Penn State Meets Ole Miss in NYC in First NIT Season Tip-Off Game

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (5-0) joins millions of holiday travelers on the road this week when it heads to Brooklyn, N.Y., and the Barclays Center for two NIT Season Tip-Off games. The Nittany Lions play Ole Miss at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 27 in the first of two games in the doubleheader.
 
Oklahoma State and Syracuse meet in the late game with the winners of Wednesday's games advancing to the 9 p.m. ET game on Friday, Nov. 29 with the consolation game earlier in the 7 p.m. slot.
 
The Nittany Lions last played in the Barclays Center in the 2017 Legends Classic, defeating Pitt in the semifinal game and before falling to No. 19 Texas A&M in the final. The last meeting between Penn State and Ole Miss took place in Barclays Center in the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic on Nov. 20, 2013.
 
TICKETS TO NIT SEASON TIP-OFF
 
WATCH: ESPN2, WatchESPN.com and ESPN app
Doug Sherman (pxp) & Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
Affiliates: GoPSUsports.com/affiliates1920
Listen online: GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
 
SOCIAL: Twitter @PennStateMBB & @Coach_Chambers | Facebook | Instagram @PennStateMBB
ROSTER: Penn State  |  Ole Miss
SCHEDULE: Penn State  |  Ole Miss
STATS: Penn State  |  Ole Miss
GAME NOTES:  Penn State | Ole Miss
MEDIA GUIDE:  Penn State | Ole Miss
 
OLE MISS
Coach: Kermit Davis (Mississippi State, 1982)
Record at Ole Miss: 24-14 (Second season)
Career Record: 427-252 (22nd season)
2019-20 Record: 3-2, 0-0 Southeastern
Top Scorers
#4 Breein Tyree, Sr., G – 16.2 ppg
Top Rebounder                     
#5 KJ Buffen, So., F – 7.6 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#4 Breein Tyree, Sr., G –  3.8 apg
 
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 132-140 (9th season)
Career Record: 174-168 (11th season)
2018-19 Record: 5-0, 0-0 Big Ten
Top Scorer                            
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 16.8 ppg
Top Rebounder
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 8.4 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#0 Myreon Jones, So., G – 3.8 apg
 
STARTING 5
Penn State has opened its season with a 5-0 mark for the second time under Coach Patrick Chambers (last 2017-18) and the seventh time in its Big Ten era.

The come-from-behind victory over Yale was the 26th Penn State win after trailing at halftime in coach Patrick Chambers' tenure. It was his ninth victory at PSU after facing a double-digit deficit in the second half. The 16 points was the largest deficit in his tenure.

The Nittany Lions made history by opening their season with four-straight games with 80+ points. The previous long streak was three three times. 

Senior forward Lamar Stevens became one of only four Nittany Lions to amass 1500+ career points and 700+ career rebounds with a career-best 13 boards vs. Yale Saturday.

Penn State received 15 votes in the Nov. 25 USA Today basketball coaches poll and 10 votes in the Associated Press poll.
 
SERIES VS. OLE MISS
Ole Miss and Penn State meet for only the fourth time with all three previous meetings taking place in the last decade.
 
Series streak: Ole Miss, W3
Overall series: Ole Miss 3-0 (H: 1-0, A: 1-0, N: 1-0)
Last game: at University Park, Pa.
Ole Miss 79, Penn State 76, 11/30/2013
Chambers vs. Ole Miss: 0-2 (at Penn State)
Chambers vs. SEC: 1-6, 1-5 at Penn State
 
Date       Location           Result
11/26/2010 -- Oxford, Miss. – L, 71-84
12/4/2011 -- University Park, BJC --  L, 70-72
11/30/2013 -- Barclays Center Classic championship game – L, 76-79
 
STEVENS IN SELECT COMPANY
With a career-best 13 rebounds as part of his double-double with 13 points vs. Yale, Lamar Stevens became one of only four Nittany Lions with 1,500+ career points and 700+ career rebounds. He was the fastest Nittany Lion junior to 1,500 points and is the 14th Penn State player to collect 700 rebounds.

Individual (Years) – Points, Rebounds
Jesse Arnelle (1952-55) -- 2,138 points, 1,238 rebounds
Jamelle Cornley (2005-09) -- 1,579 points, 755 rebounds
Geary Claxton (2004-08) -- 1,542 points, 755 rebounds
Lamar Stevens (2016-present) – 1,744 points, 702 rebounds
 
NITTANY LIONS IN NOVEMBER
The Nittany Lions are 45-16 (.738) under coach Patrick Chambers in the month of November. Penn State has reached a program-high six wins in the month of November a total of five times in its history, four times since 2011.
 
