Nittany Lions Travel to #16 Ohio State Sunday at NoonNittany Lions Travel to #16 Ohio State Sunday at Noon
PSU Athletics/Selders

Nittany Lions Travel to #16 Ohio State Sunday at Noon

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team has won three of its last four games and looks to keep its momentum going Sunday when the Nittany Lions head to Columbus to face a tough task in #16 Ohio State at noon on the Big Ten Network. The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State, winners of three of its last four games, hits the road for a big test Sunday at noon when the NIttany Lions take on #16 Ohio State in Columbus.
  • PSU has won three of its last four games - a 61-58 home victory over Indiana, a 74-70 road win at Northwestern, and a dominant 66-49 home victory against Rutgers.
  • Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by junior Seth Lundy's 14.1 ppg. Seniors Jalen Pickett (13.4 ppg) and Sam Sessoms (11.9 ppg) follow, while grad student John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 11.1 ppg and 10.0 rpg.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS OHIO STATE

  • Penn State would beat a top-20 Big Ten team on the road for the first time since Feb. 4, 2020 (75-70 at #16 Michigan State).
  • The Nittany Lions would earn their fourth win in the last five games.

 
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

  • The #16/15 Buckeyes own a 10-4 overall record and 4-2 mark in Big Ten play. Ohio State is a perfect 7-0 in home games this season.
  • Ohio State's two conference losses have come in their last three games. The Buckeyes dropped a 78-68 decision at #13 Wisconsin Thursday night. OSU also fell on the road at Indiana (51-67) on Jan. 6.
  • The Buckeyes are led by E.J. Liddell who averages team-best marks of 19.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Malaki Branham is the only other Buckeye averaging double-digit points with 10.4 ppg, but six other OSU players chip in six or more points per game in a balanced attack.

 
AGAINST OHIO STATE

  • Ohio State owns a 42-19 edge in the all-time series and a 22-6 advantage in home games against the Nittany Lions.
  • The Nittany Lions will be looking for their road win in Columbus since Jan. 25, 2018 (82-79).
  • The two teams met in this season's conference opener on Dec. 5, with the Buckeyes earning a 76-64 win inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions trimmed an 18-point second-half deficit down to six, but weren't able to complete the comeback. Pickett led PSU with 23 points, Lundy had 13, and Harrar added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

 
THREE OF FOUR

  • Penn State returned from a 22-day layoff from game action to play four games in nine days and go 3-1 during that stretch since the turn of the calendar year.
  • The Nittany Lions earned a home win over Indiana (61-68) on Jan. 2, a road win at Northwestern (74-70) on Jan. 5, and a home victory against Rutgers (66-49) on Jan. 11. The only loss of the last four games was a tough 67-74 defeat to #3 Purdue on Jan. 8 in which the Nittany Lions wiped out a 13-point second-half deficit to come back and take a one-point lead before the Boilermakers closed the game on a 10-2 streak to escape Happy Valley with the 74-67 victory.
  • The Penn State defense has been the catalyst over the last four games as the Nittany Lions are holding their opponents to 62.8 ppg since the turn of the calendar year. Jalen Pickett has led Penn State offensively, averaging 17.3 points, 4.25 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game over the last four games.

 
3-3 ISN'T A BAD PLACE TO BE

  • First-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry has the Nittany Lions at 3-3 in Big Ten play through the first six conference games of the season.
  • The 2021-22 season is Penn State's 30th year in the Big Ten, and this is just the ninth time the Nittany Lions have started .500 or better through the first six league games.
  • The Nittany Lions have gone on to make the national postseason in six of the previous eight times that Penn State has started .500 or better through the first six games of conference play (2 NCAA, 4 NIT including two NIT Championships).

 
DE-FENSE!

  • Penn State's defense has held eight of its last 11 opponents at least 10 points under their season scoring averages entering the game.
Team Season Avg. Vs. PSU Margin
Rutgers 70.4 49 -21.4
#3 Purdue 85.9 74 -11.9
Indiana 77.2 58 -19.2
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

 
EXTINGUISHED

  • Rutgers rode a four-game win streak into Tuesday's game, in which the Scarlet Knights were averaging 81.8 points per game. But it was the Penn State defense that dominated the day to hand red-hot Rutgers a 66-49 loss in the Nittany Lions' most recent game.
  • Penn State's defense held a Big Ten opponent under 50 points in regulation  for the first time since limiting Indiana to 49 during the 2019-20 season (1/29/20). Rutgers' 49 points was 21 points below its season average of 70.4 per game.
  • The Nittany Lions led wire-to-wire, marking the first time Penn State never trailed in a game since Feb. 11, 2020 in an 88-76 win at Purdue.

 
PICKETT'S CHARGE

  • Senior transfer Jalen Pickett is the only Big Ten player averaging at least 17.5 points and 4.2 assists per conference game thus far this season. Pickett owns the only points-assists double-double in a Big Ten game this season after registering 21 points and 10 assists against #3 Purdue Saturday.
  • The guard is averaging 17.5 points, 4.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per Big Ten contest while shooting 45.7 percent from the field.
  • Pickett came to PSU after three seasons at Siena, where he earned MAAC Player of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2019-20 and MAAC Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman in 2018-19. The Rochester, N.Y. native was a three-time first-team All-MAAC selection with the Saints.

 
LOCKDOWN LUNDY

  • Junior Seth Lundy is the team's leading scorer through the first 14 games of the season, averaging 14.1 points per game. But it's his defense that has stolen the show as he proves himself as a legitimate two-way player in the Big Ten.
  • Take a look at the work he's done on some of the nation's best that he has been tasked with guarding:
Team – Player Guarded by Lundy Season Average Vs. Penn State
LSU – Darius Days 14.7 ppg, 44.2 FG% 8 points, 4-14 FG
Miami – Kam McGusty 18.0 ppg, 49.8 FG% 12 points, 5-10 FG
Ohio State – EJ Liddell 19.9 ppg, 50.8 FG% 14 points, 4-9 FG
Indiana – Miller Kopp 7.1 ppg, 38.8 FG% 5 points, 2-5 FG
Northwestern – Chase Audige 12.3 ppg, 40.4 FG% 6 points, 3-9 FG
Purdue – Jaden Ivey 16.2 ppg, 50.0 FG% 12 points, 5-15 FG
Rutgers – Ron Harper Jr. 15.7 ppg, 43.4 FG% 7 points, 2-9 FG

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State returns home Wednesday night to host Minnesota at the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.