UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 20 Penn State men's basketball team (10-2, 1-1) closes the nonconference portion of its schedule with Cornell (1-9) with a noon ET game on Sunday, Dec. 29 in the Bryce Jordan Center. Cornell is coached by Brian Earl, younger brother of Nittany Lion four-year starter and two-time All-Big Ten selection Dan Earl (1993-99).
Penn State holds the advantage in the series at 6-5 with a 5-0 mark against the Big Red in home games.
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ROSTER: Penn State | Cornell
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GAME NOTES: Penn State | Cornell
MEDIA GUIDE: Penn State | Cornell
CORNELL
Coach: Brian Earl (Princeton, 1999)
Record at Cornell: 36-62 (Fourth season)
Career Record: Same
2019-20 Record: 1-9, 0-0 Ivy League
Top Scorers
#3 Jimmy Boeheim, Jr., F – 19.3 ppg
Top Rebounder
#3 Jimmy Boeheim, Jr., F – 6.2 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#22 Josh Warren, Sr., F – 3.9 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 137-142 (Ninth season)
Career Record: 179-170 (11th season)
2019-20 Record: 10-2, 1-1 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 16.2 ppg
Top Rebounder
#24 Mike Watkins, Sr., F – 9.3 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#0 Myreon Jones, So., G – 3.3 apg
STARTING 5
Penn State has reached double figures in wins (10) before the end of the calendar year for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
Cornell head coach Brian Earl is the younger brother of four-year Nittany Lion starter, two-time All-Big Ten selection Dan Earl (1993-99).
Penn State is 8-0 in the Bryce Jordan Center and 7-0 against non-conference opponents this season. PSU is 60-9 in under coach Patrick Chambers against non-league foes at home for a winning percentage of 87 percent.
Senior forward Mike Watkins added five blocks to his milestone scoring stat line last Friday and maintains his lead over all NCAA Division I active career players with 244 career blocks.
With a share of the team-best 28 3-point field goals, guard Myreon Jones surpassed his 2018-19 season total and has nearly tripled his playing time compared to 2018-19 (30.0 to 10.7 mpg). The sophomore has more than tripled his scoring average and has a team-high 40 assists.
SERIES VS. CORNELL
Sunday's game will be the third time Penn State plays Cornell in the coach Patrick Chambers era. Cornell and Penn State played intermittently, with a first meeting in 1898, PSU's second season, with five contests through December 1941. Three games took place in the early 1970s.
Series streak: Penn State, W3
Overall series: Penn State leads 6-5
at University Park: Penn State leads 5-0
Last game: at Charleston Classic, Charleston, S.C.
Penn State 72, Cornell 71, 12/22/2014
Chambers vs. Cornell: 3-0 (1-0 BU, 2-0 PSU)
BY THE NUMBERS
2 -- Lamar Stevens is one of only two active NCAA student-athletes with at least 1,800 career points and 750 career rebounds.
4 -- Including 10 victories in 2019, Patrick Chambers has reached a double-digit wins mark by the end of December in four of the last six seasons.
5 -- Stevens led or shared the lead for Penn State in five key statistics in the Alabama win: scoring (18-tied), rebounds (11), assists (6), blocks (5) and steals (2-tied).
18 -- The Nittany Lions debuted, and are currently ranked, at No. 18 in the NCAA NET ratings.
21 -- The Nittany Lions scored 21 first-half baskets Dec. 20, the most in any half in the Chambers era.
24 -- Penn State had 24 assists last Friday vs. Central Conn. State, most in a regulation game since recording 25 vs. Longwood on Nov. 24, 2013.
40 -- Penn State's class of 2020 earned a top-40 ranking from 247Sports.
80 -- Thanks to Mike Watkins' 45 blocked shots so far this season, Penn State leads the Big Ten with 80, 16 more than the next highest team total.
UNDER 40
Penn State has won 92.4 percent of its games with a 49-4 record in the last four years (2015-present) when it holds its opponent to a field goal percentage of less than 40 percent.
Season – Opponents < 40% – Record
2019-20 -- 7-- 7-0
2018-19 -- 9 -- 8-1
2017-18 -- 15 -- 15-0
2016-17 -- 10 -- 9-1
2015-16 -- 12 -- 10-2
Total 53 (49-4 record)
Since the start of the coach Patrick Chambers era in 2011-12, Penn State is 85-19 when holding opponents to a field goal percentage below 40 percent for an 81.7 winning percentage.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
In 2018-19, the Nittany Lions kept 25 of their 32 opponents below their scoring averages (entering the game), holding 13 teams below their average by double digits. Two teams were held 20 points below their scoring averages.
Penn State retains that defensive edge at the start of 2019-20, forcing 15.75 turnovers per game, the best mark in the Big Ten. Nine teams during the season have been held below their respective scoring averages, not including UMES in the season opener, and nine of the 12 opponents have been held to 70 points or less per game.
WATKINS AMONG LION ELITE
Tallying his 1000th career point in the Central Connecticut game, Mike Watkins became the 37th member of the 1,000-point scoring club, but he also became one of only three Nittany Lions with at least 800 rebounds to go along with that scoring milestone.
He joins Jesse Arnell (1952-55) with 2,138 career points and 1,238 career rebounds and Mike Lang (1980-83) with 1,014 career points and 912 career rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: WATKINS SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT IN 12TH-STRAIGHT HOME WIN
Penn State extended its home winning streak to 12 games with an 87-58 win over Central Connecticut State on Dec. 20. On his second basket, Mike Watkins became the 37th Nittany Lion to join the 1,000-point club.
With his 1,000 career points, Watkins became just the third Nittany Lion in program history (Jesse Arnelle-1952-55 and Mike Lang-1980-83) with 1,000 points and 800 rebounds in a career. He finished the night with eight points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Penn State made its first 11 shots including its first five from beyond the arc and grabbed a 29-12 lead just 8:25 into the game.
Myreon Jones paced the Nittany Lions with a game-best 21 points for his third career game with 20 or more points. He went 8-12 from the field with a perfect 3-3 from three-point range in the first half added five assists and two steals. He scored eight of his 11 first-half points in the first 3:46.
Eight different Nittany Lions scored in the first 20 minutes and Penn State closed the first half at a 61.8 percent clip from the field for a 51-31 halftime lead over the Blue Devils.
Izaiah Brockington and Lamar Stevens also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jamari Wheeler had seven of Penn State's season-high 24 assists.
Penn State maintained the double-digit lead throughout the second half as Myreon Jones scored 10 points and Trent Buttrick eight in the second half.
Freshman Greg Outlaw scored 14 points to lead Central Connecticut State and junior Stephane Ayangma had nine. The two shared the team lead with six rebounds each.
