UNIVERSITY PARK, Va. – The Penn State men's basketball team (3-1) travels to Ann Arbor for its Big Ten Conference season opener against Michigan (5-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13. The Nittany Lions start league play on the road for the 10th time in 12 years.
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ROSTER: Penn State | Michigan
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Michigan
STATS: Penn State | Michigan
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Michigan
MICHIGAN
Coach: Juwan Howard (Michigan, 1995)
Michigan Record: 24-12 (Second season)
Career Record: 24-12 (Second season)
2020-21 Record: 5-0, 0-0 Big Ten
Leading Scorer
#2 Isaiah Rivers, Sr., F – 16.2 ppg
Leading Rebounder
#1 Hunter Dickinson, Fr., C – 7.4 rpg
Assists Leader
#12 Mike Smith, Gr., G – 5.2 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Interim Head Coach: Jim Ferry (Keene State, 1990)
Penn State Record: 3-1 (First season)
Career Record: 317-266 (20th season)
Top Scorer
#1 Seth Lundy, So., F – 16.8 ppg
Top Rebounder
#21 John Harrar, Sr., F – 7.8 rpg
Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Sr., G – 4.8 apg
#3 Sam Sessoms, Jr., G – 3.5 apg
PENN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
F -- 1 – Seth Lundy – So. | 16.8 ppg | 3.5 rpg
Note: Had limited FG attempts at Virginia Tech; Top scorer in two of last three games with 32 vs. VCU and 23 vs. Seton Hall. Ranks #9 in B1G in scoring.
F -- 21 – John Harrar – Sr. | 7.3 ppg | 7.8 rpg
Note: Has Penn State's top FG% at 66.7% (12-18), Averages 3.0 offensive rebounds per game (NCAA #83, B1G #5)
G – 0 – Myreon Jones -- Jr. | 12.3 ppg | 2.5 rpg
Note: Scored 14 pts with four 3-point field goals at Virginia Tech and added three assists and a steal to stat line; Now has 501 career pts, 102 career assists
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- Sr. | 8.0 ppg | 5.0 rpg | 4.3 apg
Note: Dished off for game-best 6 assists and did not have a single turnover; Possesses a 6.3:1 A/T ratio (19a, 3 TO) for second in B1G
G – 12 – Izaiah Brockington -- Jr. | 14.0 ppg | 5.5 rpg
Note: Scored game and career-best 24 pts and tied career-high eight rebounds at Virginia Tech; Is now Penn State's second-leading scorer
STARTING 5
The Nittany Lions open their 29th season in the Big Ten Conference in 2020-21 and start league play on the road for the 10th time in 12 years. Sunday's contest is the earliest meeting between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines in their B1G history.
(Full openers list on page 3)
Penn State picked up program win No. 1,500 Tuesday night at No. 15 Virginia Tech, its 57th victory over an Associated Press ranked team.
The Nittany Lions did not have a single turnover in the first half vs. the Hokies and finished with only five for the game, Penn State's lowest turnover total in its 20 ACC/B1G Challenge games. PSU tied its highest 3-point field goal total in ACC/B1G Challenge games with 12.
Established as a program in 1897, Penn State's 2020-21 season marks its 125th year. Penn State is one of the 10 oldest programs in the nation.
After the postponement of its original season opener on Nov. 25, Penn State still hopes to add another game prior to the start of the new year.
SERIES vs. MICHIGAN
Penn State plays back-to-back games at Michigan for the first time since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The Nittany Lions won at Crisler Arena in the only meeting of 2019-20, the first victory in Ann Arbor since 2010, and only the third road win in 24 visits.
Both teams are currently averaging 80+ points per game, but the last time both teams scored 80 or more points in their matchup was the 2001 Big Ten Tournament (Penn State W, 82-80).
Series streak: Penn State, W2
Last game: Ann Arbor, Mich.,
Penn State 72, Michigan 63, 1/22/2020
Overall series: UM leads 36-14 (PS A: 3-21)
Series record and game results are listed on page 5 of the game notes.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Penn State received its first NABC Team Academic Excellence Award for posting a team GPA of 3.0 or higher for the 2019-20 academic year.
2 – Two Nittany Lions are currently on NBA rosters with Lamar Stevens with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tony Carr recently signing with the New Orleans Pelicans.
2 – The win at No. 15 Virginia Tech was the second ranked win of interim head coach Jim Ferry's career, the first, also a road win, at No. 10 Saint Louis on Feb. 27, 2014.
4 – The 75-55 win over the 15th-ranked Hokies marked the fourth time the Nittany Lions have defeated an AP-ranked opponent by 20 points or more, but the first time on the road.
4 – Junior guard Sam Sessoms is the only Nittany Lion who has scored 10 or more points in all four games this season.
6 – Five different Nittany Lions contributed to the team's season-high six blocked shots at Virginia Tech, a game-high two by Sessoms.
6.33 – Number of assists to turnovers for senior guard Jamari Wheeler which tops the Big Ten and ranks 16th nationally.
LAST TIME OUT: DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING AND DEFENSE SECURE 75-55 WIN AT NO. 15 VIRGINIA TECH
Penn State set the tone with an active defensive effort and a career performance offensively from guard Izaiah Brockington to down the No. 15 Virginia Tech Hokies 75-55 on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions ended Virginia Tech's 34-game non-conference home winning streak and dealt the Hokies (4-1) their first loss of the season.
The Nittany Lions led the game for nearly 39 minutes, trailing only after the first basket of the game and the victory was milestone win number 1,500 for the program. The win was also Penn State's third-straight in ACC/B1G Challenge games, sixth in its last seven appearances, and second over a ranked Virginia Tech team in the last three Challenge outings.
Brockington's efficient performance produced a career-best 24 points. The junior from Philadelphia started 7-8 from the field and finished 10-14 while tying his career-best total eight rebounds. Three other Nittany Lion junior guards had double-figures in scoring with Myreon Jones with 14, Myles Dread with 11 and Sam Sessoms with 10.
The stout Nittany Lion defense forced the Hokies to turn the ball over 14 times which led to 22 points for Penn State. Offensively, Penn State opened up the floor and drilled 12 treys, shooting a season-best 52.2 percent from behind the arc. Jones, Dread and Sessoms had nine triples combined.
Virginia Tech struck first with a triple just 30 seconds into the game, but Penn State hit back with a 17-0 run to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Brockington scored nine points during the run that spanned six minutes and used both the dribble drive and a hot jump shot to lead the Nittany Lions with 15 points at the break.
An error-free first half and 51.4 percent shooting from the field for Penn State saw it lock in on the other end as PSU forced 10 first-half turnovers for a 42-23 advantage at the break.
Penn State came out of the locker room and went 7-9 from the field to start the second half and stretched its lead to 63-34 by the 13-minute mark.
Jalen Cone led the Hokies in scoring with 11 points and Keve Aluma had a game-high 12 rebounds.
FOLLOW PENN STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL VIRTUALLY
Please stay connected and follow Penn State men's basketball virtually throughout season. While we are unable to host fans this season due to COVID-19 protocols, fans are able to join the interest list for tickets for the 2021-22 men's basketball season. Sign up for the 2021-22 interest list by clicking here.
