Penn State Plays Host to No. 4 Maryland in B1G Home Opener

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (7-2, 0-1) plays host to No. 4 Maryland (10-0, 1-0) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10 for the Nittany Lions' Big Ten Conference home opener in the Bryce Jordan Center. Doors open at 6 p.m.
 
December 10 is the earliest date Maryland and Penn State have played as conference foes in the Bryce Jordan Center. In the two teams' meetings in Big Ten play, seven of the last eight games in the series have been decided by seven points or less.
 
TICKETS:
Single-game tickets  |  Mobile Flex Plan
The Penn State Athletics Ticket Office at the Bryce Jordan Center opens three hours before tipoff on gameday.
 
PROMOTIONS:
Climb Diner – pregame crab fries for student season ticket holders (while supplies last)

DIGITAL PROGRAM

WATCH: ESPN2, WatchESPN.com and ESPN app
Bob Wischusen (pxp) & Dan Dakich (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
Affiliates: GoPSUsports.com/affiliates1920
Listen online: GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
 
LIVE STATS: Maryland at Penn State
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ROSTER: Penn State  |  Maryland
SCHEDULE: Penn State  |  Maryland
STATS: Penn State  |  Maryland
GAME NOTES:  Penn State | Maryland
MEDIA GUIDE:  Penn State | Maryland
 
MARYLAND
Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas, 1997)
Record at Maryland: 70-96 (Sixth season)
Career Record: 108-125 (Eighth season)
2019-20 Record: 10-0, 1-0 Big Ten
Top Scorers
#1 Anthony Cowan, Sr., G – 16.6 ppg
Top Rebounder                     
#25 Jalen Smith, So., F – 10.1 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#1 Anthony Cowan, Sr., G – 4.4 apg


PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 134-142 (Ninth season)
Career Record: 176-170 (11th season)
2019-20 Record: 7-2, 0-1 Big Ten
Top Scorer                            
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 16.8 ppg
Top Rebounder
#24 Mike Watkins, Sr., F – 9.2 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#0 Myreon Jones, So., G – 3.0 apg
 
STARTING 5
Tuesday's game marks the first time Penn State will host Maryland for a Big Ten Conference home opener. The home team in this series has won each of the last six games.
 
Coach Patrick Chambers has faced more ranked opponents (66), and defeated more ranked opponents (14) than any other Nittany Lion basketball coach.
 
The Nittany Lions have held seven of their nine opponents this season to 70 points or less and three opponents to less than 60 points.
 
Senior forwards Mike Watkins (808) and Lamar Stevens (726) have combined for 1,534 career rebounds. Watkins is currently No. 4 on Penn State's all-time rebounds list and Stevens needs two to move into PSU's career top 10.
 
Lamar Stevens was named to the USBWA's Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List last week. The senior forward is one of only two Nittany Lions with 1,800 career points and 700 career rebounds.
 
SERIES VS. MARYLAND
Seven of the last eight games in this series have been decided by seven points or less. Dec. 10 is the earliest the two institutions have met as league opponents.
 
Series streak: Penn State, W1
Overall series: Maryland leads 14-11*
In B1G: Maryland leads 5-3 (A: 1-3)
at University Park: Penn State leads 9-2
Last game: at University Park, Pa.
Penn State 76, No. 17 Maryland 61, 2/27/2019
Chambers vs. Maryland: 3-5
 
*The 1938 contest is listed as a Penn State win, but accounts differ as to whether or not the meeting was a game or exhibition.
 
B1G HOME OPENERS
Penn State is 9-18 in Big Ten home openers and welcomes No. 4 Maryland to the Bryce Jordan Center for its earliest appearance as a Big Ten opponent.
 
B1G Home Openers in the Chambers Era
Opponent -- Result -- Date
Purdue -- W, 65-45 -- 1/5/12
#5 Indiana -- L, 51-74 -- 1/7/13
#5 Michigan State -- L, 63-79 --12/31/13
Michigan -- L, 64-73 -- 1/6/15
Minnesota -- W, 86-77 -- 1/5/16
Northwestern -- L, 77-87 -- 12/27/16
Wisconsin -- L , 63-64 -- 2/4/17
Indiana -- L, 62-64 -- 12/4/18
#4 Maryland -- 12/10/19
 
The No. 24 Terrapins played host to the Nittany Lions for last season's Big Ten opener (Dec. 1, 2018) with Maryland winning 66-59.
 
B1G OPPONENTS AT HOME
Of the roster of Big Ten institutions, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have made the most appearances (4) as opponents for the Nittany Lions' conference home opener.
 
