MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Penn State men's basketball team has arrived in Minneapolis and will face Minnesota for an 8:30 p.m. ET matchup Saturday, Jan. 19 at Williams Arena. The game will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network.
Last season, Minnesota and Penn State met only once as the Golden Gophers won in overtime 95-84 in mid-January in the Bryce Jordan Center. Minnesota's two-straight wins in the series broke the Nittany Lions' four-game series win streak.
Over the last two games, senior guard Josh Reaves averaged 8.0 assists per game with a career-best nine against vs. then-No. 6 Michigan State and seven vs. No. 23 Iowa. The Fairfax, Virginia, native's stat line for those two games includes a scoring average of 13.5 points to go along with 4.5 steals per game.
Redshirt junior Mike Watkins continues to see his key numbers improve, and in the last five games, he averaged a double-double with 11.4 ppg and 10.8 rpg. Watkins went 5-5 from the field vs. the Hawkeyes and in his last five games, Watkins has a field goal percentage of 72.7 percent.
Sophomore guard Jamari Wheeler made his 11th start of the season vs. Iowa and recorded a career night with seven assists and connected for his first 3-point field goal in Big Ten action. From Live Oak, Fla., Wheeler is second on the team in steals behind Reaves.
WATCH: BTN
TALENT: Cory Provus (pxp) & Jon Crispin (analyst)
STREAM: BTN2Go.com (provider login required) and Fox Sports App
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
Affiliates:GoPSUsports.com/MBBAffiliates1819
Online: GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
Sirius 133 | XM 197 | Internet 957
LIVE STATS: Penn State at Minnesota
SOCIAL: Twitter @PennStateMBB & @Coach_Chambers | Facebook | Instagram @PennStateMBB.
ROSTER: Penn State | Minnesota
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Minnesota
STATS: Penn State | Minnesota
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Minnesota
MEDIA GUIDE: Penn State | Minnesota
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Coach: Richard Pitino (Providence, 2005)
Iowa Record: 103-82 (6th season)
Career Record: 121-96 (7th season)
2018-19 Record: 13-4, 3-3 Big Ten
2018-19 Leading Scorer
#5 Amir Coffey, Jr., G – 15.9 ppg
2018-19 Leading Rebounder
#35 Jordan Murphy, Sr., F – 11.6 rpg
2018-19 Assists Leader
#11 Isaiah Washington, So., G – 4.0 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 120-132 (8th season)
Career Record: 162-160 (10th season)
2018-19 Leading Scorer:
#11 Lamar Stevens, Jr., F - 18.1 ppg
2018-19 Leading Rebounder:
#24 Mike Watkins, R-Jr., F - 8.3 rpg
2018-19 Assists Leader:
#23 Josh Reaves, Sr., G - 3.7 apg
PENN STATE STARTERS (LAST GAME)
F -- 11 -- Lamar Stevens – Jr. | 2018-19 ppg: 18.1 | rpg: 8.0
Note: 71 career double-figure scoring games; 23rd career 20-plus point game (20) vs. MSU
F -- 24 – Mike Watkins – R-Jr. | 2018-19 ppg: 8.24 | rpg: 8.3
Note: Recorded 24th career double-double vs Iowa, third-highest career double-doubles total at Penn State since 1976-7 season; ranks in top 20 in five NCAA active career statistics
G – 2 – Myles Dread -- Fr. | 2018-19 ppg: 8.8 | rpg: 3.1
Note: 14 starts, most among the freshmen; Averaging 10.0 ppg in last 5 games
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- So. | 2018-19 ppg: 2.8 | rpg: 3.0
Note: Dished for career-best seven assists vs Iowa; Has 11 starts in 2018-19, second on team in steals with 19
G – 23 -- Josh Reaves -- Sr. | 2018-19 ppg: 10.5 | rpg: 4.6
Note: Averaged 8.0 assists per game in last 2 games (career-best 9 vs. Michigan State, 7 vs. Iowa); tied for third on PSU career steals list (218) and tied for ninth on Big Ten career steals list
SERIES RECORD vs. MINNESOTA
Minnesota snapped Penn State's four-game series win streak on Feb. 25, 2017 in Minneapolis and took a 95-84 overtime win in the BJC Jan. 15, 2018 for its second consecutive win. These two teams will face each other only once in the regular season for the second-straight year.
