March 26, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's basketball team has arrived in New York City for its semifinal appearance in the National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The No. 4 seed Nittany Lions are the home team against No. 4 seed Mississippi State. Tipoff is approximately 9 p.m.
WATCH: ESPN and WatchESPN
Bob Wischusen (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Kris Budden (reporter)
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
MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS
RECORD: 25-11, 9-9 SEC
Coach: Ben Howland (3rd year at Mississippi State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer
#11 Quinndary Weatherspoon, Jr., G - 14.7 ppg
2017-18 Leading Rebounder:
#35 Aric Holman, Jr., F - 6.8 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#1 Lamar Peters, So., G - 4.1 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
RECORD: 24-13, 9-9 Big Ten
Coach: Patrick Chambers (7th year at Penn State)
2017-18 Leading Scorer:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 19.7 ppg
2017-18 Leading Active Rebounder:
#11 Lamar Stevens, So. F - 6.0 rpg
2017-18 Assists Leader:
#10 Tony Carr, So., G - 4.8 apg
OPENING TIP
Penn State is participating in its 11th National Invitation Tournament and is 24-9 overall with a 5-0 record in quarterfinal 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 is on page 98 of the 2017-18 media guide.
SERIES RECORD VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Tuesday night's meeting will be only the second in history for Penn State vs. Mississippi State in men's basketball. The Bulldogs won 58-57 in a game played on December 28, 1997, in El Paso, Texas.
Penn State faced one Southeastern Conference team in 2017-18 in Texas A&M, falling 98-87 in the sixth game of the season. The Nittany Lions and Aggies played the second game of the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on November 21.
Streak: Mississippi State, W1
Overall series: Mississippi State leads 1-0
at neutral sites: Mississippi State leads 1-0
QUICK HITS
• Shep "Madison Square" Garner has a way of rising to the occasion at the "World's Most Famous Arena." In seven games played at The Garden in his career, he averages 20.2 points a game and is connecting at a 52.6 clip. Sophomore guard Tony Carr has the second-best points-per-MSG game at 18.8.
• Garner has played in all 73 wins in his Nittany Lion career, the most victories in any four-year span since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1992-93.
• Carr, honored as USBWA All-District and NABC District 7 first team, broke Talor Battle's sophomore scoring record (2009, 635 points) and has 689 to date. The total ranks third on Penn State's top 10 for single-season scoring.
• Graduate student Julian Moore added his name to the Penn State record book with his 139th career game played, tops among all Nittany Lions and 15th among all active NCAA Division I players.
• Following all games completed March 23, Penn State is one of only five 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 and Villanova.
• Even with Penn State's top rim protector Mike Watkins out since the Feb. 21 game vs. Michigan, the Nittany Lions have broken the team single-season record for blocked shots with 186.
MILESTONES FOR CHAMBERS
Coach Patrick Chambers, in his seventh year, has achieved several milestones as leader of the Nittany Lions. He earned his 100th win at Penn State vs. Nebraska Jan. 12 and his 11th win over a ranked team over No. 13 Ohio State on March 2.
The Philadelphia, Pa., native and Hall of Fame Coach Herb Magee's all-time assists leader at Philadelphia University, Chambers led Penn State to its first 20-win season since 2008-09 and 10th in the program's history. This 2017-18 squad reached 21 wins faster than any other Nittany Lion team.
With the victory at Marquette, Chambers has 24 wins in 2017-18, most in a single season in his career. He is now 153-150 over nine years with seven seasons at Penn State and two 21-14 seasons at Boston University. Chambers is 6-3 in postseason games with a 4-1 mark at Penn State and 2-2 record at Boston U.
VERSUS THE SEC IN NIT
Mississippi State will be Penn State's fifth Southeastern Conference opponent in its 11 NIT appearances with a 2-2 record overall versus SEC foes. The Nittany Lions are 1-1 against SEC teams in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden.
IMPROVED ACCURACY AT MU
After four-straight games with less than 40 percent accuracy from the field, Penn State broke through with a 53.4 percent performance (31-58 FG) at Marquette on March 20.
That game field goal percentage ranks third-highest in the Nittany Lions' 34 NIT games and is the best at an opponents' venue.
27 GAMES WITH 70+ POINTS
Penn State has scored 70 or more points 27 times in 2017-18, the most games in a single season in program history.
Penn State averages 74.5 points per game through 37 games and averaged 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 the 2000-01 season.