Feb. 6, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State hosts No. 21/22 Maryland at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the lone matchup between the teams this season. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network with Tom Werme and Bob Wenzel on the call.
STORYLINES
- Both teams are coming off narrow Saturday losses at home with the Nittany Lions falling to Rutgers, 70-68, and Maryland losing to Purdue, 73-72.
- Each of the last three meetings with the Terps since they joined the Big Ten have been decided by six or fewer points with Maryland using a second-half comeback for the win in all three.
- Penn State leads the Big Ten in forced turnovers with opponents averaging 15.5 turnovers on the season. Josh Reaves leads the league in steals per game with 2.3.
- Payton Banks and Shep Garner share the team and Big Ten lead in 3-pointers made, each with 63 treys.
- Four players are averaging in double figures for Penn State, led by Shep Garner (13.0 ppg) and Tony Carr (12.2). Three freshmen are among the top five scorers and are each of top-three rebounders.
- Tony Carr is the team's leading scorer in Big Ten action with 13.3 ppg after averaging 20.5 points per game last week. He added 14 assists at Indiana, the tying for the second-most in a game in program history.
SETTING THE SCENE
- Penn State is looking for its second win over a ranked team this season. The Lions previously topped then-No. 24 Minnesota, 52-50, Jan. 14.
- Maryland is ranked No. 21 by the Associated Press and No. 22 by USA Today. Penn State is 1-4 against the No. 22 team in the Coaches Poll, last taking on Wisconsin in 2013.
- The Nittany Lions earned four Big Ten wins in the month of January for the first time since 2008-09.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
- The 21st-ranked Terrapins enter the BJC with a 20-3 overall record and an 8-2 mark in the Big Ten after falling to Purdue, 73-72, at home Saturday.
- The loss snapped a seven-game Maryland win streak and dropped the Terps from first place in the Big Ten.
- Melo Trimble leads the Terps with 17.2 points per game on the season and 16.2 ppg in league play (fifth in the Big Ten).
- Maryland is 8-0 in games away from College Park, trailing only Gonzaga (10-0). The Terps' 6-0 road record is tied with Gonzaga for the best mark in college basketball.
- The Terps are shooting 49.2 percent on the road while holding opponents to a 40.8 field goal percentage. Freshman Justin Jackson boasts a team-high 15.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per outing in road games.
SERIES HISTORY
- This is the fourth meeting between Penn State and Maryland as conference foes. The Terps have won each of the last three by a combined 15 points.
- Maryland has needed a second-half comeback to win each of the last three games.
- The Terps lead the all-time series with a 12-8 record and has captured each of the last four meetings.
- The teams first met in 1939 and then once a season from 1960-68 with sporadic meetings thereafter.
CURRENT ROSTER VS. MARYLAND
Five players have seen action against Maryland, led by Shep Garner's 9.3 ppg over three career meetings.
Player | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | SERIES HIGH |
S. Garner | 3-3 | 9.3 | 3.3 | 17, at UMD (12/30/15) |
P. Banks | 3-1 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 12, at UMD (12/30/15) |
J. Reaves | 1-1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2, at UMD (12/30/15) |
J. Moore | 3-0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 1, vs UMD (2/14/15) |
D. Zemgulis | 1-0 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 8, at UMD (12/30/15) |
LAST TIME AGAINST THE TERPS
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Dec. 30, 2015) - Diamond Stone scored 39 points, the most-ever by a Maryland freshman, and had 12 rebounds, leading the fourth-ranked Terrapins to a 70-64 victory over Penn State in their Big Ten opener. Shep Garner scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half for Penn State (9-5). Brandon Taylor added 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Payton Banks finished with 12 points for the Nittany Lions, who led by as many as 13 in the second half before Maryland went on a 25-6 run over the final 6:11.
OTHER MEMORABLE MATCHUPS
Feb. 14, 2015 (UMD, 76-73): The game featured eight ties and five lead changes. Melo Trimble was 4-4 from free throw line in the final 20 seconds to come away with the win in the Terps' last visit to the BJC.
March 19, 1990 (PSU, 80-78): Ed Fogell tallied 20 points to lead Penn State over Maryland in the second round of the NIT in University Park, en route to a third-place tourney finish. This was the lone meeting vs. Maryland under Gary Williams.
Dec. 7, 1963 (PSU, 91-62): The largest scoring margin in the series was a 29-point decision in Penn State's favor in 1963. Former Maryland head coach Gary Williams was a freshman on that Terrapin squad. Penn State was 2-2 during Williams' time as a player.
LOOKING AHEAD
Penn State returns to the road for back-to-back games, beginning at 2 p.m. ET Saturday at Illinois. The Nittany Lions close out the season with four of their final six games away from home.