Meetings from the last 10 seasons are on page 4.The full series list is on page 173 of media guide.
Series streak: Minnesota, W2
Last game: at University Park, Pa.
Minnesota 95, Penn State 84, 1/15/18
Overall series: Minnesota leads 34-14
at Minneapolis: Minnesota leads 19-3
Chambers vs. Iowa: 4-7
STARTING 5
The Nittany Lions' overall strength of schedule ranks second according to kenpom.com and third as calculated by CBS Sports with a No. 31 rating for the nonconference strength of schedule.
Penn State had 23 assists on 30 field goals (76.6 ratio) vs. Iowa for both its highest total for the season and highest ratio since Dec. 30, 2017 vs. Coppin State (78.6, 22 assists on 28 baskets).
Senior guard Josh Reaves, with 218 career steals, is tied with Titus Ivory for the No. 3 spot on the PSU career steals list and with Ivory and Illinois' Kendall Gill for the Big Ten's No. 9 spot.
Mike Watkins currently ranks in the top 20 in five categories on the NCAA D-I active career list: 6th-blocked shots avg., 10th-FG pct., 13th-total blocked shots; 19th-double-doubles; 20th-rebound avg.
Junior forward and Julius Erving Award candidate Lamar Stevens has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, has six double-doubles and eight games with 20 or more points in 2018-19. He has started all 90 games in his career.
NO. 23 IOWA CLAIMS WIN IN FINAL MINUTES
In a down-to-the-wire game, No. 23 Iowa tied the contest at 82 with 2:02 remaining and won the game with a critical 3-point basket and four free throws for an 89-82 final. Josh Reaves and Rasir Bolton scored 16 points each to lead Penn State and Mike Watkins recorded his 24th career double-double with 11 points and rebounds.
Iowa took a seven point-lead 79-72 with 4:18 left in the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Reaves and a layup by Lamar Stevens put Penn State up 80-79 a little over a minute later. A free throw by Iowa's Connor McCaffery would tie the game and Luke Garza's trip to the line put Iowa up by one, 83-82, with 1:36 left in the game.
The second half see-sawed back and forth as the two teams exchanged leads seven times in the period with four ties. Penn State expanded its lead to eight, but a Jordan Bohannon triple and layups by Garza and Ryan Kreiner brought it back within a single point, 72-71, Penn State. McCaffery's layup gave Iowa it's largest lead of the second half before the Nittany Lions battled back to an even score 82-82.
Penn State took a five-point advantage, 45-40, at halftime and shot 50 percent from the field (18-36). Myles Dread helped the Nittany Lions to a quick start with three 3-pointers in 80 seconds as Penn State took an 8-0 and then 11-3 lead. Iowa tied the game at 20 midway through the first half and used three-straight 3-pointers to take a 29-20 advantage.
The Nittany Lions used a 11-4 run over the next two-and-half minutes to pull within two, 33-31 and then again at 35-37. Penn State's 10-3 run end the period sparked with a three-point play by Watkins and then seven-straight points form Bolton.
Garza finished the night with 22 points and 12 rebounds, topping the Hawkeyes' columns in both categories. Bohannan had 19 points with three of his five 3-pointers coming in the second half and six assists. Iowa had five players with double figures.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Penn State's overall strength of schedule ranks second, according to kenpom.com and third as calculated by CBS Sports. The nonconference strength of schedule is rated 31st.
2.85 – Team GPA for fall 2018 semester, highest single-semester GPA by the Nittany Lions in the Chambers era.
3 – Millions of dollars raised (net) by Coaches vs. Cancer-Penn State since the organization was launched in 1995.
8.0 – Over the last two games, Josh Reaves' is averaging eight steals per contest, 13.5 points and 4.5 steals per game.
10 – Ten of Mike Watkins' 24 career double-doubles have occurred in the month of January.
12 – 3-point field goals vs. Iowa, most in a single game this season.
23 – Season-best 23 assists total vs. Iowa, most in a regulation game since March 5, 2017 (at Iowa), with a 76.7 assist-to-field goal ratio.
