UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (3-2, 0-1) faces No. 18 Illinois (5-3, 1-1) in its Big Ten home opener at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23. This is the third-straight trip to the Bryce Jordan Center for the Illini after the Nittany Lions made three-straight visits to the State Farm Center. The Big Ten Network will have the broadcast of this first game of the home-and-home matchups this season.
WATCH: BTN and Fox Sports mobile app
Kevin Kugler (pxp) & Robbie Hummel (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
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LIVE STATS: Penn State vs. Illinois
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ROSTER: Penn State | Illinois
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Illinois
STATS: Penn State | Illinois
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Illinois
ILLINOIS
Coach: Brad Underwood (Kansas State, 1986)
Illinois Record: 52-52 (Fourth season)
Career Record: 161-79 (Eighth season)
2020-21 Record: 5-3, 1-1 Big Ten
Leading Scorer
#11 Ayo Dosunmo, Jr., G – 22.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder
#21 Kofi Cockburn, So., C – 9.8 rpg
Assists Leader
#11 Ayo Dosunmo, Jr., G – 5.3 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Interim Head Coach: Jim Ferry (Keene State, 1990)
Penn State Record: 3-2 (First season)
Career Record: 317-267 (20th season)
Top Scorer
#1 Seth Lundy, So., F – 14.4 ppg
Top Rebounder
#21 John Harrar, Sr., F – 7.0 rpg
Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Sr., G – 4.6 apg
#3 Sam Sessoms, Jr., G – 3.4 apg
PENN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
F -- 1 – Seth Lundy – So. | 14.4 ppg | 3.4 rpg
Note: Scored his five points at Michigan in second half; Had three-straight 10+ scoring games. Ranks #14 in B1G in scoring.
F -- 21 – John Harrar – Sr. | 7.6 ppg | 7.0 rpg
Note: Has Penn State's top FG% at 62.5% (15-24), Averages 2.6 offensive rebounds per game
G – 0 – Myreon Jones -- Jr. | 11.8 ppg | 2.4 rpg
Note: Has three-straight games with double-figure scoring; Ranks second on the team with nine steals
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- Sr. | 5.8 ppg | 4.0 rpg | 4.6 apg
Note: Owns a 5.75 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio, best in the Big Ten and eighth nationally
G – 12 – Izaiah Brockington -- Jr. | 14.0 ppg | 5.6 rpg
Note: Penn State's second-leading scorer at 14.0 ppg; Averaging 7.0 rebounds per game over last two contests
STARTING 5
Penn State's Big Ten Conference home opener vs. No. 18 Illinois marks the second time in as many years the Nittany Lions will play host to a ranked foe. Penn State is 10-18 in B1G home openers with an 8-16 mark in the Bryce Jordan Center.
The full list of B1G home openers is on page 3 of the game notes.
In 28 previous Big Ten home openers, Penn State has played seven top-20 teams. The first victory over a nationally ranked opponent in a B1G home opener came last season vs. No. 4 Maryland.
Senior guard Jamari Wheeler ranks eighth in the nation and leads the Big Ten with his assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.75 to 1. In his last three games, Wheeler has committed only one turnover in 87 total minutes played.
As a team, Penn State leads the Big Ten in turnovers forced with a 16.60 per game average.
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 and won its 1,500th game at No. 15 Virginia Tech.
SERIES vs. ILLINOIS
The Illini broke the Nittany Lions' school-record eight-game Big Ten win streak in the only meeting between the two teams in 2019-20.
The streaky series brings Illinois to the Bryce Jordan Center for the third-straight time (2nd meeting of 2018-19, only meeting of 2019-20, & 1st meeting of 2020-21) after Penn State played three-straight contests at the State Farm Center. Penn State had won six-straight games in the series prior to the February 2020 loss.
