UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team, winner of three of its last four games, hosts Nebraska Sunday night in the Nittany Lions' regular-season home finale at the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Jason Horowitz (pxp) & Jess Settles (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network (PDF) with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi – 103.7 FM & 1450 AM
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius Ch. 84 | XM Ch. 84 | SXM App Ch. 84
- LIVE STATS: Live Stats
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Notes
- TICKETS: Tickets
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State and Nebraska meet for the only time this regular season when the Nittany Lions host the Huskers in the regular-season home finale Sunday evening.
- Penn State has won three of its last four games and the Nittany Lions are 10-4 in the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Jalen Pickett's 12.9 ppg. Seth Lundy (12.3 ppg) and Sam Sessoms (11.6 ppg) follow, while John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.7 ppg and 10.2 rpg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS NEBRASKA
- The Nittany Lions would improve to 11-4 inside the BJC this season.
- Penn State would earn its third-straight win over the Huskers and fifth in the last six meetings.
SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
- Nebraska sits in last place in the Big Ten with a 1-16 conference mark that is part of a 7-21 overall record.
- The Huskers' lone conference victory came at home against Minnesota in a 78-65 win on Feb. 9.
- Nebraska gives up a league-worst 79.61 points per game.
- Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate Bryce McGowens leads the Huskers with 16.6 points per game, while Alonzo Verge Jr. follows with 13.8 points per contest.
AGAINST NEBRASKA
- Penn State and Nebraska meet for the only time during the regular-season Sunday night.
- The Nittany Lions own a 13-10 advantage in the all-time series, including a 7-2 mark against the Huskers in Happy Valley.
- Penn State has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams.
- The Nittany Lions and Huskers split last season's regular-season series, with the road team winning each contest. The two squads then met in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, with Penn State overcoming a 14-point halftime deficit to come back for the 72-66 win in Indianapolis.
- Penn State outscored Nebraska 49-29 in the second half, thanks in part to a 20-for-24 effort from the charity stripe.
CURTAIN CALL
- Penn State honored is seven-member senior class ahead of Friday night's win over Northwestern, but Sunday's showdown with Nebraska will serve as the final regular-season home game for the group of John Harrar, Myles Dread, Sam Sessoms, Jalen Pickett, Greg Lee, Jalanni White and Jaheam Cornwall.
- Harrar (five years) and Dread (four years) have played their entire collegiate careers at Penn State. Sessoms played two years at Binghamton before his two years at Penn State. Pickett (three years at Siena), Lee (three years Cal-State Bakersfield, one Western Michigan), White (four years at Canisius), and Cornwall (four years at Gardner-Webb) are all wrapping up their first year at Penn State.
- This group of seven has combined for the following throughout their careers (includes both Penn State and previous institutions):
- 7,360 career points
- 3,161 career rebounds
- 1,796 career assists
- 900 career 3-pointers
- 20,087 career minutes played
- 850 career games played
THE LAST EIGHT
- Penn State is 4-4 in its last eight games, with the four losses coming by a combined 15 points.
- The Nittany Lions earned wins over Iowa (90-86 2OT), #19 Michigan State (62-58), Minnesota (67-46) and Northwestern (67-60) during the last eight games.
- The four losses by a combined 15 points came at #11 Wisconsin (49-51), against Michigan (57-58), at Minnesota (70-76), and at Maryland (61-67).
- Here's a look at some of the improvements Penn State has made over its last 8 conference games compared to the first 9 Big Ten games of the season:
| Stat | Last 8 | First 9 |
| PPG | 65.4 | 62.2 |
| Opp. PPG | 62.8 | 67.8 |
| 3FG% | 37.0% | 33.2% |
| Opp. 3FG% | 33.1% | 38.7% |
| Rebound Margin | +5.8 | +1.7 |
DE-FENSE!
- The Nittany Lions own the Big Ten's best scoring defense, allowing just 64.6 points per game.
- Penn State has limited its opponents to 65.4 points per conference game, which is also the best mark in the Big Ten.
- The Nittany Lions have held three opponents to under 50 points this season - Jan. 17 vs. Minnesota (67-46 Win), Jan. 11 vs. Rutgers (66-49 Win), and Nov. 27 vs. Oregon State (60-45 Win). Penn State has held its opponent under 60 points 10 times this season.
