UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (3-3, 0-2) closes the 2020 portion of its schedule with a trip to Bloomington for its Wednesday, Dec. 30 game at Indiana (5-4, 0-2). The only meeting of the 2020-21 season between the Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET and the Big Ten Network will carry the broadcast of the game.
This is the eighth game in the month of December for Indiana and only the fourth for Penn State. Both teams lost in their last action to then-18th-ranked Illinois.
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 | Indiana
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Indiana
STATS: Penn State | Indiana
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Indiana
INDIANA
Indiana Record: 60-47 (Fourth season)
Career Record: 199-110 (Ninth season)
2020-21 Record: 5-4, 0-2 Big Ten
Leading Scorer
#23 Trayce Jackson-Davis, So., F – 20.0 ppg
Leading Rebounder
#23 Trayce Jackson-Davis, So., F – 8.6 rpg
Assists Leader
#1 Aljami Durham, Sr., G – 3.1 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Interim Head Coach: Jim Ferry (Keene State, 1990)
Penn State Record: 3-3 (First season)
Career Record: 317-268 (20th season)
Top Scorer
#12 Izaiah Brockington, Jr., G – 15.2 ppg
Top Rebounder
#21 John Harrar, Sr., F – 6.0 rpg
Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Sr., G – 4.7 apg
#0 Myreon Jones, Jr., G – 3.0 apg
#3 Sam Sessoms, Jr., G – 3.0 apg
PENN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
F -- 1 – Seth Lundy – So. | 13.0 ppg | 3.5 rpg
Note: Scored his six points vs. No. 18 Illinois in the first half; Had 3-straight 10+ scoring games to start year
F -- 21 – John Harrar – Sr. | 6.7 ppg | 6.0 rpg
Note: Has Penn State's top FG% at 61.5% (16-26), Averages 2.3 offensive rebounds per game
G – 0 – Myreon Jones -- Jr. | 13.3 ppg | 2.5 rpg
Note: Shared team scoring lead with Izaiah Brockington with 21 points each vs. No. 18 Illinois; Scored 11 points in first 4:22 of game vs. Illini
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- Sr. | 5.3 ppg | 4.0 rpg | 4.6 apg
Note: Had five assists vs. No. 18 Illinois; Ranks second in the Big Ten and 28th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.5:1
G – 12 – Izaiah Brockington -- Jr. | 15.2 ppg | 5.6 rpg
Note: Moved into the top scoring spot for Penn State at 15.2 ppg, 13th in the Big Ten; Shooting 51.4 percent from floor and 58.1 percent in last three games (25-43)
STARTING 5
Penn State and Indiana were slated to play in a 2020 Big Ten Conference Tournament second-round game on March 12 in Indianapolis, and sporting events worldwide, were canceled.
The Nittany Lions play the Hoosiers only once this year after a split last year with a win at home and a loss on the road. The schedule lineup this week is similar in that PSU played Illinois at home followed by a trip to Bloomington in February 2020.
Penn State leads the Big Ten with 8.5 steals per game.
#OTD | On December 30, 2006, Penn State set the program's single-game scoring record with a 129-111 win over VMI. That victory also marked the last time three Nittany Lions scored 20 or more points in a game and seven Nittany Lions had 10 points or more in a game.
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. INDIANA
Penn State's victory over Indiana in the BJC last year broke the Hoosiers' four-game win streak in the series. The Nittany Lions, though, have not won in Bloomington since Feb. 12, 2014 (66-65).
The last five meetings in Bloomington have been decided by a total of 24 points (4.8 avg) with the 2017 contest going to triple overtime (Indiana W, 110-102).
Series streak: Indiana, W1
Last game: Bloomington, Ind.,
Indiana 68, Penn State 60, 2/23/2020
Overall series: Indiana leads 40-12 (PS A: 3-21)
Ferry vs. Indiana: First meeting
Ferry (Duquesne) vs. Miller (Dayton): 1-7
Series record and game results are listed on page 5 of the game notes.
