Penn State Opens Big Ten Tournament Wednesday Night vs. MinnesotaPenn State Opens Big Ten Tournament Wednesday Night vs. Minnesota
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Opens Big Ten Tournament Wednesday Night vs. Minnesota

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Postseason play begins for the Penn State men's basketball team Wednesday night when the Nittany Lions take on Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tipoff from Indianapolis is slated for approximately 8:30 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 2022 postseason begins Wednesday night when the 11th-seeded Nittany Lions take on the 14th-seeded Gophers in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The two teams split the regular-season series, with the home team winning each contest.
  • Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Jalen Pickett's 12.8 ppg. Seth Lundy (12.4 ppg) and Sam Sessoms (11.4 ppg) follow, while All-Big Ten honorable mention pick John Harrar is averaging a double-double with 10.5 ppg and 10.3 rpg.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS MINNESOTA

  • Penn State would move on to Thursday's night's 9 p.m. second-round game against sixth-seeded Ohio State.
  • The Nittany Lions would earn their first-ever win over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.

 
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS

  • The Gophers are the No. 14 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after finishing conference play with a 4-16 mark that is part of a 13-16 overall record.
  • Minnesota enters the postseason having lost its last four games and six of its last seven. The Gophers dropped a 75-62 decision at Northwestern Sunday night in their regular-season finale.
  • Jamison Battle leads Minnesota with 17.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Payton Willis follows with 16.1 points per contest and team-best 123 assists.

 
AGAINST MINNESOTA

  • Penn State and Minnesota split the regular-season series, with the home team winning each matchup. Minnesota won the season's first meeting, 76-70, in Minneapolis on Feb. 12. Penn State earned a dominant 67-46 win over the Gophers inside the Bryce Jordan Center just five days later.
  • The 21-point victory was Penn State's largest-ever win over Minnesota and the Nittany Lions were led by Jalen Pickett (20 points), Myles Dread (12 points) and John Harrar (10 points and 10 rebounds).
  • The Gophers own a 4-0 all-time advantage over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, and last met in the 2019 second round, a 77-72 overtime victory for Minnesota.

 
TOURNEY TIME

  • March Madness is here and Penn State opens up postseason play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday night against Minnesota.
  • A win on Wednesday would advance Penn State to Thursday's second round, where the Nittany Lions would face sixth-seeded Ohio State at approximately 9 p.m. The winner of Thursday's second-round game advances to Friday's quarterfinals to take on third-seeded Purdue.
  • Penn State looks to win a game at the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth time in the last five completed tournaments (not including 2020 which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Nittany Lions have never won a Big Ten Tournament championship, but did advance to the championship game in 2011.
  • Minnesota and Penn State have met four times in Big Ten Tournament history, with the Gophers winning all four matchups. The two teams last met in the 2019 second round, with the seventh-seeded Gophers earning a 77-72 overtime victory over the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions.

 
FIRE POWER VS. THE GOPHERS

  • The Penn State offense put together its best two shooting efforts of the season in the Nittany Lions' two regular season games against Minnesota on Feb. 12 and Feb. 17.
  • Penn State shot a season-high 54.7 percent (29-53) from the field and 53.3 (8-15) from deep in the season's first meeting on Feb. 12 in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions then shot the second-best mark of the season in the Feb. 17 contest, a 53.8 percent (28-52) clip from the floor and 50.0 percent (7-14) mark from 3-point range.

 
CLOSE BATTLES

  • The Nittany Lions have consistently found themselves in close games as 13 of Penn State's 20 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).
  • 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 11 times this season.
  • Penn State's current overall mark of 65.25 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 ALL-B1G BIG FELLA

  • 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 finished the regular season as one of just two Big Ten players averaging a double-double with 10.5 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.
  • He leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally with 3.57 offensive boards per game, the second-straight season in which he has led the conference on the offensive glass.
  • The Wallingford, Pa. native tallied 11 double-doubles this season, pulled down double-digit rebounds in 14 contests, and is shooting 64.8 percent (114-176) from the field. His 64.8 percent clip tracks to be the second-best single-season percentage in program history, behind only Mike Watkins' mark of 68.5 percent in 2017-18.
  • Harrar is currently a 59.7 percent (290-486) career shooter, a mark that is tied with Watkins for the best career shooting percentage in Penn State history.
  • Harrar owns 17 career double-doubles, the eighth most in Penn State history.
  • He needs just two points to become the sixth-ever Nittany Lion to record both 800 career points and 800 career rebounds. His 821 career rebounds are the fifth-most all-time by a Nittany Lion.
  • Harrar became Penn State's all-time leader in games played on March 3 at #20 Illinois when he suited up for his 142nd-career contest in the Blue & White.
  • Harrar was also named Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the third-straight season. The undisputed leader of the Nittany Lions, Harrar's work ethic, determination and leadership have consistently been praised by opposing coaches and national media alike.

 
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 enters the Big Ten Tournament needing just two points to hit the 1,500-career point mark. He ranks 17th amongst active career Division I leaders with 583 career assists.
  • Pickett is nearing an impressive multi-faceted achievement of 1,500 career points (needs 2), 500 career assists (has 583), and 500 career rebounds (needs 13). 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 37.0 minutes per game leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th in the country. His 2.45 assist-to-turnover ratio is a top-35 mark in the country.

 
LOCKDOWN LUNDY

  • Junior Seth Lundy is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 12.4 points per game. But it's his defense that has stolen the show as he proves himself as one of the best defenders 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, including Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis who had his only single-digit scoring game of the season when matched up with Lundy: 
Team – Player Guarded by Lundy Season Average Vs. Penn State
Wisconsin – Johnny Davis – B1G POY
*Davis' only single-digit scoring effort of the season*		 20.0 ppg, 44.6 FG% 4 points, 2-13 FG
Purdue – Jaden Ivey – All-B1G 1st 17.2 ppg, 45.9 FG% 12 points, 5-15 FG
Ohio State – EJ Liddell – All-B1G 1st 19.4 ppg, 49.5 FG% 14 points, 4-9 FG
Rutgers – Ron Harper Jr. – All-B1G 2nd 15.6 ppg, 43.2 FG% 7 points, 2-9 FG
Minnesota – Jamison Battle – All-B1G HM 17.4 ppg, 45.1 FG% 8 points, 3-7 FG
Miami (Fla.) – Kam McGusty – All-ACC 1st 17.5 ppg, 47.4 FG% 12 points, 5-10 FG
LSU – Darius Days – All-SEC 2nd 13.6 ppg, 43.0 FG% 8 points, 4-14 FG

 
SESSOMS' SPARK

  • Senior Sam Sessoms has been a key spark off the bench this season and currently ranks third on the team with 11.4 points per game and second with 2.9 assists per contest.
  • Sessoms has 17 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 has drilled the fifth-most 3-pointers in Penn State history. He 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 226 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 38.9 percent (49-126) 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

  • Should Penn State win Wednesday's game vs. Minnesota, the Nittany Lions would advance to Thursday's second round and take on sixth-seeded Ohio State at approximately 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.