UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (3-6, 0-5) welcomes Rutgers at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21 in the first game of a three-game homestand. Thursday's game will be the 400th Nittany Lion game played in the Bryce Jordan Center as the arena celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2021. The Big Ten Network will have the broadcast of game.
This is the 77th meeting between the Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights and 11th as Big Ten opponents. The two teams have split their last six meetings.
WATCH: BTN and Fox Sports mobile app
Dave Revsine (pxp) & Jess Settles (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
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LIVE STATS: Penn State vs. Rutgers
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ROSTER: Penn State | Rutgers
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Rutgers
STATS: Penn State | Rutgers
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Rutgers
RUTGERS
Coach: Greg Pikiell (UConn, 1990)
Rutgers Record: 71-50 (Fifth season)
Career Record: 262-226 (16th season)
2020-21 Record: 9-5, 5-3 Big Ten
Leading Scorer
#24 Ron Harper Jr., Jr., G/F – 18.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder
#15 Myles Johnson, Jr., C – 8.8 rpg
Assists Leader
#42 Jacob Young, Sr., G – 4.4 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Interim Head Coach: Jim Ferry (Keene State, 1990)
Penn State Record: 3-6 (First season)
Career Record: 317-271 (20th season)
Top Scorer
#12 Izaiah Brockington, Jr., G – 15.1 ppg
Top Rebounder
#21 John Harrar, Sr., F – 6.6 rpg
Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Sr., G – 4.3 apg
#3 Sam Sessoms, Jr., G – 3.0 apg
PENN STATE LAST GAME STARTERS
F -- 15 – Trent Buttrick – Sr. | 2.6 ppg | 3.9 rpg
Note: Made first start of 2020-21 and third career start
F -- 21 – John Harrar – Sr. | 7.2 ppg | 7.7 rpg
Note: Had a team-high nine rebounds at No. 22 Illinois; Ranks seventh in rebounding in Big Ten and overall; Is 17th nationally with 3.67 offensive rebounds per game
G – 0 – Myreon Jones -- Jr. | 15.9 ppg | 2.6 rpg
Note: Scored 20 points at No. 22 Illinois and was 3-4 from behind arc; Ranked eighth in Big Ten in scoring in conference-only games
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- Sr. | 4.9 ppg | 4.8 rpg | 3.8 apg
Note: Scored four points with an assist and steal along with two rebounds at No. 22 Illinois; Now eighth on Penn State's career steals list with 163
G – 12 – Izaiah Brockington -- Jr. | 14.8 ppg | 5.3 rpg
Note: Had eight points, four rebounds and team-high three assists at No. 22 Illinois; Has scored in double figures in 7 of 9 games; ranked #20 in Big Ten in overall scoring & #21 in conf.-only games.
STARTING 5
Junior guard Myreon Jones made it four-straight games with 20 or more points with a 20-point total at No. 22 Illinois. It marked his 10th career game with 20 or more points, six coming in 2019-20.
Jones currently ranks fifth in Big Ten conference-only scoring at 18.8 points per game and eighth for all games at a 15.9 ppg clip.
In the final 2:37 at Purdue (1/17/21), Jones scored 12 points to help Nittany Lions pull within four in the final moments. He scored nine of his 11 second-half points in the last 7:48 at Illinois.
Penn State has one of the toughest, if not the toughest schedule in 2020-21. According to ESPN.com, the Nittany Lions are the SOS leader and moved to second from third in the kenpom.com rankings.
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. RUTGERS
Penn State and Rutgers have played 10 times previously as Big Ten foes with the Nittany Lions holding a 6-4 edge in those games. The last six contests have been split 3-3 with each team winning its respective home contests in 2019-20.
Series streak: Penn State, W1
Last game: University Park, Pa.
Penn State 65, Rutgers 64, 2/26/2020
Overall series: Penn State leads 43-33
(PS A: 8-14)
Ferry vs. Rutgers: 0-1 (LIU, 12/20/03, 54-80)
Series record and results from last 20 games are listed on page 5 of the game notes.
ON THE BOARDS IN B1G
Penn State posted back-to-back games with 40 or more rebounds at Purdue and at No. 22 Illinois and tied its record for total rebounds in a Big Ten game with 49 against the Boilermakers (1/17/21).
