UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team hits the road for its first Big Ten away game of the season Saturday afternoon when the Nittany Lions meet #19/20 Michigan State at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network. The Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Jeff Levering (pxp) & Brian Butch (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network (PDF) with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi – 103.7 FM & 1450 AM
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM – XM Ch. 381 | SXM App Ch. 971
- LIVE STATS: Live Stats
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Notes | Michigan State Notes
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State heads to East Lansing for its first Big Ten road battle of the season Saturday afternoon when the Nittany Lions take on #19/20 Michigan State.
- Penn State is coming off a dominant 74-54 win over a Wagner team that was ranked #24 in the NET rankings heading into Wednesday's game.
- Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by junior Seth Lundy's 14.3 ppg. Seniors Sam Sessoms (13.4 ppg) and Jalen Pickett (11.8 ppg) follow, while grad student John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.9 ppg and 10.6 rpg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS MICHIGAN STATE
- The Nittany Lions would earn just their third-ever win in East Lansing, but second in their last three trips to the Breslin Center.
- Penn State would pick up its first true road win of the season and first Big Ten win.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
- The #19/20 Spartans ride a three-game win streak into Saturday's Big Ten showdown. MSU is 8-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
- Michigan State's only two losses of the season were neutral site defeats to then #3 Kansas (74-87) and then #6 Baylor (58-75). The Spartans are coming off a 75-67 win at Minnesota in their Big Ten opener Wednesday night. MSU opened up a 19-point lead in the second half before hanging on to beat the previously undefeated Gophers.
- The Spartans own a deep 2021-22 squad, with nine players averaging five or more points. Gabe Brown leads the team with 13.1 ppg. Marcus Bingham Jr. follows with 10.1 ppg and a team-best 7.1 rpg.
AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE
- Michigan State leads the all-time series 41-9 and the Spartans are 24-2 in home games against the Nittany Lions.
- The last two Penn State-Michigan State matchups at the Breslin Center have been two of the best, with Penn State claiming a 75-70 win on Feb. 4, 2020 and dropping two-point decision on Feb. 9, 2021 (60-58).
BOUNCE-BACK WIN
- The Nittany Lions used a strong second half to take down visiting Wagner, a team that was ranked at #24 in the NET rankings heading into the game, Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The win snapped a two-game skid for the Nittany Lions and put Penn State back on track heading into Saturday's showdown in East Lansing.
- The Nittany Lions used a 22-4 run over a 6:27 span in the second half to pull away for the dominant 20-point victory. The Penn State defense shined once again, holding Wagner 15 points under its season scoring average and forcing 15 Seahawk turnovers. The Nittany Lion offense fired on all cylinders in the second half and Penn State finished the game with a season-high 18 assists.
- Six Penn State players finished with eight or more points, led by seniors Jalen Pickett and Sam Sessoms with 16 apiece. Graduate student John Harrar added 12 points and seven rebounds, while junior Seth Lundy chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Myles Dread drained a trio of 3-pointers for nine points, while Jalanni White added eight points and five rebounds.
BATTLES AT THE BRESLIN
- East Lansing has historically been a tough place to play for the Nittany Lions, but the last two matchups at the Breslin Center have bucked that trend.
- Last season's battle at the Breslin was a two-point loss (68-70). Penn State erased a 12-point lead in the second half and went up by four points with 3:16 to play, but came up short in the final 49 seconds. John Harrar led the Nittany Lions with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
- Penn State earned just its second-ever win in East Lansing in the 2020 trip to the Breslin Center. The back-and-forth battle saw eight lead changes and six tie scores, but Penn State would outscore the #16 Spartans 12-4 in the game's final 5:29. Former Nittany Lion standout and current Cleveland Cavaliers player Lamar Stevens led Penn State with 24 points and seven rebounds.
DE-FENSE!
- Penn State's defense has held five of its last six opponents at least 10 points under their season scoring averages.
- Over those last six games, Penn State has limited its opponents to just a 39.9 percent (141-353) clip from the field and 28.8 percent (40-139) mark from 3-point range. The Nittany Lions' last six opponents have made just 6.7 treys per game.
| Team | Season Average | Points vs. PSU (margin) |
| Wagner | 69.0 | 54 (-15) |
| Miami | 73.3 | 63 (-10.3) |
| Oregon State | 69.2 | 45 (-24.2) |
| LSU | 85.4 | 68 (OT) (-17.4) |
| Cornell | 87.8 | 74 (-13.8) |
UNDER 60
- Penn State has held four of its first nine opponents under 60 points, and five of its first nine foes under 60 points in regulation -- LSU scored 58 in regulation and finished with 68 including overtime.
