March 16, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's basketball team travels to Notre Dame, Ind., for its second-round National Invitation Tournament game on Saturday, March 17, vs. top seed Notre Dame in the Joyce Center. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m.
WATCH: ESPN and WatchESPN
Roy Philpott (pxp) and Brooke Weisbrod (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network, Steve Jones (pxp) and Dick Jerardi (analyst)
2017-18 Affiliates or online at GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
FOLLOW: Twitter @PennStateMBB & @Coach_Chambers | Facebook | Instagram @PennStateMBB.
DIGITAL PROGRAM: NIT Digital Program
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
RECORD: 22-13, 9-9 Big Ten
Coach: Patrick Chambers (7th year at Penn State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 19.4 ppg
2017-18 Leading Active Rebounder:
#11 Lamar Stevens, So. F - 6.1 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 4.7 apg
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
RECORD: 21-14, 8-10 Atlantic Coast
Coach: Mike Brey (18th year at Notre Dame)
2017-18 Leading Scorer
#35 Bonzie Colson, Sr., F - 19.9 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#35 Bonzie Colson, Sr., F - 10.2 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#5 Matt Farrell, Sr., G - 4.3 apg
OPENING TIP
With the addition of the 63-57 win over Temple, 14 Penn State victories have come in 2017-18 when opponents have been held to fewer than 60 points by the defensive-minded Nittany Lions.
When keeping its opponents below 70 points, Penn State is 28-1 over the last two seasons.
SERIES RECORD VS. NOTRE DAME
This will be the first-ever game at Notre Dame for the Nittany Lions and Irish in men's basketball. Overall, Penn State and Notre Dame have met only four times and only twice in this century with the two earliest meetings in 1925 and 1954.
The Nittany Lions hold a 3-1 series advantage and a 2-1 lead in games played in postseason tournaments. Penn State and Notre Dame are tied 1-1 in NIT contests with the last meeting taking place in the semifinals of the Nittany Lions' 2009 NIT championship run.
Streak: Penn State, W1
Overall series: Penn State leads 3-1
at Notre Dame: The first-ever contest at Notre Dame, Ind.
QUICK HITS
• Coach Patrick Chambers is 1-0 on St. Patrick's Day in as a head coach, defeating Oregon State at Corvallis on March 17, 2010 in a first-round CBI game.
• The 2017-18 edition of the Nittany Lions broke Penn State's team scoring record with 2,600 points, to date, this season.
• Following all games completed March 15, Penn State is one of only 10 NCAA Division I teams that hasn't lost a game by more than 12 points in 2017-18. Other teams in its company include Duke, Purdue, Villanova and Virginia.
• Penn State won its first game of 2017-18 after trailing at halftime. The Nittany Lions were previously 0-8 when finding themselves behind at the break. Temple had a 29-24 lead over the Lions after two quarters on March 14, but Penn State used an 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter for the win.
• Senior guard Shep Garner just wants to keep playing. Garner scored a career-best 33 points to match his uniform number against No. 8 Purdue on 3/3, 18 coming in the second half. He had his first field goal, a trey, with 2:43 left in the game vs. Temple to tie the score at 54 then added another en route to his first postseason win.
• Tony Carr, recently honored as USBWA All-District and NABC District 7 first team, broke Talor Battle's sophomore scoring record (2009, 635 points) and has 640 to date. The total ranks seventh on Penn State's top 10 for single-season scoring.
GOOD COMPANY
As of March 15, Penn State is one of only 10 NCAA Division I teams that hasn't lost a game by more than 12 points in 2017-18. Other teams in its company include Duke, Purdue, Villanova and Virginia.
HIGH FIVE FOR 25
Penn State scored 70 or more points 25 times in 2017-18, the most games in a single season in program history.
Penn State averaged 75.3 points per game in the 31-game regular season and 72.1 ppg in Big Ten action (tied for third all-time in Nittany Lion league scoring averages). Both 2017-18 averages are the highest since that 2000-01 season.
PENN STATE IN THE NIT
Penn State is participating in its 11th National Invitation Tournament and is 23-9 overall with a 5-1 record in second-round games. Its last appearance was in 2009 when Penn State defeated Baylor 69-63 at Madison Square Garden for the championship.
The Nittany Lions' complete NIT history with records against all previous opponents is on page 94 of the 2017-18 media guide.