call.
STORYLINES
- This is the first Big Ten regular-season game to take place in the City of Brotherly Love. It counts as a neutral-site game for the teams, although was originally a home contest for the Lions, who announced the move in August.
- Penn State boasts six players from the Philly area on this year's roster, in addition to head coach Patrick Chambers, a Delaware County native. Freshmen Nazeer Bostick, Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens captured the Philadelphia Catholic League title together at The Palestra with Roman Catholic in March 2016.
- Penn State has won 11 of its last 18 games played in the Palestra, including each of the last two after defeating Drexel last season and Penn in 2013.
- Over the last five games, five players are averaging in double figures for Penn State, led by freshman Lamar Stevens (13.0) and junior captain Payton Banks (12.8). On the season, three freshmen are among the top five scorers and are each of top three rebounders.
- This is the first trip to the Palestra for Michigan State in Tom Izzo's 22 seasons at the helm of the Spartans.
PENN STATE IN THE PALESTRA
- The historic Palestra, on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia, opened on Jan. 1, 1927. The Palestra has hosted more games, more visiting teams and more NCAA tournaments than any other facility in college basketball.
- Penn State played its first game at the Palestra on Jan. 27, 1927, less than a month after the building's opening.
- The Nittany Lions have a 22-36 record when playing in the Palestra, though a 12-8 mark in games played vs. teams other than Penn.
- Penn State has won 11 of its last 18 games played in the Palestra, including each of the last two after defeating Drexel last season and Penn in 2013.
- Saturday's game is Penn State's first at the Palestra against a Big Ten opponent since playing Iowa in the 1961 Quaker City Classic, when the Nittany Lions were still an independent program.
NOTABLE PENN STATE GAMES IN THE PALESTRA
1953-54: Led by standouts Jack Sherry and Jesse Arnelle, the Nittany Lions upended the Quakers, 72-67, on Dec. 12, 1953 for their first win vs. Pennsylvania since the 1938-39 season. The victory kicked off a memorable season in which Penn State reached its first and only Final Four.
1988-89: The Nittany Lions earned their first 20-win season in more than 20 years in 1988-89, highlighted by a run to the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game. Led by junior center Ed Fogell, who scored a career-high 28 points, Penn State routed West Virginia 86-64.
1990-91: Playing its final season in the Atlantic 10, the Nittany Lions went out with a run to the conference tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament bid in 25 years. No. 3 seed Penn State's quarterfinal and semifinal wins both came at the Palestra
2008-09: An early highlight of one of the most memorable Nittany Lion seasons came when Penn State visited the Palestra to play Pennsylvania in November in which the Nittany Lions took home an 85-73 victory. Stanley Pringle and Talor Battle combined for 49 points and were 8-for-15 from 3-point range.
2015-16: After trailing by 17 points in the first half, 32-15, Penn State battled back for a 63-57 comeback win over Drexel. On the strength of Payton Banks' game-high 20 points, the 17-point comeback marked the largest come-from-behind victory during head coach Patrick Chambers' tenure.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- The Spartans are 3-0 in Big Ten play, opening the league slate with an OT win over Minnesota, 75-74, before taking down Northwestern, 61-52. Most recently, MSU earned a 28-point win over Rutgers, 93-65.
- Michigan State has won four in a row, sitting at 11-5 on the season, with four of their five losses coming against AP Top 25 opponents.
- Freshman Miles Bridges, who returned to the Michigan State lineup Wednesday evening after missing seven games with an injury, leads the Spartans' in scoring average (15.4 ppg) and rebounding average (8.4 rpg).
- Freshman forward Nick Ward (13.7 ppg) and redshirt senior guard Eron Harris (12.9 ppg) are also averaging double figures scoring.
SERIES HISTORY
- Michigan State leads the all-time series against Penn State 36-7, although the Nittany Lions are 2-0 when playing at a neutral site.
- Penn State's last win against the Spartans came on March 12, 2011, when PSU earned a 13-point win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament, 61-48.
CURRENT ROSTER VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Six players on the current roster have taken the court against Michigan State, led by Shep Garner's 16.7 points per game through three career meetings. He posted a series-high scoring effort among current players with 22 points vs. Michigan State in the Breslin Center last season.
Player | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | SERIES HIGH |
S. Garner | 3-3 | 16.7 | 3 | 22, at MSU (2/28/16) |
P. Banks | 3-2 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 12, at MSU (2/28/16) |
J. Moore | 3-0 | 5 | 3.7 | 13, vs MSU (1/10/16) |
J. Reaves | 2-2 | 4.5 | 3 | 8, at MSU (2/28/16) |
I. Washington | 2-0 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 5, vs MSU (1/10/16) |
D. Zemgulis | 2-0 | 0 | 2.5 | -- |
LAST TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS
EAST LANSING (Feb. 28, 2016) - Denzel Valentine started slow and finished strong with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists to help No. 6 Michigan State beat Penn State 88-57 on Sunday. The Spartans (24-5, 11-5 Big Ten) have won four straight and eight of nine.
The Nittany Lions (15-14, 6-10) had won three straight and four of five, including victories over then-No. 4 Iowa and then-No. 22 Indiana. Penn State was led by Shep Garner and his game-high 22 points. Payton Banks and Devin Foster added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
MEMORABLE MATCHUPS
March 12, 2011 (PSU, 61-48): Penn State blew past the Spartans to reach the program's first Big Ten tournament championship game and clinch the Lions' first NCAA bid in a decade. The PSU backcourt of Talor Battle (25 pts) and Tim Frazier (22 pts) powered Penn State in out-scoring Michigan State 32-22 in the second half.
Feb. 1, 2009 (PSU, 72-68): Trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, Penn State rode a 29-point performance from sophomore Talor Battle to down the ninth-ranked Spartans, an eventual Final Four team, and earn the program's first (and only) win in East Lansing, Mich.
March 9, 2001 (PSU, 65-63): Joe Crispin's off-balance trey with little time left capped a 22-point performance and gave Penn State an upset win over No. 2 Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. This win stands as the highest-ranked opponent the Nittany Lions have defeated.
UP NEXT
After three-consecutive games away from the Bryce Jordan Center, the Nittany Lions will have a mid-week bye before returning to action at noon Saturday, Jan. 14 against Minnesota. It is the THON Hoops Game with a portion of all student sale tickets going to THON.