Penn State Meets #9 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals Friday NightPenn State Meets #9 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals Friday Night
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Meets #9 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals Friday Night

INDIANAPOLIS – The Penn State men's basketball team looks to keep its postseason run going Friday night when the 11th-seeded Nittany Lions meet third-seeded Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at approximately 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The 11th-seeded Nittany Lions match up with the third-seeded Boilermakers in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
  • Penn State advanced to the quarterfinals by way of a 71-68 win over sixth-seeded Ohio State in Thursday night's second round.
  • Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Jalen Pickett's 13.2 ppg. Seth Lundy (12.2 ppg) and Sam Sessoms (11.7 ppg) follow, while All-Big Ten honorable mention pick John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS PURDUE

  • Penn State would move on to Saturday's Big Ten Tournament semifinals against either second-seeded Wisconsin or seventh-seeded Michigan State.
  • The Nittany Lions would advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
  • Penn State would earn its first-ever Big Ten Tournament win over Purdue.

 
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS

  • The #9/9 Boilermakers are playing as the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after finishing the regular season 25-6 overall and 14-6 in the Big Ten.
  • Purdue is led by first-team All-Big Ten selection Jaden Ivey with 17.2 points per game. The Boilermakers are home to the league's best big men duo of second-team All-Big Ten pick Zach Edey (14.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Trevion Williams (11.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg).
  • This will be Purdue's first game since last Saturday, a 69-67 home win over Indiana in the regular-season finale.

 
AGAINST PURDUE

  • Penn State and Purdue meet for the fourth time in Big Ten Tournament history and first time since 2018 when the third-seeded Boilers bounced eighth-seeded Penn State from the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, 78-70, at Madison Square Garden.
  • Purdue owns a 42-13 all-time edge in the series, including a 3-0 mark in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers met just once this season, a 74-67 Purdue win inside the BJC on Jan. 5. Trailing by as much as 13 with just over 12 minutes to play, PSU chipped away at the double-digit deficit and hit eight-straight field goals to take a one-point lead with 3:42 remaining before the visiting third-ranked Boilermakers closed the game on a 10-2 run for a 74-67 victory.

 
MOVING ON!

  • The 11th-seeded Penn State men's basketball team advanced to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals by way of a 71-68 upset over sixth-seeded Ohio State in Thursday's second-round game and a 60-51 win over 14th-seeded Minnesota in Wednesday's first-round contest.
  • The Nittany Lions find themselves in their first Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2018, with a chance to advance to Semifinal Saturday for the first time since the 2018 run ended in the semis.
  • Penn State shot 61.5 percent in the second half to mount a comeback for the second-straight night and knock the sixth-seeded Buckeyes out of the conference tournament Thursday night.
  • Jalen Pickett and Sam Sessoms have been Penn State's offensive catalysts thus far into the tournament. Pickett is averaging 19.0 ppg in the two tournament contests, while Sessoms is averaging 16.0 ppg.

 
SECOND HALF CATS

  • Penn State's stellar second halves have been the difference maker in its Big Ten Tournament run thus far.
  • Penn State trailed at halftime in both contests, down four at the break to Minnesota and down nine at the intermission against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions trailed by as much as 13 against the Buckeyes and as much as seven against the Gophers.
  • Penn State turned the tables in the second half of both contests. The Nittany Lions shot 59.1 percent (13-22) from the floor in the second half against the Gophers, and 61.5 percent (16-26) in the second term against the Buckeyes.
  • Through the two Big Ten Tournament games, Penn State is shooting 60.4 percent (29-48) from the field and 47.1 percent (8-17) from 3-point range in the second half. The Nittany Lions are shooting just 32.1 percent (18-56) from the floor and 25.0 percent (6-24) from deep in the first half of the two tourney games.