The current rebounding average of 36.6 in Big Ten conference games would be No. 1 on the program's list. Averages from 2019-20 and 2018-19 rank in the Nittany Lions' top five.
Season -- Reb. Avg.
2020-21 -- 36.6
2018-19 -- 36.3
1993-94 -- 36.2
2019-20 -- 36.0
1994-95 -- 35.9
HARRAR TAKES NO. 2 SPOT
Although senior forward John Harrar's current 57.1 season field goal percentage leads the Nittany Lions, he does not have enough attempts to qualify for the Big Ten (he'd be No. 4).
However, Harrar is now eligible for Penn State's career field goal percentage stat category with a mark of 58.3 with a minimum 200 field goal attempts for a tie for the No. 2 spot.
Rank -- Pct. -- Nittany Lion (Years)
1 -- 59.7 -- Mike Watkins (2016-20)
T-2 -- 58.3 -- John Harrar (2017-pres.) & Jarrett Stephens (1996-00)
4 -- 54.6 -- Andrew Jones (2007-11)
5 -- 54.2 -- Sasa Borovnjak (2009-13)
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Junior guards Myreon Jones (No. 8) and Izaiah Brockington (No. 20) rank in the B1G top 20 in scoring at 15.9 ppg and 13.8 ppg, respectively.
3.67 – Senior forward John Harrar is averaging 3.67 offensive rebounds per game, best in the Big Ten and good for a No. 17 national ranking.
21.0 – Junior guard Myreon Jones is averaging 21.0 points over his last four games with
a career-best 23 coming at Purdue on Jan. 17.
49.1 – Penn State tied its program record for team rebounds in a Big Ten game with 49 at Purdue Jan. 17, 2021. The Nittany Lions set the mark at Nebraska on Feb. 1, 2020.
100 – Senior forward John Harrar will play in his 100th career game vs. Rutgers on Jan. 21..
400 – The Penn State's men's team will play its 400th game in the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 21.
LAST TIME OUT: FIRST-HALF DEFICIT TOO MUCH FOR PENN STATE AT #22 ILLINOIS
Penn State had double-digit scoring efforts from Myreon Jones and Seth Lundy, but the Nittany Lions could not overcome several scoring bursts from No. 22 Illinois in a 79-65 loss at the State Farm Center.
Jones led the Nittany Lions with 20 points on 6-13 shooting, extending his streak of 20-plus point scoring efforts to four-straight games. Lundy chipped in 13 points off the bench with two three-pointers and a 5-5 mark from the free throw line.
Illinois pieced together several scoring runs throughout the night and received a strong individual performance from Kofi Cockburn, who scored a game-high 21, to hold Penn State at bay. John Harrar had a team-best nine rebounds for the Nittany Lions while freshman forward Abdou Tsimbila had a career-best seven boards to go along with four points and two steals.
Illinois built on its lead early in the second half and used a stretch of perfect 6-6 shooting from the field over 3:30 to extend the lead to 22 points. Over the next seven minutes, the Illini failed to score a basket while the Nittany Lions had five-straight field goals for a 68-53 score.
The Nittany Lions battled back with a pair of baskets from Jamari Wheeler and Tsimbila, but Illinois held a double-digit margin through the final period.
The 42-28 first-half lead proved to be enough for the Illini to secure the win. A red-hot start for the Illini, shooting 67 percent from the field, propelled the home team to a 13-5 lead through the first four minutes of play.
The Nittany Lions drilled four treys to tie the game at 17-17 at the 12:55 mark. The Illini responded with a 10-0 run to push the lead to 27-17 during a four-minute span. A 6-2 run for the Nittany Lions trimmed deficit to six at 29-23 following a Myles Dread triple and a free throw by Jones.
Another double-digit run by Illinois gave it a 41-23 lead with 2:20 to play in the first half. Lundytook advantage of his opportunities at the charity stripe, with five-straight made free throws to pull Penn State within 13, 41-28.
Foul trouble put the Nittany Lions at a disadvantage early, putting Illinois in the bonus midway through the first half. Kyle McCloskey played valuable minutes, with a career-best five points and a steal in 10 minutes of action.
The Nittany Lions outrebounded the Illini 40-35 after being down in that category 21-16 at halftime. Penn State forced Illinois into 15 turnovers, the Illini's highest total in Big Ten play, while the Nittany Lions had 10 steals, their highest total in a Big Ten game this year.
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.