BUTTRICK ON THE BOARDS
With back-to-back games as the Ntitany Lions' rebounding leader, senior forward Trent Buttrick is now third on the team with a 4.7 rebounds per game average. Buttrick recorded his career-best seven total at Michigan (12/13/20) and vs. No. 18 Illinois (12/23/20).
The Michigan game on Dec. 13 was Buttrick's first time leading the team in rebounds.
SIX STRAIGHT FOR SAM
Junior guard Sam Sessoms has scored in double figures in six-straight games to start this season, the only Nittany Lion with 10+ point efforts in every game in 2020-21. Fellow Philadelphians Lamar Stevens and DJ Newbill both posted double-digit season-opening streaks with double-digit scoring with Stevens accomplishing that feat in 2019-20 and 2018-19.
Consecutive game with 10+ points to start the season
2020-21 -- Sam Sessoms – 6 games
2019-20 -- Lamar Stevens – 27 games
2018-19 -- Lamar Stevens -- 17 games
2016-17 -- Tony Carr – 7 games
2014-15 -- DJ Newbill – 27 games
2011-12 -- Tim Frazier – 6 games
Frazier began his 2012-13 season with three-straight double-figure scoring games, but suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Former Nittany Lion Lamar Stevens scored his first NBA points with two free throws in the Cavaliers' win over the 76ers Sunday night.
4 – Penn State is one of six Big Ten teams with four student-athletes with double-figure scoring averages.
24 – Number of double-figure scoring games so far for Penn State in 2020-21.
24 – The last five meetings between Penn State and Indiana in Bloomington have been decided by a total of 24 points.
46 – Nittany Lion Gene Harris scored an individual single-game record 46 points on Dec. 28, 1961 at The Palestra.
51.4 – Junior guard Izaiah Brockington's field goal percentage so far in 2020-21, currently good for eighth in the Big Ten. In the last three games, his field goal percentage is 58.1 (25-43).
129 – On Dec. 30, 2006, Penn State scored 129 points in a 129-111 win over VMI in the BJC to set multiple records and break the program's 52-year-old team single-game scoring record of 110 points (12/15/1954 vs. Colgate).
LAST TIME OUT: PENN STATE BESTED BY NO. 18 ILLINOIS
The inside presence of No. 18 Illinois negated the strong shooting performance by Penn State for a 98-81 Illini win in the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday, Dec. 23. Junior guards Izaiah Brockington and Myreon Jones each scored 21 points on the night, but it wasn't enough to get past 30 points from leading scorer Ayo Dosunmu and 23 from Illini teammate Kofi Cockburn's 23.
Illinois scored 58 points in the paint and converted 21 second-chance points with potent attack in the second half. Penn State matched Illinois through the 14:26 mark of the second half as junior guard Sam Sessoms tied the game at 54 points with a driving layup. The three different Illini scored to counter with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes for a 62-54 lead.
The Nittany Lions cut the lead to six twice over a five-minute span, but the Illini capitalized on Penn State's foul trouble as the Nittany Lions put Illinois in the bonus at the 13:38 mark of the second half. The Illini pulled out to and held onto a double-digit lead for the last five minutes of the game, in part due to their 19 made free throws on 24 trips to the line in the second half.
Dosunmu scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half. Cockburn's 23 points came on on 11-13 shooting after he was 8-8 in the first half.
Penn State roared to an early 19-4 lead and knocked down 10 of its first 15 shots for a 23-12 lead as Jones scored 11 quick points in the first four-and-a-half minutes of action. The Illini responded with a combination of points in the paint and 3-pointers over the next nine minutes to pull within two points of the Nittany Lions at 37-35.
A 3-pointer by Frazier gave the Illini their first lead at 38-37 with 3:52 in the first half, but the two teams would exchanged leads until knotting the score at 43-43 going into the locker room.
The opening 20 minutes saw Penn State shoot 61.3 percent from the field and Illinois at 56.7 percent. The Nittany Lions were hot to start the second half, going 5-8, but cooled to a 47.1 mark for the period. Both teams were above 50 percent for the game and made the same number of field goals with PSU at 53.8 percent (35-65) and Illinois at 55.6 (35-63).
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.