 
COMEBACK KIDS

  • Penn State has erased a 10-plus point deficit to come back and win four times this season.
  • The never-say-die Nittany Lions most recently trailed Ohio State by as many as 13 points in Thursday's Big Ten Tournament second-round game, but shot a blistering 61.5 percent in the second half to erase an 11-point second-half deficit and rally for the 71-68 win.
  • Penn State trailed #19 Michigan State by 14 with 13:20 to play on Feb. 15, but closed the game on a 33-15 run to earn a 62-58 win over the ranked Spartans.
  • Northwestern led by as much as 10 at 55-45 with 9:37 to play on Jan. 5, but Penn State's offense came to life in the final 9:14 as the Nittany Lions shot 9-for-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from deep to rally for the 74-70 road win.
  • The Nittany Lions also faced a 10-point deficit on Nov. 22 against Cornell, but Penn State spent the final six minutes of the game on a 21-7 run to earn the 85-74 victory over the Big Red.

 
CLOSE BATTLES

  • The Nittany Lions have consistently found themselves in close games as 14 of Penn State's 22 contests against Big Ten foes have been decided by seven points or less.
  • Six of Penn State's nine wins vs. Big Ten teams have come by seven points or less: Indiana (61-58), at Northwestern (74-70), Iowa (90-86, 2OT), #19 Michigan State (62-58), Northwestern (67-60), and Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament (71-68).
  • Eight of Penn State's 13 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), at Maryland (61-67), at #20 Illinois (55-60), and at Rutgers (58-59).
  • Including non-conference play, 10 of Penn State's 16 losses this season came by seven points or less.

 
DE-FENSE!

  • The Nittany Lions wrapped up the conference season with the Big Ten's best scoring defense against league foes, giving up just 66.2 points per Big Ten contest.
  • 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 12 times this season.
  • Penn State's current overall mark of 64.9 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.

 
THE ALL-B1G BIG FELLA

  • Penn State graduate student John Harrar collected All-Big Ten accolades for the second-straight year after being named All-Big Ten honorable mention by both the conference coaches and media.
  • Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. His 10.3 rebounds per game rank second in the Big Ten and 11th in all of Division I.
  • The Wallingford, Pa. native has tallied 11 double-doubles thus far, pulled down double-digit rebounds in 16 contests, and is shooting 63.3 percent (119-188) from the field. His 63.3 percent clip tracks to be the third-best single-season percentage in program history, behind only Mike Watkins' mark of 68.5 percent in 2017-18 and Jarrett Stephens' mark of 64.0 percent in 1997-98.
  • He leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with 3.57 offensive rebounds per game. Harrar owns 17 career double-doubles, the eighth most in Penn State history. He is  the sixth-ever Nittany Lion to record both 800 career points and 800 career rebounds.

 
PICKETT'S POP

  • Senior transfer Jalen Pickett finished the conference season averaging 13.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per Big Ten contest.
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native surpassed the 1,500 career-point mark in Penn State's Big Ten Tournament opener against Minnesota. He ranks 17th amongst active career Division I leaders with 592 career assists.
  • Pickett reached an impressive multi-faceted achievement in Thursday's Big Ten Tournament second round game when he became the fourth active Division I player to reach all three of the 1,500 career points (has 1536), 500 career assists (has 592), and 500 career rebounds (has 502) marks. There are currently only three active Division I players that have achieved all three: Marreon Jackson of Arizona State, Conley Garrison of Furman and Terrell Brown Jr. of Washington.
  • Pickett's 37.2 minutes per game leads the Big Ten and ranks inside the top 10 in the country. His 2.43 assist-to-turnover ratio is a top-35 mark in the country.

 
SESSOMS' SPARK

  • Senior Sam Sessoms has been a key spark off the bench this season and currently ranks third on the team with 11.7 points per game and second with 2.7 assists per contest.
  • Sessoms has 19 double-digit scoring games this season and has been Penn State's go-to spark plug thus far in the Big Ten Tournament, averaging 16.0 points per tourney game. He has scored in double-figures in all four of his career Big Ten Tournament contests.
  • He enters Friday's quarterfinal matchup needing just two points to reach 1,700 career points.

 
DREAD FROM DEEP

  • Senior Myles Dread has drilled the fifth-most 3-pointers in Penn State history. He drained 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 230 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 40.3 percent (62-154) 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

  • The winner of Friday's quarterfinal round game between Penn State and Purdue advances to Saturday's semifinals to take on the winner of second-seeded Wisconsin vs. seventh-seeded Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.