Nittany Lions Open New Year Against Indiana Sunday AfternoonNittany Lions Open New Year Against Indiana Sunday Afternoon
PSU Athletics/Selders

Nittany Lions Open New Year Against Indiana Sunday Afternoon


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team opens up the 2022 calendar year inside the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday afternoon when the Nittany Lions host Indiana for a 4 p.m. tipoff on Big Ten Network. Sunday's game is presented by Penn State Health.
 
FOLLOW ALONG


OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State returns to game action for the first time since Dec. 11 when the Nittany Lions host Indiana to tip off the New Year on Jan. 2 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • The Nittany Lions are 5-5 on the season and had their final three scheduled non-conference games of the cancelled.
  • Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by junior Seth Lundy's 14.7 ppg. Seniors Sam Sessoms (13.3 ppg) and Jalen Pickett (11.9 ppg) follow, while grad student John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 11.4 ppg and 10.6 rpg.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS INDIANA

  • The Nittany Lions would earn their first Big Ten win of the season.
  • Penn State would beat Indiana for just the second time in the last eight meetings.
  • Penn State would move to 5-2 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.

 
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS

  • The Hoosiers come to town with a 10-2 overall record and 1-1 mark in Big Ten play. Indiana will be playing its first game since Dec. 22, as the Hoosiers' scheduled game for Dec. 29 was cancelled due to COVID concerns within its opponent's program.
  • Indiana earned a Big Ten win over Nebraska (68-55) in its conference opener on Dec. 4. The Hoosiers dropped their second B1G game of the season at Wisconsin (59-64) on Dec. 8.
  • The Hoosiers are led by Trayce Jackson-Davis who averages 19.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
  • Race Thompson (10.9 ppg) and Xavier Johnson (10.1 ppg) are also key contributors.

AGAINST INDIANA

  • The last 10 games between Penn State and Indiana have been close battles, being decided by an average of just 5.1 points per game.
  • Indiana has won six of the last seven meetings, with Penn State's win coming the last time the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions played in Happy Valley - a 64-49 victory on Jan. 29, 2020.
  • The two teams met just once last season, an 85-87 overtime Penn State loss in Bloomington, Ind. on Dec. 30, 2020. Penn State erased a 12-point deficit to force overtime.
  • Indiana has won seven of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2014, but those seven wins have come by just an average of 4.3 ppg, with one overtime contest (Dec. 30, 2020) and one triple-overtime game (Feb. 1, 2017).

 
BACK IN ACTION

  • The Nittany Lions are set to play their first game in 22 days when Indiana comes to town Sunday afternoon.
  • After playing at Michigan State on Dec. 11, the Nittany Lions had a break from midweek action due to final exams before Penn State's two scheduled games against VCU (Dec. 18) and Quinnipiac (Dec. 22) were cancelled due to COVID-19 within Penn State's program. Following the holiday break, the Nittany Lions' Dec. 29 non-conference finale against Delaware State was cancelled due to COVID-19 with the Hornets' program.

 
NON-CON COMPLETE

  • Penn State wrapped up non-conference play with a 5-3 record.
  • All five of Penn State's non-conference victories came by double digits - Youngstown St. (75-59), St. Francis Brooklyn (74-59), Cornell (85-74), Oregon State (60-45) and Wagner (74-54).
  • Penn State fell on the road to UMass (56-81) in the second game of the season, but the NIttany Lions' other two non-conference losses were close five-point games. Penn State took LSU, a team currently ranked #16 in the AP Poll, to overtime before falling 63-68. The Nittany Lions fell to Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge 58-63.
  • Seth Lundy and Sam Sessoms both contributed a team-best 14.5 points per game through Penn State's eight non-conference contests.

 
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 11.4  points and 10.6 rebounds per game. His 10.6 rebounds per game ranks seventh nationally. as of Wednesday, Dec. 29.
  • The Wallingford, Pa. native has tallied five double-doubles thus far, pulled down double-digit rebounds in seven of 10 contests, and is shooting a blistering 71.4 percent (45-63) from the field.
  • Harrar owns 11 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 10 games of the season, averaging 14.7 points per game in addition to his 6.0 rebounds per contest that ranks second on the squad.
  • Lundy has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games this season and has led the Nittany Lions in scoring in four 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.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State hits the road for its next Big Ten game Wednesday when the Nittany Lions take on Northwestern at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.


The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.