Feb. 26, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's basketball team saw four individuals honored on Monday evening as the Big Ten Conference office announced All-Big Ten end-of-season honors on the Big Ten Network.
Sophomore guard Tony Carr highlighted the announcement as the sophomore guard was named to the All-Big Ten first team by both the league coaches' selection and the media selection. This is marks the first time a Nittany Lion has found themselves on both first-team's since 2009.
Carr led the Big Ten in scoring in conference games at 20.1 ppg, and led all scorers throughout the entirety of the regular season at 19.6 ppg. He finished fifth in the league with 4.9 assists per game, and was second in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.6. The Philadelphia, Pa., native scored in double figures in all but two games on the year with 11 games with 20 points or more and four games with 30 or more points.
Sophomores Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades.
Stevens is second on the Nittany Lion team in points per game (15.3), rebounds per game (6.2), and minutes per game (32.8), and was third in the assists category (56). The 6-8 sophomore forward also started every game for the blue and white, was the leading scorer seven times, and recorded two double-doubles on the year.
Watkins leads Big Ten in field goal percentage (third nationally) at 68.5 from field (146-213) and set Penn State single-season record. The 6-foot-9 forward averages a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game, and recorded 12 double-doubles on the season. He also became only the second Nittany Lion sophomore to reach the 500-rebound milestone.
Junior guard Josh Reaves and Watkins were selected to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.
Watkins is the team's leading shot blocker with 68 blocks on the year, while averaging 6.9 defensive rebounds per game.
Reaves leads the Big Ten in steals (56) and steals per game (2.2) for the second-straight year, and in the final game of the regular season, he tallied a career-best seven steals, the most by a Penn State player since 2007. The Fairfax, Va., native is second on team in both field goal percentage and assists, and eighth in the league with 2.52 assist to turnover ratio.
Penn State had three players earn All-Big Ten recognition for the first time since 2008-09, when Talor Battle (first-team), Jamelle Cornley (second-team) and Stanley Pringle (honorable-mention) were selected.
Carr is the seventh Nittany Lion to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors (eight selections). He joins Talor Battle, in 2008-09, as the only sophomore to be named to the first team. Carr joins previous Nittany Lion first-team honorees: John Amaechi (1994-95), Matt Gaudio (1995-96), Jarrett Stephens (1999-2000), Joe Crispin (2000-01), Talor Battle (2008-09 and 2010-11) and Tim Frazier (2011-12).
Stevens and Watkins earned their first All-Big Ten recognitions.
Reaves and Watkins give Penn State two members on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team for the first time ever. Tim Frazier was selected to the squad in 2012.
Senior Julian Moore was named the Penn State 2017-18 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree.
Penn State (19-12, 9-9) is the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament presented by SoFi and will face No. 10 seed Northwestern in Thursday's second round at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Thursday's contest will begin at 6:30 p.m. and air on the Big Ten Network, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. The winner advances to Friday night's quarterfinals vs. 16th ranked, and No. 2 seed, Ohio State, at 6:30 p.m.
All-session and single-session tickets are available at the Madison Square Garden box office, Ticketmaster.com and MSG.com or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Orders are limited to eight tickets per session.
Led by coach Patrick Chambers, Penn State has earned its most overall wins (19) and Big Ten wins (9-9), its best Big Ten record and finish (T 6th), and conference tournament seed, since the 2010-11 squad was the No. 6 seed and won three contests to advance to the championship game.
For more information on the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, go to www.BigTen.org/MBBT. For information or to make a 2018-19 Penn State men's basketball season ticket deposit, fans should go to: nittanylionfeedback.com/se/3FF63F244373D7BF or call 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
For more information on the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, go to www.BigTen.org/MBBT.
For information or to make a 2018-19 Penn State men's basketball season ticket deposit, fans should go to: nittanylionfeedback.com/se/3FF63F244373D7BF or call 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, liking the team's page on Facebook and following the team Instagram account at @PennStateMBB.