Opponent -- No. -- Last Time -- Note
Michigan -- 4 -- 2014-15 -- 1x Rec Hall
Minnesota -- 4 -- 2015-16
Wisconsin* -- 4 -- 2017-18 -- 2x Rec Hall
Indiana -- 3 --2018-19
Iowa -- 3 -- 2005-06
Northwestern -- 3 -- 2016-17
Purdue -- 3 -- 2011-12
Michigan State -- 2 -- 2013-14
Ohio State -- 1 -- 1992-93 -- Rec Hall
Maryland -- First -- 2019-20
 
*The 1995-96 Big Ten home "opener" for Penn State vs. Wisconsin on Jan. 7, 1996, was also the final game at Rec Hall. To add to that game's already historical significance, it was played during the "Blizzard of 1996."
 
CHAMBERS' RANKED WINS
Coach Patrick Chambers has 14 victories over Associated Press ranked teams with 11 occurring in the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
In guiding the Nittany Lions to 14 wins over Associated Press poll-ranked teams, coach Patrick Chambers has the most ranked wins of any Penn State men's basketball coach.
 
The most ranked teams any Nittany Lion basketball coach has faced in a single season is 11 by Ed DeChellis in 2010-11, and Chambers twice, in his inaugural campaign with the Nittany Lions in 2011-12 and again in 2018-19.

­­MIKE SWAT-KINS
Senior Mike Watkins, who stands second behind Calvin Booth on the Nittany Lions' all-time blocked shot list, hit the 200 career mark with his first block in the season opener vs. Maryland Eastern Shore, then added six more for seven total that night. He has 233, which currently ranks first among the NCAA's Division I active career leaders.
 
Watkins blocked 90 shots his freshman season (2.7 bpg) and owns a 2.4 per game career average (7th among NCAA Div. I career leaders), the second-highest career average in Penn State history.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2 -- Senior forward Lamar Stevens is two points from moving up to the No. 4 spot on PSU's all-time scoring list.
 
7 -- Seven of the last eight meetings vs. Maryland, all in B1G play, were decided by seven points or less.
 
16.0 -- The Nittany Lions force opponents into 16.0 turnovers per game, best in the Big Ten.
 
24 -- Penn State's rating on kenpom.com.
 
25 -- Senior forward Mike Watkins needs 25 points to become the 37th Nittany Lion to reach 1,000 career points. When Watkins reaches that mark, he will be only the third Nittany Lion with 1,000 career points and 800 rebounds.
 
40 -- Penn State's class of 2020 earned a top-40 ranking from 247Sports.
 
41.9 -- With an average of 41.9 rebounds per game, Penn State ranks 20th nationally in this category.
 
54 -- Penn State allowed Wake Forest only 54 points, tying the 2011 low opponent scoring total in the Nittany Lions' B1G/ACC Challenge games.
 
BROCKINGTON AND LUNDY COMBINE FOR 29 IN LOSS TO OSU
No. 6 Ohio State shot 57.4 percent and connected on 12 of their 14 3-pointers in the second half to take a 106-74 Big Ten win over Penn State.
 
Izaiah Brockington had a season-best 19 points and Seth Lundy contributed 10. Lamar Stevens, tagged with two first-half fouls, had 11 points. He played only 17 total minutes after picking up his fourth and fifth fouls in 32 seconds in the 13th minute of the second half.
 
Even with Stevens out of the game, the Nittany Lions cut the Buckeye lead to eight, 63-55, at the 12:45 of the second half. After an OSU timeout, the Buckeyes hit six of their next 3-pointers to power a 19-9 run over the six minutes to propel Ohio State to a 85-64 lead.
 
A 15-0 run over three minutes allowed the Buckeyes to further their lead to get to 100-64. Baskets by Brockington, Myreon Jones and Trent Buttrick in the last two minutes pushed the Nittany Lions over the 70-point mark.
 
The Nittany Lions were unable to overcome a slow start, shooting 28 percent from the field, followed by a five-minute scoring drought.
 
In the last 4:58 of the first half, Brockington scored seven points, Lundy connected for a triple and Myles Dread and Jamari Wheeler both hit two free throws get Penn State within seven. Stevens added a bucket to get to nine points before the break with Ohio State up 46-35 at the half.
 
Ohio State's Kaleb Wesson finished the afternoon with a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, going 9-16 from the field, and Andre Wesson had 15 points. Kaleb Wesson, Luther Muhammad, and Duane Washington, Jr. each had four 3-pointers for the Buckeyes.