March 2, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals in the 21st Big Ten Tournament. The No. 7 seed Nittany Lions will face No. 2 Ohio State on Friday, March 2. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
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LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network, Steve Jones (pxp) and Dick Jerardi (analyst)
2017-18 Affiliates or online at GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
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PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
RECORD: 20-12, 9-9 Big Ten
2017-18 Leading Scorer:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 20.0 ppg
2017-18 Leading Active Rebounder:
#11 Lamar Stevens, So. F - 6.2 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 4.7 apg
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
RECORD: 24-7, 15-3 Big Ten
Coach: Chris Holtmann (1st year at Ohio State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer
#33 Keita Bates-Diop, RJr., F - 15.3 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#33 Keita Bates-Diop, RJr., F - 8.9 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#3 C.J. Jackson, Sr., G - 3.8 apg
OPENING TIP
Penn State won Big Ten Tournament games in consecutive years for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. The Nittany Lions, for the first time in its Big Ten era, have won tournament games in three of four seasons.
B1G HONORS
Four Nittany Lion individuals were recognized Feb. 26 as the Big Ten Conference office announced All-Big Ten end-of-season honors on the Big Ten Network.
All-Big Ten
Tony Carr 6-5 So. G
All-Defensive Team
Josh Reaves 6-4 Jr. G
Mike Watkins 6-9 RSo. F
Honorable Mention
Lamar Stevens 6-8 So. F
Mike Watkins 6-9 RSo. F
Sportsmanship Award
Julian Moore 6-10 Gr. F
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
The Nittany Lions are 4-3 under coach Patrick Chambers in New York City with a 2-2 mark at the Barclays Center and 2-1 record at Madison Square Garden.
The Nittany Lions visited New York City earlier this year when they played in Brooklyn's Barclays Center and split a pair of games in the Legends Classic. Penn State topped Pittsburgh 85-54 (11/20) and lost to then-16th-ranked Texas A&M 98-87 (11/21).
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Penn State men's basketball has played at Madison Square Garden 22 times, including 18 times at the current building. The Nittany Lions are 12-6 in MSG IV with their last win in the "Mecca" on Friday, March 1, 2018 vs. Northwestern in the first Big Ten Tournament played in New York City.
Coach Patrick Chambers is now 3-1 in MSG. On January 30, 2016, Penn State faced Michigan in the B1G Super Saturday event at MSG, falling 79-72 in the inaugural event. His first win at MSG came on January 15, 2011, when his Boston University Terriers defeated Albany 63-44.
Prior to its two trips to MSG in 2016, Penn State won five-straight games in NIT postseason play, including two wins vs. Notre Dame (67-59, 3/31) and vs. Baylor (69-63, 4/2) to claim the 2009 NIT championship.
Penn State has now played three Big Ten opponents in MSG in its history, and is 1-2 in those games with the win over Northwestern (W, 3/1/2018), Michigan (L, 1/30/2016) and Minnesota (L, NIT, 3/26/1998).