- Penn State's current mark of 64.6 points per game allowed tracks to be the Nittany Lions' best defensive season since 2010-11 when Penn State surrendered just 62.5 ppg. The 2010-11 team made an NCAA Tournament appearance.
CLOSE BATTLES
- The Nittany Lions have consistently found themselves in close games as 11 of Penn State's 17 Big Ten contests have been decided by seven points or less.
- Five of Penn State's seven Big Ten wins have come by seven points or less: Indiana (61-58), at Northwestern (74-70), Iowa (90-86, 2OT), #19 Michigan State (62-58), and Northwestern (67-60).
- Six of Penn State's 10 Big Ten losses have come by seven points or less: #3 Purdue (67-74), at #16 Ohio State (56-61), at #11 Wisconsin (49-51), Michigan (57-58), at Minnesota (70-76), and at Maryland (61-67).
HAPPY TO BE HOME
- The Nittany Lions have found much more success at home, sitting at 10-4 inside the Bryce Jordan Center compared to their 1-8 record in true road games.
- Penn State is 74-33 (.691) when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center since the start of the 2015-16 season.
B1G JOHN
- Penn State graduate student John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. His 10.2 rebounds per game rank second in the Big Ten.
- The Wallingford, Pa. native has tallied 10 double-doubles thus far, pulled down double-digit rebounds in 13 contests, and is shooting 65.0 percent (104-160) from the field. Harrar owns 16 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. He leads the Big Ten with 3.6 offensive rebounds per game.
- Harrar has notched a double-double in each of the last four games, including 11 points and a staggering 20 rebounds Friday against Northwestern. He became the first Nittany Lion since 2005 to pull down 20 boards in a game.
- Harrar has played in 140 games throughout his Nittany Lion career, just one game shy of tying and two games shy of breaking the Penn State career games played record of 141 that is currently held by Julian Moore (2013-18).
PICKETT'S POP
- Senior transfer Jalen Pickett is averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per Big Ten contest.
- Pickett has played 342 minutes over the last nine games with 36 assists and just 11 turnovers during that nine-game stretch.
- Pickett's 37.0 minutes per game leads the Big Ten.
LOCKDOWN LUNDY
- Junior Seth Lundy is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 12.3 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 |
| Minnesota – Jamison Battle | 16.6 ppg, 45.5 FG% | 8 points, 3-7 FG |
| Michigan – Caleb Houstan | 10.3 ppg, 39.4 FG% | 6 points, 1-4 FG |
| Wisconsin – Johnny Davis | 20.6 ppg, 44.8 FG% | 4 points, 2-13 FG |
| Rutgers – Ron Harper Jr. | 15.7 ppg, 43.2 FG% | 7 points, 2-9 FG |
| Purdue – Jaden Ivey | 17.3 ppg, 46.3 FG% | 12 points, 5-15 FG |
| Ohio State – EJ Liddell | 19.6 ppg, 50.8 FG% | 14 points, 4-9 FG |
| Miami (Fla.) – Kam McGusty | 17.8 ppg, 47.3 FG% | 12 points, 5-10 FG |
SESSOMS' SPARK
- Senior Sam Sessoms has stepped into a larger role this season and currently ranks third on the team with 11.6 points per game and second with 2.9 assists per contest.
- Sessoms has 15 double-digit scoring games this season and tied his Big Ten career-best with 18 points at Minnesota on Feb. 12.
- He scored his 1,600th career point during Penn State's victory over #19 Michigan State on Feb. 15.
DREAD FROM DEEP
- Senior Myles Dread drilled his 200th career 3-pointer in Penn State's Jan. 5 win at Northwestern, making him the seventh Nittany Lion to ever reach 200 career triples. He currently has 223 career treys, the fifth-most all-time at Penn State.
- Dread has proven to have a knack for clutch shots, most recently hitting the game-tying basket to force double overtime in Penn State's 90-86 2OT win over Iowa on Jan. 31.
- The senior is currently shooting 39.3 percent (46-117) from deep this season, by far the most efficient mark of his career. He shot 35.6% from three as a freshman, 31.9% as a sophomore, and 34.6% as a junior.
UP NEXT
- Penn State plays the final two games of the regular season on the road before heading to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions begin the road stretch at #15 Illinois Thursday night at 7 p.m. on FS1.