UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 16 Penn State men's basketball team (21-7, 11-6) heads to No. 18 Iowa (19-9, 10-7) for the second meeting between the two teams this season. The noon ET game on Leap Day, Saturday, Feb. 29 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network. Kevin Kugler and Stephen Bardo will call the action from Iowa City, Iowa.
Penn State's last trip to Iowa was on Dec. 2, 2017, the first of two early Big Ten Conference games that season, and marked first win for the Nittany Lions at Iowa City since 2001.
Penn State, playing its ninth game in the month of February on Saturday, competes on Leap Day for the ninth time in its history (6-2).
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Kevin Kugler (pxp) & Stephen Bardo (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
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IOWA
Coach: Fran McCaffery (Penn, 1982)
Record at Iowa: 193-141 (10th season)
Career Record: 444-318 (24th season)
2019-20 Record: 19-9, 10-7 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#55 Luka Garza, Jr., C – 23.6 ppg
Top Rebounder
#55 Luka Garza, Jr., C – 9.6 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#30 Connor McCaffery, R-So., G – 3.9 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 148-147 (Ninth season)
Career Record: 190-175 (11th season)
2019-20 Record: 21-7, 11-6 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 17.6 ppg
Top Rebounder
#24 Mike Watkins, Sr., F –7.7 rpg
Top Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Jr., G – 3.3 apg
#0 Myreon Jones, So., G – 3.0 apg
STARTING FIVE
Penn State is 6-2 all-time on Leap Day.
Senior forward Lamar Stevens became Penn State's Big Ten career scoring leader, passing Talor Battle for that record (1,209) in the first half of Wednesday's victory. Stevens now has 1,217 career points in his 73 Big Ten games (16.7 ppg).
Penn State won its eighth contest of 2019-20 by single digits Wednesday, its fifth win decided by five points or less. The Nittany Lions were 6-13 games decided by single-digits in 2018-19 and 2-8 in games of five points or less
Coach Patrick Chambers, named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late 2020 Season Watch List, is one of two Nittany Lion coaches, Jerry Dunn (1996 & 2001) the other, who recorded two seasons of at least 21 wins in Penn State's Big Ten era.
Providing a scoring spark off the bench, sophomore guard Izaiah Brockington registered his fourth game this season as the Nittany Lions' leading scorer with a game-high 16 points in Wednesday's win.
Penn State plays at Iowa for the first time since December 2, 2017, the year the Big Ten debuted a schedule with two early league games. The Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes square off in their second meeting as ranked teams this season and third in history (Feb. 3, 1996, No. 10 PSU 95, No. 19 Iowa 87 in OT).
SERIES VS. IOWA
Series streak: Penn State, W1
Overall series: Iowa leads 30-18
at Iowa City: Iowa leads 17-4 (PC: 1-4)
Last game: at the Palestra, Philadelphia, Pa.
No. 21 Penn State 89, No. 23 Iowa 86, 1/4/2020
Chambers vs. Iowa: 6-8
AT LEAST 20 WINS, 10 B1G WINS
With 21 overall wins, Penn State ties the third-highest win total in its Big Ten era, and now has its second-highest total in Big Ten wins with 11. The combination of at least 20 overall wins and at least 10 Big Ten Conference wins was achieved this season for only the third time since Penn State's first season in the Big Ten (1992-93).
Season -- B1G Record -- Overall Record
1995-96 -- 12-6 -- 21-7
2019-20 -- 11-6 -- 21-7
2008-09 -- 10-8 -- 27-11
SINGLE-SEASON B1G WINS
The 1995-96 edition of the Nittany Lions owns the record for most B1G wins in a single season with 12. Coach Patrick Chambers has two of the top four and four of the top seven Big Ten win totals, including 11 B1G victories in the 2019-20 season.
Rank -- Wins (Season, Coach)
1.-- 12 (1995-96, Jerry Dunn)
2.-- 11 (2019-20, Patrick Chambers;
3. – 10 (2008-09, Ed DeChellis)
4. -- 9 (2017-18, Patrick Chambers, 2010, Ed DeChellis, 1994-95, Bruce Parkhill)
7.-- 7 (2018-19, 2015-16, Patrick Chambers, 2000-01, Jerry Dunn)
WHEN PENN STATE IS RANKED...
Penn State is 25-15 when playing as a team ranked in the Associated Press poll, a record which includes a 10-4 mark this season.
The Nittany Lions are 5-2 in games when both teams are ranked, 3-0 in 2019-20.
FOUR, FIVE & SIX IN FEBRUARY
In 2018-19, Penn State recorded five wins in the month of February for the first time since the 1997-98 season. The last time the Nittany Lions had three-straight seasons with at least four wins in February was prior to PSU joining the Big Ten in 1991-92 (independent) and 1989-90 and 1990-91 (Atlantic 10).
Penn State has six wins in the month and back-to-back five-win Februaries for the first time in its Big Ten era (1992-present).
BY THE NUMBERS
3 -- The 2019-20 Nittany Lions are one of only three teams in program history with at least 20 overall wins
and 10 Big Ten Conference wins (10: 2019-20, 2008-09; 12: 1995-96).
4 -- Penn State's four Big Ten road wins this season are its most ever. The Nittany Lions are one of only two Big Ten teams with a winning record in true road games (5-4) in 2019-20.
6 -- With six more points, senior forward Lamar Stevens becomes one of only three Nittany Lions who have scored at least 500 points in three seasons.
60 -- Senior forward Lamar Stevens needs 60 points to become Penn State's all-time leading scorer. The top spot is held by Talor Battle (2,213; 2007-11).
61 -- 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).
133 -- With a start at Iowa, senior forward Lamar Stevens will tie the Penn State record for career starts,
held by Shep Garner (2014-18).
148 -- Coach Patrick Chambers moved into a tie for fourth among Nittany Lion basketball coaches with 148 wins.
1,217 -- Career points in Big Ten games, a Penn State record, now owned by senior forward Lamar Stevens.
LAST TIME OUT: DREAD'S 3-POINTER LIFTS LIONS TO 65-64 VICTORY
Sophomore guard Myles Dread's late-game straightaway 3-pointer sealed Penn State's 65-64 win over the Rutgers on Wednesday night in the Bryce Jordan Center.
With 28 seconds remaining and Penn State trailing 64-62, Dread connected on the Nittany Lions' only 3-pointer of the second half to put Penn State back on top 65-64. Dread finished the night with 11 points and a career-best seven assists.
The Scarlet Knights overcame a 17-point Nittany Lion lead in the second half to pull within one at 51-50.
Penn State pulled back up to a double-digit lead at 60-50 after John Harrar had a dunk plus a free throw just under the six-minute mark. The Scarlet Knights responded with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 62 with 92 seconds to play and then took the lead with 42 seconds left on a Geo Baker jumper.
The Nittany Lions got off to a fast start, taking a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Penn State used a 27-9 run to push its lead to 40-19 over the next 11 minutes of action and had an 18-point lead at the half, 42-24. Eight Nittany Lions scored in the period as Penn State shot 50 percent and had 10 assists on 13 baskets.
Jacob Young led Rutgers in scoring with 13 points on 5-9 shooting.
Sophomore guard Izaiah Brockington finished with a game-high 16 points for Penn State.
Lamar Stevens collected another milestone as he became the Penn State's Big Ten scoring leader, passing Talor Battle (1,209 points). Stevens has scored 1,217 points in Big Ten play for his career.