Series streak: Illinois, W1
Last game: University Park, Pa.,
Illinois 62, Penn State 56, 2/18/2020
Overall series: Illinois leads 29-19 (PS H: 10-12)
Series record and game results are listed on page 5 of the game notes.
RANKED OPPONENTS
Playing in the best conference in the nation puts a slew of ranked opponents on the Nittany Lions' schedule this season. Noting the Associated Press poll rankings as of Dec. 21, Penn State could match in 2020-21 its previous high mark of 11 ranked opponents.
The Nittany Lions have faced at least 10 ranked opponents in six previous seasons in its history.
Season -- Ranked Opponents -- W-L
2020-21 -- ? -- 1-0
2018-19 -- 11 -- 3-8
2011-12 -- 11 -- 1-10
2010-11 -- 11 -- 4-7
1999-00 -- 10 -- 1-9
1998-99 -- 10 -- 3-7
1993-94 -- 10 -- 2-8
THE NITTANY LIONS' LAIR
Thirty-five of Penn State's 56 wins over ranked opponents have come at home in the Nittany Lions' lair. Of those 35 home victories, 26 occurred at the Bryce Jordan Center with nine in Rec Hall.
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 – 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.
5.75 – Number of assists to turnovers for senior guard Jamari Wheeler, a ratio which tops the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally.
6.5 – Average team turnovers by Penn State in last two games: 5 at No. 15 Virginia Tech and 8 at Michigan.
10.4 – 3-point field goals made per game by the Nittany Lions so far in 2020-21. This average ranks 22nd in the nation.
17 – Despite its efforts to schedule an opponent for a Dec. 19 contest, Penn State has just one game (Dec. 23 vs. Illinois) over a span of 17 days.
The Nittany Lions played at Michigan Dec. 13 and are at Indiana Dec. 30.
LAST TIME OUT: PENN STATE FIGHTS TO END IN B1G OPENER AT MICHIGAN
The Big Ten opener went down to the wire in the Crisler Center as the Nittany Lions overcame a nine-point halftime deficit, but came up just short against undefeated Michigan in the final minute, 62-58.
The Nittany Lions trailed 60-58 with 24 seconds left, and after a pair of missed free throws by Michigan, saw the Wolverines escape after a layup attempt rimmed out. Michigan added two free throws for the 62-58 final.
Penn State recovered from a tough stretch of shooting in the first half and used a furious 18-2 run over the final two minutes before the break until the 16:36 mark of second half to take its first lead of the game at 39-38. Junior guard Izaiah Brockington scored 11 of his team-best 14 points in the second half and junior guards Myreon Jones and Sam Sessoms added 10 points each for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions outscored the Wolverines 31-26 in the second half and the battle continued until the final buzzer as neither team held a lead larger than six in the final 16 minutes. Penn State came out of the gate shooting 5-8 from the field and then capitalized on Wolverine missed shots and turnovers to take a 46-45 lead on a Seth Lundy jumper at the 12:14 mark.
Michigan built a six-point lead with about five minutes remaining, but Penn State used an 8-0 run with couple of free throws and a 3-pointer from Jones and a field goal and one from Sessoms. Sessoms' free throw put the Nittany Lions up by two with 2:53 left to play.
Penn State's bench contributed 20 points in the effort with Sessoms' 10, six from Dread and four points from freshman Abdou Tsimbila.
The Wolverines' leading scorer, Hunter Dickinson, finished his night with 20 points, scoring Michigan's final two field goals for a 60-58 lead.
The Wolverines shot 52 percent from the field and had all five of their treys in the first half to take the nine-point advantage at the break. A 6-0 run to end the first period cut Michigan's lead to 36-27 after the Wolverines led by as many as 15. The Penn State defense held the Wolverines scoreless for the final 2:14 of the first half.
Nittany Lion Trent Buttrick tied for the game high with seven rebounds, a career best for the senior. Senior forward John Harrar had nine points and senior guard Jamari Wheeler had four assists and three steals for game- high totals in both categories.
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.
