UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 22nd-ranked Penn State men's basketball team (16-5, 6-4) heads to Michigan State to face the No. 16 Spartans in an 8 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday, Feb. 4 game at the Breslin Center. With the new conference format, this is the Nittany Lions' first visit to East Lansing since January 2018. Dave Revsine will call the action with Robbie Hummel serving as the analyst and Olivia Dekker reporting for the Big Ten Network.
Michigan State has played three of its last four games on the road while Penn State is playing its third game in seven days.
WATCH: BTN and Fox Sports mobile app
Dave Revsine (pxp), Robbie Hummel (analyst) & Olivia Dekker (reporter)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
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ROSTER: Penn State | Michigan State
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Michigan State
STATS: Penn State | Michigan State
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Michigan State
MEDIA GUIDE: Penn State | Michigan State
MICHIGAN STATE
Coach: Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, 1977)
at Michigan State: 622-238, (25th season)
Career Record: Same
2019-20 Record: 16-6, 8-2 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#5 Cassius Winston, Sr., G – 18.2 ppg
Top Rebounder
#23 Xavier Tillman, Jr., F – 10.1 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#5 Cassius Winston, Sr., G – 5.7 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 143-145 (Ninth season)
Career Record: 185-173 (11th season)
2019-20 Record: 16-5, 66-4 Big Ten
Top Scorer
#11 Lamar Stevens, Sr., F – 16.5 ppg
Top Rebounder
#24 Mike Watkins, Sr., F – 8.2 rpg
Top Assists Leader
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Jr., G – 2.9 apg
STARTING 5
Penn State is No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings and has moved up to No. 16 on kenpom.com.
With Big Ten Conference road wins at Michigan and at Nebraska, the Nittany Lions recorded the ninth set of back-to-back league road wins in program history and first pair in the Chambers era.
Prior to these last three games, the last time the Nittany Lions held three-straight Big Ten opponents to field goal percentages of less than 40 percent was in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament: Nebraska (30.2), Iowa (26.3) and Purdue (39.1).
In the first half of the Nebraska win, senior forward Lamar Stevens became the third Nittany Lion with 2,000 career points and is one of only a handful with more than 4,000 career minutes.
Mike Watkins needs two rebounds to reach the 900 career mark. The senior forward had 17 at Nebraska, the second-highest single-game total of his career. He moved past John Amaechi (1992-95) for Penn State's top spot with 503 career rebounds in Big Ten play.
SERIES VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Penn State last played at the Breslin Center Jan. 31, 2018, falling 76-68. The last Nittany Lion win in East Lansing was in 2008-09.
The Nittany Lions' last two wins in the series were at neutral sites, at The Palestra in 2017 (72-63), and the 2011 Big Ten Tournament (61-48).
Series streak: Michigan State, W3
Overall series: Michigan State leads 39-8
At East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State leads 23-1
Last game: at BJC, University Park
Penn State 71, Penn State 56, 1/13/2019
Chambers vs. Michigan State: 1-10 (A: 0-5)
B1G WINS
The Nittany Lions' win at Nebraska added another chapter to Penn State's Big Ten basketball history. The sixth league win for coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions marked a fifth consecutive season with six or more Big Ten wins – four-straight years was a first-ever accomplishment for the program last season.
Current Streak with 6+ B1G Wins
Season – No.
2019-20 – 6
2018-19 – 7
2017-18 – 9
2016-17 – 6
2015-16 – 7
WHEN PENN STATE IS RANKED...
Penn State is 19-13 when playing as a team ranked in the Associated Press poll, a record which includes a 5-2 mark this season.
ROADKILL
Penn State's win at Michigan was only its third-ever in Ann Arbor and the win at Nebraska was its first road win at Lincoln since 1995. The Nittany Lions have 48 all-time Big Ten Conference road wins with 17 under coach Patrick Chambers.
Three B1G road wins in a season are the most by the Nittany Lions and three coaches have recorded three in a season three times.
Chambers is the only Nittany Lion coach to achieve at least three B1G road wins in back-to-back years.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – For the first time in his Penn State career, Myles Dread led the Nittany Lions in scoring. The sophomore guard had 14 points off five field goals, including four triples.
3 – With 736 field goals, senior forward Lamar Stevens needs three to claim the top spot on Penn State's all-time career chart.
5 – Penn State has won six or more Big Ten Conference games for five-straight seasons, a program first.
9 – The Nittany Lions have a combined nine Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins, second-highest total in the Big Ten.
10 – The Nittany Lions registered 10 treys at Nebraska, their first game with double digits in 3-pointers since Central Connecticut Dec. 20, 2019.
35 – Thanks in part to senior forward Mike Watkins' 12 defensive boards, the Nittany Lions tied their season high with 35 defensive rebounds
at Nebraska.
898 – Senior forward Mike Watkins is currently third on Penn State's career rebounds list with 898. He has recorded 39 games with 10 or more rebounds, including his 17 at Nebraska Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT: PENN STATE USES STRONG SECOND HALF IN B1G ROAD WIN
A strong second half propelled Penn State to a 76-64 win over Nebraska Saturday. In the win, Lamar Stevens became just the third Nittany Lion to score 2,000 career points in program history.
The Nittany Lions began the second half on a 15-4 run to take a 53-37 lead en route to their fourth-straight victory and first vs. Nebraska in Lincoln since 1995. Myles Dread and Mike Watkins combined for 25 of 33 points off the bench, 22 in the second half.
Dread led Penn State in scoring with 14 points, connecting for four of Penn State's 10 3-pointers. Stevens and sophomore guard Myreon Jones each had 13 to help pace PSU.
Watkins finished with the 32nd double-double of his career with 11 points and 17 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end. Thanks in part to Watkins, Penn State dominated on the boards, 49-38, and he added two blocked shots to his totals.
Penn State held Nebraska to 38.7 percent shooting from the field and took advantage of Husker scoring droughts to build a 20-point lead at the midway mark in the second half.
The Nittany Lions combatted a fast Husker start with seven three-pointers in the first half to dig themselves out of an early 9-2 and then 11-5 hole. Myreon Jones' trey tied it at 13 at 14:09 and two minutes later the Nittany Lions took the lead for good at 21-20.
Field goals by Stevens and freshmen Seth Lundy, who scored his five points in the final two minutes of the first half, gave PSU a 38-33 lead going into the locker room.
Cheatham led Nebraska with 15 points, 10 in the first half, and added eight rebounds as three Huskers scored in double figures.
