Feb. 23, 2017
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State closes out the season series with Minnesota at 3 p.m. ET Saturday in Williams Arena. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network with Brandon Gaudin and Stephen Bardo on the call.
STORYLINES
- The Nittany Lions have won each of the last four games vs. the Gophers, including a 52-50 win over then-No. 24 Minnesota Jan. 14.
- Penn State is coming off an overtime setback to No. 14 Purdue, 74-70, Tuesday in the BJC. Tony Carr led the charge with 21 points, while Mike Watkins produced his sixth double-double this season (11 points, 13 rebounds).
- The Nittany Lions have six wins through their first 15 games of Big Ten play, the most since 2010-11 (7-8).
- Four players are averaging in double figures for Penn State, led by freshmen Tony Carr (12.9) and Lamar Stevens (12.5). Three freshmen are among the top five scorers and are each of top-three rebounders. Carr and Stevens are both averaging 18.2 points with 5.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively, over the last six games.
- Tony Carr needs three assists to break the PSU freshman season record for assists. He has 112 after tallying seven Tuesday vs. Purdue, trailing Ben Luber's 2004 record 114 by two.
- Mike Watkins owns the No. 5 spot on the single-season block chart with 72, the most of any PSU player besides Calvin Booth. Booth owns each of the top four spots of the season records.
SETTING THE SCENE
- The Nittany Lions have six wins through their first 15 games of Big Ten play, the most since 2010-11 (7-8).
- With a win, Penn State would match the most Big Ten wins (7) under Patrick Chambers and reach at least seven Big Ten wins in back-to-back seasons for just the third time in 25 seasons (1994-95, 1996-97 and 2007-08, 2008-09).
- The Lions have posted seven or more league wins just eight times since joining the Big Ten.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
- Minnesota enters the weekend on a six-game winning streak, tied with Purdue for the longest in the Big Ten. Since falling to Penn State on Jan. 14, the Gophers have gone 6-3. They are 21-7 overall
- They Gophers defeated Maryland, 89-75, Wednesday night in College Park for their sixth-consecutive win.
- The Gophers have played five overtime games in Big Ten play with a scoring margin of +2.4 in league contests.
- Nate Mason is scoring 16.7 points per game in conference games, good for fifth in the league. He adds 5.0 assists per game, a mark which stands as second.
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State trails in the all-time series vs. Minnesota 14-32, although the Lions have won each of the last four meetings.
- They won the lone meeting last season in the BJC and swept the season series in 2014-15, defeating Minnesota, 63-58, Jan. 28 in the Bryce Jordan Center and 79-76, March 8 in the Barn.
- With wins in each of the last four meetings with the Gophers, it is the first four-game win streak vs. a Big Ten opponent since defeating Northwestern in six-consecutive meetings in 2008-11.
CURRENT ROSTER VS. MINNESOTA
Ten players on the current roster have taken the court against Minnesota. Mike Watkins had 15 points in the first meeting this season. Payton Banks averages 14.3 points per game through three career meetings. He posted a career-high and series-high scoring effort among current players with 24 points vs. Minnesota in the BJC win last season.
Player | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | SERIES HIGH |
M. Watkins | 1-0 | 15.0 | 15 | 15, vs MINN (1/14/17) |
P. Banks | 3-1 | 14.3 | 4.0 | 24, vs MINN (1/5/16) |
S. Garner | 4-4 | 8.8 | 3.0 | 20, vs MINN (1/5/16) |
J. Reaves | 2-2 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 9, 2x, last vs MINN (1/14/17) |
D. Zemgulis | 1-0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 7, vs MINN (1/5/16) |
L. Stevens | 1-1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4, vs MINN (1/14/17) |
J. Moore | 4-1 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 4, 2x, last vs MINN (1/14/17) |
T. Carr | 1-1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2, vs MINN (1/14/17) |
T. Samuel | 1-0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2, vs MINN (1/14/17) |
N. Bostick | 1-0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | -- |
LAST TIME AGAINST THE GOPHERS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Jan. 21, 2017) - Tony Carr drew a foul on a final drive to the basket and made two free throws with five seconds left to lift Penn State to a 52-50 win over No. 24 Minnesota.
Mike Watkins scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Payton Banks added 10 points for the Nittany Lions (11-7, 3-2 Big Ten) who recovered from a 32-22 halftime deficit. It was Penn State's first win over a ranked opponent since Feb. 17 when the Nittany Lions beat then-No. 4 Iowa at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Reggie Lynch scored 12 points for the Golden Gophers (15-4, 3-3) who were outscored 26-15 over the final 17 minutes.Minnesota led by as many as 14 in first half. [BOX SCORE: Page 33]
OTHER MEMORABLE MATCHUPS
March 8, 2015 (PSU, 79-76): D.J. Newbill pulled up and calmly swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving him 31 points to lift Penn State to a 79-76 victory over Minnesota in the regular-season finale.
March 6, 2011 (PSU, 66-63): Penn State used 20-point games and clutch threes from Talor Battle and Jeff Brooks to down Minnesota, 66-63, in Minneapolis, the Nittany Lions' first win at Williams Arena since 2001.
Jan. 11, 1996 (PSU, 76-61): The Lions downed the Gophers to win the inaugural game at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park and during the same week, earned their first Associated Press national ranking in 31 years, at No. 20.
LOOKING AHEAD
Penn State has just two regular-season games remaining after the matchup with Minnesota. The Nittany Lions close out the home slate with Ohio State on Tuesday, Feb. 28 (8:30 p.m. | BTN). Without a single senior on the roster, Penn State will recognize six senior managers prior to the game.