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January 30, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -The Penn State men's basketball team meets No. 5 Michigan State for a mid-week game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 31. This is the only regular-season meeting between the Nittany Lions and the Spartans this year.
GAMEDAY
Penn State (15-8, 5-5 Big Ten) at No. 5 Michigan State (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten)
Wednesday, January 31
6:30 p.m. ET
Breslin Center (15,000)
WATCH: BTN and BTN2Go
Kevin Kugler (pxp) and Jon Crispin (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network, Steve Jones (pxp) and Dick Jerardi (analyst)
2017-18 Affiliates and free online at GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
LIVE STATS:
FOLLOW: Twitter @PennStateMBB & @Coach_Chambers | Facebook | Instagram
TICKETS:
Tickets are available for the Nittany Lions' remaining four Big Ten home games, including Saturday's TEAM REAM game vs. Iowa. Visit for more information.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
RECORD: 15-8, 5-5 Big Ten
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Seventh year at Penn State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 19.2 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#24 Mike Watkins, RSo. F - 10.1 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 4.8 apg
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
RECORD: 20-3, 8-2 Big Ten
Coach: Tom Izzo (23rd year at Michigan State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer
#22 Miles Bridges, So., G - 17.6 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#44 Mick Ward, So., F - 7.9 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#5 Cassius Winston, So., G - 6.9 apg
NITTANY LION LAST GAME STARTERS
# / Name / Pos. / ELG. / Pts / REB / STAT / NOTES
11 / Lamar Stevens / F / So. / 15.1 / 6.4 / 2nd ppg/rpg | Longest current streak of PSU games started with 56
24 / Mike Watkins / F / R-So. / 13.1 / 10.1 / PS FG% leader | 10th dbl-dbl, 18th car dbl-dbl, car best 19 reb vs. Rutgers
1 / Deivis Zemgulis / G / Jr. / 1.4 / 1.0 / 2nd car start | Back-to-back FGs game PS dbl-digit lead at OSU
10 / Tony Carr / G / So. / 19.2 / 4.5 / ppg 2nd in B1G | PS scoring leader 19th career gm vs. Rutgers
33 / Shep Garner / G / Sr. / 10.4 / 2.0 / 282 career 3s | B1G leader with 66 3FGM in 2017-18
OPENING TIP
Penn State has not only matched its win total of 15 from a year ago, but made program history in the process. With 15 wins in 2017-18, for the first time ever, the Nittany Lions have recorded five consecutive seasons of 15 or more wins.
Prior to coach Patrick Chambers' arrival, the most recent occurrence of four-straight seasons with 15 or more wins was from 1988-1992.
QUICK HITS
• Redshirt sophomore Mike Watkins' career- best 19 rebounds vs. Rutgers marked the most by a Nittany Lion since Aaron Johnson had 21 vs. Northwestern in 2005.
Saturday's total brought Watkins to 489 in his Penn State career. He needs 11 more boards to reach the 500 career rebound milestone.
• With his 15-point/19-rebound outing vs. the Scarlet Knights, Watkins has 10 double-doubles in 2017-18, a figure that ranks 18th nationally and second in the Big Ten.
• On the Penn State list, compiled beginning with the 1976-77 season, Watkins' 18 career double-doubles rank seventh all time.
• Junior guard Josh Reaves advanced to the No. 10 spot on Penn State's all-time steals list, now with 138 in his career. Reaves, the Big Ten steals leader, had four against Rutgers to move past Jarrett Stephens (1996-2000).
SERIES VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Penn State and Michigan State played twice last year, both games on neutral sites, with the Nittany Lions winning 72-63 at The Palestra (1/717), and falling 78-51 in their second game of the Big Ten Tournament (3/9/17).
The Nittany Lions' win over Michigan State at the Palestra was the first in eight tries going back to a March 12, 2001 victory in the Big Ten Tournament (61-48). Penn State last won at East Lansing during the 2008-09 season.
Series streak: Michigan State, W1
Overall series: Michigan State leads 37-8
at East Lansing: Michigan State leads 22-1
Big Ten games: Michigan State leads 33-8
MAKE IT EIGHT OPPONENTS UNDER 60 POINTS
Rutgers became the eighth team in 2017-18 to be held to fewer than 60 points by the defensive-minded Nittany Lions.
Penn State allowed the Scarlet Knights only 43 points, tying the low scoring total by an opponent this season. Coppin State had 43 points (12/30/17) in the final nonconference game.
Penn State is 11-1 in 2017-18 and was 11-0 in 2016-17 when keeping its opponents below 70 points. All six Big Ten wins in 2016-17 came when opponents were kept at or below 70 with two teams held under 60 points.
In the most recent national rankings through games of January 29, the Nittany Lions are ranked 54th in scoring defense, allowing an average of 66.8 points per game.
ACCURACY FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Three of the top five 3-point field goal percentages in the coach Patrick Chambers' era have occurred in 2017-18, including the school record 78.6 percent (11-14) at Ohio State (1/25/18).
The 78.6 percent is the highest in the Big Ten this season, best in a conference game and is the second-highest in NCAA D-1 this season behind only Evansville (12-15, 80%) at Bowling Green (12/5/2017).
Here are the top five 3-point field goal percentages since the 2011-12 season:
| Pct. | 3FG-A | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| *78.6 | 11-14 | at Ohio State | 1/25/18 |
| 58.8 | 10-17 | Binghamton | 12/19/17 |
| 56.5 | 13-23 | vs. St. John's | 12/18/16 |
| 53.5 | 8-14 | Bucknell | 11/28/14 |
| 52.5 | 12-23 | at Iowa | 12/2/17 |
* Penn State single-game record