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February 10, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State travels to Illinois to meet the Fighting Illini on Sunday, February 11, the first of three Sunday road games this month. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
GAMEDAY
Penn State (17-9, 7-6 Big Ten) at Illinois (12-13, 2-10 Big Ten)
Sunday, February 11
7 p.m. ET
State Farm Center (15,500)
WATCH: BTN and BTN2Go
Cory Provus (pxp) and Shon Morris (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 two home games, including Thursday's 8 p.m. contest vs. Ohio State. Visit for more information.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
RECORD: 17-9, 7-6 Big Ten
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Seventh year at Penn State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 19.3 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#24 Mike Watkins, RSo. F - 9.7 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 4.9 apg
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
RECORD: 12-13, 2-10 Big Ten
Coach: Brad Underwood (First year at Illinois)
2017-18 Leading Scorer
#12 Leron Black, RJr., F - 14.3 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#12 Leron Black, RJr., F - 5.4 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#1 Trent Frazier, Fr., G - 2.8 apg
NITTANY LION LAST GAME STARTERS
# / Name / Pos. / ELG. / Pts / REB / STAT / NOTES
11 / Lamar Stevens / F / So. / 15.7 / 6.2 / 2nd ppg/rpg/mpg | Nittany Lions 7-0 when scoring leader in 17-18
24 / Mike Watkins / F / R-So. / 13.0 / 9.7 / PS FG% leader | 3rd NCAA D-1 career FG%, #1 Penn State career & season FG%
23 / Josh Reaves / G / Jr. / 10.9 / 4.7 / B1G stls leader | Top 5 play ESPN SC again w/one-handed dunk
10 / Tony Carr / G / So. / 19.3 / 4.5 / #2 B1G ppg | Back-to-back 16pt gms; car best 4 3FG vs. Terps; 6 assists
33 / Shep Garner / G / Sr. / 10.0 / 1.9 / 1,443 car pts | Needs 16 pts to enter PS car scoring top 10
OPENING TIP
This is the latest Penn State has been over .500 in the Big Ten since the 2008-09 season when the Nittany Lions defeated Minnesota on February 14, 2009, to improve to 7-6 in conference play.
The 2017-18 season marks the third time in the program's Big Ten era that the Nittany Lions have been over .500 after 13 conference games.
QUICK HITS
• For the second-straight game, Penn State will face an opponent on the same date exactly one year later. The Nittany Lions face the Illini on February 11, 2018, one year to the date after their meeting at State Farm Center in 2017.
Penn State and its last Big Ten foe, Maryland, played their games in 2017 and 2018 on February 7.
• Penn State has shot above 50 percent from the floor in 11 games this season.
• The Nittany Lions are 7-0 this season when sophomore forward Lamar Stevens is the team's leading scorer.
• Senior guard Shep Garner needs 16 points to tie Nittany Lion Tom Hovasse (1,459, 1985-89) and enter Penn State's career top 10 for scoring. Garner currently has 1,443 points.
SERIES VS. ILLINOIS
Penn State and Illinois have met on 44 previous occasions with the Illini holding a 28-16 overall lead. The Nittany Lions and Illini met on the same date, February 11, last year ,with Penn State coming away with an 83-70 win at the State Farm Center.
Penn State holds a 9-8 advantage in meetings in the last 10 seasons. In the last 10 meetings, each program has five wins.
Series streak: Penn State, W3
Overall series: Illinois leads 28-16
at Champaign: Illinois leads 14-6
Big Ten games: Illinois leads 28-13
GARNER APPROACHING TOP 10
Shep Garner's 22 points at Northwestern put the senior guard from Chester, Pa., over the 1,400-point mark for career points. Garner needs just 16 points to move into the top 10 of Penn State's all-time scoring list. He currently has 1,443 career points and moved up 10 spots this season after finishing his junior season at No. 21.
COUNTING 500 & MORE
Redshirt sophomore Mike Watkins became only the second sophomore in Penn State basketball history to achieve 500 career rebounds and is currently behind Nittany Lion great Jesse Arnelle who had 525 rebounds after his first two years.
Breaking Arnelle's 65-year-old record for rebounds in a freshman season, Watkins had 267 rebounds in his rookie campaign. Arnelle still holds the sophomore and senior season rebound records with 271 and 428, respectively, and stands at the top of the career rebound list with 1,238.