CHICAGO – The Penn State men's basketball team has arrived in Chicago in preparation for the 22nd edition of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center. Penn State, the No. 10 seed, faces No. 7 seed Minnesota at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14 in second round action after earning a bye for the second-straight year.
The game will be broadcast on BTN and available online at FoxSportsGo.com and on the Fox Sports Go mobile app.
The Big Ten Tournament returns to Chicago for the first time since 2015 after the event was held in Indianapolis, Washington D.C. and New York City in the last three years. This will be the first time any member of the current Nittany Lion roster will play in the United Center.
Penn State is 14-21 overall in 21 Big Ten Tournament appearances and is 4-4 in second-round play. The Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers have three previous meetings in the Big Ten Tournament coming in 2014, 2010 and 2002, all favoring Minnesota.
The 2019 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, senior guard Josh Reaves posted a double-double featuring 11 rebounds and he scored a career-best 26 points in the regular-season finale vs. Illinois. The Fairfax, Virginia, native added four steals to his stat line to bring him to 247 career, five shy of tying the Penn State record held by Ron Brown (1971-74).
Penn State's leading scorer and rebounder Lamar Stevens, who earned All-Big Ten first-team honors from the league's coaches, had 16 points against the Illini. That total moved him to 1,636 career points, good for fifth on Penn State's all-time scoring list.
Stevens also recorded his second-straight season with 600 or more points, joining Talor Battle (2009, 2011) and Joe Crispin (2000, 2001) with two entries on the single-season top 10 chart.
WATCH: BTN
TALENT: Kevin Kugler (pxp), Jon Crispin (analyst) & Rick Pizzo (sideline)
STREAM/APP: FoxSportsGo
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
Affiliates:GoPSUsports.com/MBBAffiliates1819
Online: GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
Sirius 84 | XM 84 | Internet 84
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT TICKETS: All-session packages and single-session tickets for the 2019 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, held at the United Center in Chicago March 13-17, are available to the general public.
Tickets will be available at the United Center box office, Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Orders are limited to eight all-session tickets. For more information, visit BigTen.org/MBBT.
LIVE STATS: Penn State vs. 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 | Big Ten
MEDIA GUIDE: Penn State | Minnesota
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Coach: Richard Pitino (Providence, 2005)
Minnesota Record: 109-909 (6th season)
Career Record: 124-104 (7th season)
2018-19 Record: 19-12, 9-11 Big Ten
2018-19 Leading Scorer
#5 Amir Coffey, Jr., G – 16.0 ppg
2018-19 Leading Rebounder
#35 Jordan Murphy, Sr., F – 11.7 rpg
2018-19 Assists Leader
#5 Amir Coffey, Jr., G – 3.2 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 127-138 (8th season)
Career Record: 169-166 (10th season)
2018-19 Leading Scorer:
#11 Lamar Stevens, Jr., F - 19.8 ppg
2018-19 Leading Rebounder:
#11 Lamar Stevens, Jr., F – 7.8 rpg
2018-19 Assists Leader:
#23 Josh Reaves, Sr., G – 2.9 apg
PENN STATE STARTERS (LAST GAME)
F -- 11 -- Lamar Stevens – Jr. | 2018-19 ppg: 19.8 | rpg: 7.8
Note: All-B1G first-team selection; One of only two B1G players to rank in top 10 in scoring and rebounding; Ranks fifth on Penn State career scoring with 1,636 points.
F -- 21 – John Harrar – So. | 2018-19 ppg: 3.3 | rpg: 3.6
Note: Scored B1G career best 9 points vs. Maryland; Posted team-best field goal percentage of 62.5 in February; Did not have a single turnover in 7 February games
G – 2 – Myles Dread -- Fr. | 2018-19 ppg: 8.5 | rpg: 2.8
Note: Team-best 67 3-pt. field goals (2nd-highest total by Nittany Lion freshman behind Pete Lisicky's 68); First freshman to lead the team in 3-point field goals since Danny Morrissey in the 2004-05 season.
