Midweek Matchup Brings Rutgers to Face No. 16 Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (20-7, 10-6) meets Rutgers (18-10, 9-8) at 7:00 p.m. ET game Wednesday, Feb. 26, in the Bryce Jordan Center. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. for the second of the teams' two meetings this year.
 
Of the current Big Ten opponents, Penn State and Rutgers have the most previous meetings with 75. Neither team has won two straight games in the series since 2017.
 
PROMOTIONS:
Climb Diner for student season ticket holders: Chicken tenders, while supplies last
Halftime: Continental Tire Dunk Show
Postgame: Autograph session with sophomore guard Myles Dread
 
TICKETS:
Student tickets are $5 each. Fans can purchase single-game tickets for Wednesday night's game and for the final home game of the season next Tuesday vs. Michigan State.
 
Student season ticket holders may enter Gate A beginning at 5:45 p.m. Gates B,C and D will open at 6 p.m.
 
TICKET OFFICE:
The Bryce Jordan Center Athletics Ticket Office will open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
 
DIGITAL PROGRAM

WATCH: BTN and Fox Sports mobile app
Jason Horowitz (pxp) & Shon Morris (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
Affiliates: GoPSUsports.com/affiliates1920
Listen online: GoPSUsports.com/lionvision
SiriusXM | Sirius  83 | XM  83 | Internet  83
 
LIVE STATS: Rutgers at Penn State
SOCIAL: Twitter @PennStateMBB | Facebook | Instagram @PennStateMBB
ROSTER: Penn State  |  Rutgers
SCHEDULE: Penn State  |  Rutgers
STATS: Penn State  |  Rutgers
GAME NOTES:  Penn State | Rutgers
MEDIA GUIDE:  Penn State | Rutgers
 
RUTGERS
Coach: Steve Pikiell (Connecticut, 1990)
Record at Rutgers: 62-64 (Fourth season)
Career Record: 254-220 (15th season)
2019-20 Record: 18-10, 9-8 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#24 Ron Harper Jr., So., F – 12.2 ppg
Top Rebounder                     
#15 Myles Johnson, So., C – 7.9 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#0 Geo Baker, Jr., G – 3.6 apg
 
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 147-146 (Ninth season)
Career Record: 189-174 (11th season)
2019-20 Record: 20-7, 10-6 Big Ten
Top Scorer                            
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 18.0 ppg
Top Rebounder
#24 Mike Watkins, Sr., F – 7.8 rpg
Top Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Jr., G – 3.1 apg
#0 Myreon Jones, So., G – 3.0 apg
 
STARTING 5
Senior forward Lamar Stevens, with 1,208 career points in Big Ten play, needs one point to tie and two points to claim Penn State's league scoring record, held by Talor Battle with 1,209 (2007-11).
 
Stevens moved to the No. 2 spot on Penn State's all-time scoring list on Sunday, now with 2,145 career points. He needs 69 points to move to No. 1 spot, held by Talor Battle (2,213 points; 2007-11).
 
Coach Patrick Chambers was named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late 2020 Season Watch List. Chambers has guided Penn State to 20 wins this season, reaching that mark by Feb. 15, the earliest, by date, the Nittany Lions have won 20 games.
 
No. 16 Penn State maintained a spot in the AP top 25 poll for the fifth-straight week. The nine appearances in the top 25 in 2019-20 are one shy of the program-best 10 during the 1995-96 season.
 
The Nittany Lions' 1,159 points in Big Ten play this season place 2019-20 in 10th overall for total points. Penn State's current 72.4 points per game average in conference play would be third.
 
SERIES VS. RUTGERS
Neither team has won two games in a row in this season since Penn State won the final meeting of 2015-16 (2/20/16) and first of 2016-17 (1/1/17).
 
Of the current Big Ten opponents, Penn State and Rutgers have the most previous meetings with 75.
 
