UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (7-1) opens Big Ten Conference play with one of two early December league games. The Nittany Lions travel to No. 6 Ohio State (8-0) for a noon ET tipoff on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Value City Arena.
Five of the last six meetings between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes have been decided by four points or less. Ohio State came away with a 74-70 win at Value City Arena in the only time the two teams played in 2018-19.
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ROSTER: Penn State | Ohio State
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Ohio State
STATS: Penn State | Ohio State
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Ohio State
MEDIA GUIDE: Penn State | Ohio State
OHIO STATE
Coach: Chris Holtmann (Taylor, 1994)
Record at Ohio State: 53-24 (Third season)
Career Record: 167-109 (Ninth season)
2019-20 Record: 8-0, 0-0 Big Ten
Top Scorers
#34 Kaleb Wesson, Jr., F – 12.4 ppg
Top Rebounder
#34 Kaleb Wesson, Jr., F – 9.3 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#13 CJ Walker, R-Jr., G – 3.1 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 134-141 (Ninth season)
Career Record: 176-169 (11th season)
2019-20 Record: 7-1, 0-0 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 17.5 ppg
Top Rebounder
#24 Mike Watkins, Sr., F – 10.0 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#0 Myreon Jones, So., G – 3.4 apg
STARTING 5
Penn State is ranked fourth nationally in rebounds per game (44.0) after back-to-back games with at least 50 team rebounds (57 vs. Syracuse & 52 vs. Wake Forest).
The Nittany Lions have held seven of their eight opponents this season to 70 points or less and three opponents to less than 60 points.
Senior forward Mike Watkins collected his 800th career rebound in the second half of the Wake Forest win Wednesday. He is one of only four Nittany Lions with 800 or more career boards.
For the second-straight year, Myreon Jones was the Nittany Lions' leading scorer in their B1G/ACC Challenge win with a career-best total. The sophomore guard had 22 points vs. the Deacs Wednesday and 18 in last season's victory over No. 13 Virginia Tech.
Lamar Stevens was named to the USBWA's Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List Thursday. The senior forward is 13 points away from the No. 3 spot on Penn State's all-time scoring list.
SERIES VS. OHIO STATE
Five of the last six games between PSU and OSU have been decided by four points or less.
Series streak: Ohio State, W1
Overall series: Ohio State leads 38-18
Last game: at Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State 74, Penn State 70, 2/7/2019
Chambers vs. Ohio State: 5-8
Date, Location, Result
3/10/2016, Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, L, 75-79
2/28/17, Home, University Park, Pa., L, 70-71
1/25/2018, Away, Columbus, Ohio, W, 82-79
2/15/2018, Home, University Park, Pa., W, 76-53
3/2/2018 , Big Ten Tournament, New York City (MSG), W, 69-68
2/7/2019, Away, Columbus, Ohio, L, 70-74
B1G OPENERS
Penn State is 7-20 in Big Ten Conference openers and coach Patrick Chambers has a 1-7 record in league openers at Penn State.
The sixth-ranked Buckeyes will be the sixth ranked team Penn State will face in a league-opening game since 2011.
The first year of early December Big Ten Conference games in 2017-18 sent Penn State to Iowa and gave the Nittany Lions their first conference-opening win under coach Patrick Chambers.
B1G ROAD TRIPPING
Including Saturday's game at Ohio State, the Nittany Lions under coach Patrick Chambers will have opened league play on the road for seven of his nine seasons.
CHAMBERS RANKED WINS
Coach Patrick Chambers has 14 victories over Associated Press ranked teams with five of those coming vs. Ohio State.
Rank – Opponent – Score -- Date
8 -- Ohio State -- 79-56 -- 2/15/18
13 -- vs. Ohio State -- 69-68 -- 3/2/18
13 -- at Ohio State -- 82-79 -- 1/25/18
22 -- Ohio State -- 65-63 -- 2/27/14
23 -- at Ohio State -- 71-70ot -- 1/29/14
BY THE NUMBERS
4
With the 11th of his 16 rebounds vs. Wake Forest, Watkins became one of only four Nittany Lions with 800 or more career rebounds.
He currently has 805 behind Ross Travis, who ranks third (816).
13 -- WIth 1,800 career points, senior forward Lamar Stevens is 13 points from the No. 4 spot on Penn State's all-time scoring list.
16.9 -- The Nittany Lions force opponents into 16.9 turnovers per game, best in the Big Ten.
40 -- Penn State's class of 2020 earned a top-40 ranking from 247Sports.
44.0 -- With an average of 44.0 rebounds per game, Penn State ranks fourth nationally in this category.
The 9.1 rebound margin ranks 21st.
54 -- Penn State allowed Wake Forest only 54 points in Wednesday's win, tying the 2011 low opponent scoring total in the Nittany Lions' B1G/ACC Challenge games.
969 -- Career points by senior forward Mike Watkins, just 31 away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone.
Watkins, MYREON JONES TEAM UP FOR Lions SEVENTH WIN
Mike Watkins pulled down a game-best 16 rebounds to put him over the 800-career rebound mark in Penn State's 76-54 win over Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Nittany Lions topped the Demon Deacons with a 22-point margin of victory, the largest in its 19 Big Ten/ACC Challenge games.
Myreon Jones scored a career-best 22 points, 16 in the first half, to lead three Nittany Lions in double figures. Lamar Stevens finished with 14 points and Izaiah Brockington added 13. Watkins had seven points on the night with his 800th career rebound coming at the 13:12 mark of the second half.
While the offense was potent in the first half, it was the Nittany Lions' defense that created havoc for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons managed only 54 points, tying the lowest total (2011) by an opponent in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game.
The Nittany Lions held Wake Forest to 29 percent shooting from the field and forced 20 turnovers. Watkins had five of Penn State's six blocked shots to go along with three steals. Stevens tied his career best with four steals and had seven rebounds.
Penn State built a quick double-digit lead in the first half behind Myreon Jones who had 13 points in 13 minutes. He went 6-8 with three 3-pointers. The Nittany Lions used an 11-1 run late in the half to take a 41-23 lead into the locker room.
Penn State dominated on the glass with a 52-33 rebound margin and scored 40 points in the paint compared to Wake Forest's 18.
Wake Forest's Olivier Sarr had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to lead the Demon Deacons in both categories.