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- So. | 2018-19 ppg: 3.3 | rpg: 3.2
Note: Dished off for career-best nine assists vs. Illini to tie Nittany Lions' season high; Has 2.23 to 1 assist to turnover ratio in last 15 starts with 58 assists and 27 steals
G – 23 -- Josh Reaves -- Sr. | 2018-19 ppg: 10.5 | rpg: 4.9
Note: 2019 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and three-time B1G steals stat leader with 77 steals in 2018-19, 27 more than the next individual in the rankings; No. 2 on Penn State career steals list with 247.
SERIES vs. MINNESOTA
Minnesota has won all three meetings between the two teams in the Big Ten Tournament (2014, 2010 & 2002) and is 4-0 overall vs. Penn State in neutral site games.
The last three regular-season contests have been won by the Golden Gophers.
The last 10 seasons of meetings is on page 4 of the game notes with the full list on page 173 of the media guide.
Series streak: Minnesota, W3
Last game: at Minneapolis, Minn.
Minnesota 65, Penn State 64, 1/19/19
Overall series: Minnesota leads 35-14
At neutral sites: Minnesota leads 4-0
Chambers vs. Minnesota: 4-8
STARTING 5
No current member of the Nittany Lion roster has ever played in the United Center. The oldest member of the Penn State squad, Mike Watkins, was born in 1995, nearly one year after the United Center opened.
Kenpom.com has calculated Penn State's strength of schedule as the second-toughest in the nation. CBS Sports and ESPN rank the Nittany Lions' strength of schedule at No. 3 and CBS Sports has the nonconference SOS at No. 18.
Penn State went 7-3 in its final 10 Big Ten games, marking only the third time in program history it has won seven regular-season Big Ten games in a 10-game span (1996, 2018 & 2019).
Three of the last four games between Penn State and Minnesota have included a one-point win (Minnesota, 65-64, at the Barn, 1/19/19), an overtime game (Minnesota, 95-84 1OT, at the BJC, 1/15/18) and a 52-50 Nittany Lion win over No. 24 Minnesota (BJC, 1/14/17).
The 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Josh Reaves is the first Big Ten player to lead the league in steals in three consecutive years.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
According to kenpom.com, Penn State plays the second-toughest schedule in the nation. CBS Sports and ESPN.com have calculated the Nittany Lions' schedule at No. 3 with CBS rating the nonconference strength of schedule at No. 18. In the most recent NCAA NET rankings (thru games of 3/12/2019), Penn State, with a No. 49 NET ranking, has played six opponents with NET scores in the top 30 and eight in the top 50.
B1G POSTSEASON
Penn State is 14-21 overall in 21 tournament appearances and recorded wins in back-to-back opening round appearances in 2017 and 2018 for the first time since 2000 and 2001.
Coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions advanced to their second semifinals appearance in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden after defeating Northwestern and No. 13 Ohio State.
B1G STATEMENT
With five tournament wins in the last four Big Ten Tournaments, two wins in 2018 and 2015, with another in 2017, Chambers and the Nittany Lions not only have their most BTT wins in a four-year span since the tournament began, but Chambers tied Ed DeChellis (2003-11) for most Big Ten Tournament wins as a Penn State coach.
GOAT
Even though none of the current Nittany Lions have played at the United Center, "the house that Michael built," several chose the Chicago icon as their "GOAT" in a fun preseason questionnaire. LeBron James, though, won in the player voting 8-6 with a write-in for Kobe Bryant.
Nittany Lion – GOAT pick
Rasir Bolton – Michael Jordan
Izaiah Brockington – LeBron James
Trent Buttrick – Michael Jordan
Myles Dread – LeBron James
John Harrar – LeBron James
Grant Hazle – LeBron James
Myreon Jones – Michael Jordan
Daniil Kasatkin – Kobe Bryant
Kyle McCloskey – LeBron James
Taylor Nussbaum – Michael Jordan
Josh Reaves – LeBron James
Lamar Stevens – LeBron James
Mike Watkins – Michael Jordan
Jamari Wheeler – LeBron James
Deivis Zemgulis – Michael Jordan
Patrick Chambers – Michael Jordan
LIONS AT UNITED CENTER
Penn State is 5-9 at the United Center in Big Ten Tournament games and coach Patrick Chambers is 2-2 in games at the UC. The Nittany Lions' last trip to a Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in 2015 produced two wins.