Series streak: Rutgers, W1
Overall series: Rutgers leads 42-33
at University Park: 26-10
Last game: at Piscataway, N.J.
Rutgers 72, Penn State 61, 1/7/2020
Chambers vs. Rutgers: 5-4
 
20 WINS, 10 B1G WINS
With 20 overall wins and 10 Big Ten wins in 2019-20, it marks only the third time since 1992-93, Penn State's Big Ten era, that it has recorded those totals.
 
Season -- B1G Record -- Overall Record
1995-96 -- 12-6 -- 21-7
2008-09 -- 10-8 -- 27-11
2019-20 -- 10-6 -- 20-7
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Penn State has a 13-2 mark in the Bryce Jordan Center in 2019-20, tied with three other Nittany Lion teams for third all-time with 13 home wins in a single season.
 
1 -- 17 in 2008-09
2. -- 15 in 2017-18
3. -- 13 in 2019-20, 2007-08, 1999-00 & 2010-11
 
ON THE DEFENSIVE
In 2018-19, the Nittany Lions kept 25 of 32 opponents below their scoring averages (entering the game), holding 13 teams below their average by double digits and two teams 20 points below.
 
Penn State retains that defensive edge in 2019-20, as 18 teams during the season have been held below their respective scoring averages, not including UMES in the season opener, five by double digits. Eighteen of the 27 opponents have been held to 70 points or less.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1 -- Senior forward Lamar Stevens needs one point to tie Penn State's record of 1,209 career points in Big Ten play, a mark held by Talor Battle.
 
3 -- The Nittany Lions are one of only three teams in program history with at least 10 Big Ten Conference wins (10: 2019-20, 2008-09; 12: 1995-96).
 
4 -- Four Nittany Lions are averaging in double figures in seven February games: Stevens-21.6; M. Jones-16.5; Watkins-10.0; Dread-10.0.
 
15 -- With 15 more points, senior forward Lamar Stevens will become one of only three Nittany Lions with three seasons with at least 500 points.
 
60 -- Wins over the last three seasons (2017-18 through present) under coach Patrick Chambers, the highest total in any three-span since Penn State joined the Big Ten (1992).
 
68.4 -- Field goal percentage (26-38 FG-A) by junior forward John Harrar in his 11 starts this season.
 
2,054 -- Points scored by the Nittany Lions in 2019-20, surpassing the 2,000-point mark in the regular season for the seventh-straight year.
 
STEVENS SCORES 29, BUT PSU RALLY FALLS SHORT AT IU
Lamar Stevens led all scorers with 29 points and moved into second place all-time on Penn State's career scoring list, but PSU fell in a tough Big Ten road matchup at Indiana, 68-60.
 
Penn State erased a 13-point halftime deficit as 10-of-12 shooting from the field fueled a 24-5 run after halftime gave PSU a 48-42 lead at the 12:17 mark. Myles Dread made a pair of three-pointers and scored his 10 points during the run.
 
Indiana responded with a rally of its own to retake the lead 55-48, but Penn State had two field goals and added two free throws to trim to the Hoosier lead down to 57-54 with 4:17 to play.
 
The Nittany Lions outscored the Hoosiers 36-31 in the second half, but couldn't get any closer than five in the final 3:15. Indiana made no field goals, but had nine free throws in the final two minutes.
 
The Hoosiers made their first five shots of the game to grab a 14-5 lead. PSU went without a field goal for over six minutes after an early 4-4 tie.
 
Indiana's strong shooting took the lead to 24-8 after Stevens went picked up his second personal foul at 10:40 and the Nittany Lions had turnovers on back-to-back possessions. PSU countered with a 10-2 spurt to bring the score to 26-18 with 4:31 before the break.
 
Hoosier Devonte Green hit three three-pointers during a 11-0 Indiana scoring stretch to for a 37-28. Penn State, though, rattled off six-straight points to cut the lead to 37-24 headed into halftime.
 
Aljami Durham led three Hoosiers in double figures with 14 points while Trayce Jackson-Davis had 13 points and tied for a share of the rebounding lead with 10.