- The last time the Nittany Lions held four of their first nine foes under 60 points was the 2017-18 season (Fairleigh Dickinson 57, Montana 57, Pittsburgh 54, Oral Roberts 48). Penn State won an NIT Championship at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season.
- You'd have to go back to the 2010-11 season to find the last time Penn State kept five of its first nine opponents under 60 in regulation, when the Nittany Lions limited Lehigh (56), Saint Joe's (57), Fairfield (49), Furman (49) and Mount St. Mary's (53) to under 60 in 40 minutes of play. Penn State went on to make an NCAA Tournament appearance that season.
THREE CAN BE KEY
- Penn State's performance from three-point range has proven to be a key to success through the first nine games of the season.
- The Nittany Lions are shooting 37.8 percent (48-127) from deep with an average of 9.6 made threes per game in Penn State's five wins.
- Penn State is shooting 28.7 percent (27-94) from downtown with an average of 6.8 treys per game in the Nittany Lions' four losses.
- Penn State made a program-record tying 15 3-pointers in its win over Cornell on Nov. 22. It has happened twice before, against Purdue in 2001 (2/7/01) and again against Hartford in 2008 (11/20/08).
PICKETTING-IT UP
- After adjusting in the first three games of the season, senior transfer Jalen Pickett has since picked up his pace. The senior is averaging 14.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 4.5 apg over the last six contests.
- Pickett put together his best performance in a Penn State uniform in Sunday's Big Ten opener against Ohio State in which he scored a game-high 23 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Pickett added four rebounds and three assists against the Buckeyes.
- Pickett reached the 500 career assists mark in Wednesday's game against Wagner. He ranks #19 in the active career Division I assists leaders.
B1G JOHN
- Penn State graduate student John Harrar and Illinois All-American Kofi Cockburn are the only two Big Ten men's basketball players averaging a double-double thus far into the season.
- Harrar owns season-long marks of 10.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. His 10.6 rebounds per game ranks 11th nationally.
- The Wallingford, Pa. native has tallied four double-doubles thus far, pulled down double-digit rebounds in six of nine contests, and is shooting a blistering 72.2 percent (39-54) from the field.
- Harrar owns 10 career double-doubles, making him one of just 17 Penn State players all-time to register double-digit double-doubles in their Penn State career.
LUNDY'S LEAP
- Junior Seth Lundy is the team's leading scorer through the first nine games of the season, averaging 14.3 points per game in addition to his 5.9 rebounds per contest that ranks second on the squad.
- Lundy has scored in double figures in eight of nine games this season and has led the Nittany Lions in scoring in three games thus far.
- He notched his fifth and sixth-career 20-point games in the season opener against Youngstown State and on Nov. 22 against Cornell.
- He went off for 30-plus points on two occasions during his sophomore season - 32 vs. VCU on Dec. 2, 2020 and 31 at Maryland on March 7, 2021.
SESSOMS' STEP UP
- Senior Sam Sessoms has stepped into a larger role this season and currently ranks second on the team with 13.4 points and 3.8 assists per game.
- Sessoms put together his best two games in a Penn State uniform against Cornell on Nov. 22 and St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 18 The Philadelphia native drilled six of seven 3-point attempts and finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in Penn State's victory over Cornell. He tallied a game-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and a 6-for-7 clip from the charity stripe against St. Francis Brooklyn. The two 20-plus point efforts were the 29th and 30th of his career, but first two in a Penn State uniform.
- He registered his first double-double in a Penn State uniform against LSU on Nov. 26 at the Emerald Coast Classic, chipping in 13 points and a team-best 10 rebounds against the Tigers.
DREAD FROM DEEP
- Senior Myles Dread returns for his senior season after ranking first or second on the Nittany Lion squad in 3-pointers made in each of his first three seasons.
- His 195 career 3-pointers currently ranks tied for seventh in the Penn State career record books. Dread needs 11 treys to match Titus Ivory's sixth-best mark of 206 career 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
- Penn State turns its attention to final exams this week before returning to action next Saturday, Dec. 18, at VCU. The Nittany Lions and Rams are set to square off at 3:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.