Here's a look at how the Nittany Lions have fared at the United Center, with all appearances occurring in the Big Ten Tournament:
Year
Opponent, Result, Score
2015
Nebraska, W, 68-65
Iowa, W, 67-58
Purdue, L, 59-64
2013
#6 Michigan, L, 66-83
2007
Illinois, L, 60-66
2005
Ohio State, L, 69-72
2003
Indiana, L, 49-77
2001
Michigan, W, 82-80
Iowa, L, 74-94
2000
Michigan, W, 76-66
#4 Ohio State, W, 71-66
#25 Illinois, L, 84-94
1999
Northwestern, L, 44-54
1998
Wisconsin, L, 51-52
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
According to kenpom.com, Penn State plays the second-toughest schedule in the nation. CBS Sports and ESPN.com have calculated the Nittany Lions' schedule at No. 3 with CBS rating the nonconference strength of schedule at No. 18. In the most recent NCAA NET rankings (thru games of 3/12/2019), Penn State, with a No. 49 NET ranking, has played six opponents with NET scores in the top 30 and eight in the top 50.
NITTANY LIONS EARN TOURNAMENT BYE WITH SENIOR DAY WIN
Penn State recovered from a slow start in the first half to earn a 72-56 win over Illinois Sunday in the regular-season finale Sunday in the BJC. Led by Josh Reaves with a double-double featuring 11 rebounds and a career-best 26 points, Penn State outscored Illinois 41-24 in the second half after trailing by one at the break, 32-31.
Reaves and Lamar Stevens combined for 42 of the Nittany Lions' 72 points as Stevens had 16 points and six rebounds.
Penn State shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and held Illinois to 20.8 percent in the same timeframe. The Nittany Lions capitalized off 11 Illini second-half turnovers for 15 points.
Jamari Wheeler had a career-best nine assists as Penn State finished the game with 18, 10 on the 14 second-period baskets. Rasir Bolton had seven points and Myreon Jones and Mike Watkins each had five with 13 of those 17 coming in the second half.
The Nittany Lions opened the second half on a 16-5 run to take a 47-39 lead at the 14:29 mark and force an Illini timeout. Reaves had 11 points in the stretch fueled by three 3-pointers with layups by Watkins and Wheeler.
Over the next two minutes, layups by Watkins and Bolton gave PSU a double-digit lead it would hold for almost the rest of the game.
Deivis Zemgulis, who relinquished his senior day starting spot in a selfless effort for the good of the team, made the last basket of the game, a 3-pointer with an assist from Wheeler.
Reaves scored PSU's first five points, but the Nittany Lions faced a tough spell, going 4-14, including a 1-11 mark from behind the arc over the next seven minutes.
Penn State took a timeout at 9:22 after an 11-3 Illini run gave Illinois a 16-11 lead and then extended it to seven two more times. A John Harrar steal set up a Stevens' dunk for a tie at 25 with 3:33 to play.
Illinois responded with a 7-0 run over the next 66 seconds to swing the score back in its favor and had a 32-31 halftime lead. Both teams scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the half.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Ayo Dosunmu each had 16 points with Dosunmu grabbing eight rebounds for the Illini team best.
BY THE NUMBERS
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.
4 – Four consecutive seasons with six or more Big Ten Conference wins, a first-ever for the program. Coach Chambers has five seasons with six or more league wins,
most of any Penn State coach in the Big Ten era.
49 – Penn State's NCAA NET ranking through games of March 12.
247– Career steals by Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Josh Reaves. His is second on Penn State's career steals list with Ron Brown (1971-74) in the top spot with 252.
91.3 – In the last four seasons, Penn State has a winning percentage of 91.3 (42-4 record) when holding its opponent to a field goal percentage of 40 percent or less.
1,636 – Career points for junior forward Lamar Stevens who, with his 16 points vs. Illinois, is now ranked in Penn State's all-time top five scoring list. Stevens now also has two seasons with 600-plus points.