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
The Nittany Lions have made a trip to play in New York in four of their last five seasons and are 18-12 in games played in the Big Apple. In 2017-18, Penn State made three appearances in NYC, culminating with the program's second National Invitation Tournament title.
 
Coach Patrick Chambers is 8-4 overall in games played in NYC (7-4 at Penn State). In his second year at Boston Univ., he defeated a team from New York state, Albany, 63-44, at Madison Square Garden.
 
THIRD TRIP TO BARCLAYS
This is Penn State's third trip to the Barclays Center since the arena opened in 2012. The Nittany Lions are 2-2 in the Barclays Center.
 
MARGIN OF SUCCESS
Penn State is one of four Big Ten teams ranked in the top 15 nationally (No. 15) in scoring margin at 22.0 points per game.
 
WIth a scoring average of 46.0 points in the second half of games, Penn State is the sixth-highest second half scoring team in the nation.

BY THE NUMBERS
3.40
3-point field goals made per game by sophomore guard Myles Dread, which leads the Big Ten and is 18th nationally.
 
4
Senior forward Lamar Stevens is one of only four Nittany Lions with 1,500+ career points and 700+ career rebounds.
 
10.4
Guard Izaiah Brockington, coming off the bench for the Nittany Lions, is one of five Nittany Lions averaging 10+ points per game.
 
17.6
Penn State has forced 17.6 turnovers per game, best in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are also tops in the league in steals and steals per game.
 
26
In the coach Patrick Chambers era, Penn State has 26 victories after trailing at the half.
 
The Nittany Lions have prevailed in nine games after falling behind by double digits in the second period
 
40
Penn State's class of 2020 earned a  top-40 ranking from 247Sports.
 
90
Senior forward Lamar Stevens has scored in double figures in 90 of his 109 career games.
 
761
With 761 career rebounds, senior forward Mike Watkins needs only one more to tie Gene Harris (1960-62) for fourth on Penn State's all-time list.
 
"HOME" COMING AT THE PALESTRA
Six Nittany Lions have ties to Philadelphia, as does coach Patrick Chambers, the all-time assists leader for Herb Magee at Philadelphia University. Penn State will play host to Iowa on Jan. 4, 2020, at The Palestra for a "home" game in Philadelphia. Tickets for this game are available for purchase at gopsusports.com/mbbphilly.
 
NITTANY LIONS ERASE DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICIT IN WIN
Down 16 with 9:21 remaining, Penn State used a 16-2 run over the final 5:38 to come from behind and defeat Yale, 58-56, Saturday at the BJC. Izaiah Brockington scored 13 of his team-best 15 points in the second half and had a key steal in the final 32 seconds.
 
Curtis Jones Jr. and Myles Dread drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Nittany Lions within one, 56-55, at the 1:41 mark and then Dread's fast break trey gave Penn State its only lead of the contest at 58-56 with 56 seconds left.
 
Stevens connected on four field goals to propel Penn State back into the game. The Nittany Lions' exceptional defensive effort held Yale scoreless the final 3:54 of the game and Stevens' first block and fast break layup sparked the team's comeback.
 
With his career-best 13 rebounds on the night, Stevens eclipsed the 700-career rebound mark and became one of only four Nittany Lions with at least 1500 points and 700 rebounds, joining Jesse Arnelle, Jamelle Cornley and Geary Claxton.
 
Stevens and Dread both added 13 points and Stevens added three blocks and three assists. Myreon Jones and Jamari Wheeler each had four steals, marking a career high for Myreon Jones.
 
Penn State managed nine field goals in the first half and was 9-33 (27.3%) from the field and 1-13 from three-point range.
 
Yale shot 43.1 percent for the game and made nine 3-pointers, but went 0-5 from the free throw line for the game and was 0-3 in the final 3:54 while Penn State went 5-5 in the second half.
 
Azar Swain had a game-high 23 points for Yale and Jordan Bruner had nine rebounds, all defensive, for the Bulldogs.


For more information about single-game tickets or the mobile flex plan for men's basketball, visit the online ticket information page or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
 
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, on Facebook and Instagram at @PennStateMBB.