Nittany Lions Host Iowa in New Year’s Day Big Ten BattleNittany Lions Host Iowa in New Year’s Day Big Ten Battle

Nittany Lions Host Iowa in New Year’s Day Big Ten Battle


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Big Ten play resumes for the Penn State men's basketball team on New Year's Day when the Nittany Lions host Iowa at 5:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Big Ten play begins in earnest on New Year's Day when the Nittany Lions host Iowa.
  • Penn State is 10-3 on the season and riding a four-game win streak into Sunday's game. The Nittany Lions are 1-1 in conference action with the win coming at #17 Illinois (74-59) and the loss coming at home against Michigan State (58-67).
  • Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.4 rpg) and assists (7.6 apg) and is the only player in the country averaging 16/7/7. Seth Lundy (13.8 ppg) and Andrew Funk (11.8 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS IOWA

  • Penn State would win its fifth-straight game, its longest win streak since an eight-game stretch from Jan. 18, 2020 to Feb. 15, 2020.
  • The Nittany Lions would improve to 8-1 at home this season and 2-1 in Big Ten play.

 
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES

  • Iowa comes to Happy Valley with an 8-5 record and 0-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes started the season 5-0, but have since dropped five of their last eight games.
  • The Hawkeyes are coming off back-to-back losses to Eastern Illinois (83-92, Dec. 21) and at Nebraska (50-66, Dec. 29).
  • Kris Murray leads the team with 19.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Filip Rebraca follows with 14.2 points and 8.7 boards per contest.
  • Patrick McCaffery (13.4 ppg) and Tony Perkins (10.8 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
AGAINST IOWA

  • Iowa owns a 33-19 advantage in the all-time series against Penn State, but the Nittany Lions are 13-10 when playing the Hawkeyes in Happy Valley.
  • The two teams split last season's series, with the home team winning each contest.
  • The Nittany Lions came out on top, 90-86, in a double-overtime thriller in the most recent meeting on Jan. 31, 2022 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Iowa's Keegan Murray tipped in the game-tying basket at the buzzer to force overtime. Myles Dread nailed a game-tying triple to force double-overtime before Penn State outscored the Hawkeyes 12-8 in the second extra frame for the win.

 
10-3

  • Penn State is off to a 10-3 start to the 2022-23 season, its best since the 2019-20 team started 12-2. Four of the Nittany Lions' 10 wins have come over teams currently ranked in the top 100 of the KenPom rankings.

 
NON-CONFERENCE WRAP-UP

  • The Nittany Lions completed regular-season non-conference play with a 9-2 record.
  • Penn State picked up three non-conference wins over teams currently ranked in the top 100 of the KenPom metrics in Butler (68-62), Furman (73-68) and Colorado State (68-56).
  • Penn State's only two losses of non-conference play were a two-point neutral site defeat to Virginia Tech (59-61) and a double-overtime road loss at Clemson (94-101, 2OT).

 
BALL SECURITY

  • Penn State leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82).
  • The Nittany Lions have taken care of the ball best at home, as Penn State owns a 2.25 (144-64) assist-to-turnover ratio in its eight home games. The Nittany Lions have a 1.26 (63-50) assist-to-turnover radio in their five games away from Happy Valley.

 
STOUT D

  • Penn State's stout defense has held 12 of its 13 opponents under 70 points this season, including four under 60 points and one under 50 points. The Nittany Lions have held five of their opponents to more than 10 points under their season-long scoring average:
Team Current PPG Vs. PSU Difference
Furman 82.8 68 -14.8
Virginia Tech 75.4 61 -14.4
Colorado State 75.7 56 -19.7
Illinois 78.1 59 -19.1
Delaware State 61.4 46 -15.4

 
 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 25 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Dec. 30:
Team Stat Value National Rank
Fewest turnover/game 8.8 1
Assist-to-turnover ratio 1.82 1
3FG made/game 11.2 6
FT% 76.9% 20
3FG% 38.4% 26
Player Stat Value National Rank
Assist-to-turnover ratio – Jalen Pickett 4.12 3
Assists/game – Jalen Pickett 7.6 3

 
 
THE MAESTRO

  • Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Jalen Pickett is the only player in the country currently averaging at least 16 points per game, 7 rebounds per game and 7 assists per game. The point guard is averaging 16.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 47.0 percent (86-183) from the field through the first 13 games of the season.
  • Pickett ranks third in the country in both assist-to-turnover ratio (4.12) and assists per game (7.6).
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native is the only player in the Big Ten that ranks in the top 10 in scoring (6th), rebounding (8th) and assists (1st) amongst conference players. He's recorded a triple-double and four double-doubles through 13 games this season.
  • He put together the second triple-double and first points-rebounds-assists triple-double in Penn State history Nov. 14 against Butler with his 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Penn State's only other triple-double came in 1998 when all-time great Calvin Booth tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against Dayton in an NIT game. Pickett's triple-double was just the eighth turnover-free triple-double by a collegiate player in the last four seasons.

 
DREAD NEARING 1,000

  • Myles Dread needs just nine points to reach the 1,000-career point milestone. Dread would become the 38th all-time member of Penn State's 1,000-point club and the first to join since Mike Watkins in 2020.

 
ELITE EFFICIENCY FOR LUNDY

  • Senior Seth Lundy is producing at an elite level on both ends of the floor through the first 13 games of the season. The Paulsboro, N.J. native is one of five players nationally and the only player in the Big Ten that is averaging more 10 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting at least 60% from 2-point range, 40% from 3-point range and 75% from the charity stripe.
  • Lundy is averaging 13.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 65.9% from two, 41.3% from three and 79.1% from the free throw line.
  • Lundy owns two double-doubles this season and has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games played. In addition to his offensive consistency, Lundy serves as one of the team's top defenders and is consistently tasked with guarding the opposing team's best players.

 
1-2 PUNCH

  • Penn State's duo of Myles Dread and Andrew Funk have provided a lethal 1-2 punch on the perimeter as they both rank in the top four in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-pointers made per game.
  • Myles Dread (2.5 3-pointers/game) leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, converting his looks from deep at a 45.7 percent clip. Andrew Funk has made a Big Ten-best 3.0 3-pointers per contest at a 41.9 percent clip, the second-best 3FG% in the Big Ten behind only Dread.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State hits the road for a midweek conference matchup at Michigan Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

 
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.