Men’s Basketball Faces Tuesday Night Test at WisconsinMen’s Basketball Faces Tuesday Night Test at Wisconsin
Penn State Athletics

Men’s Basketball Faces Tuesday Night Test at Wisconsin

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Fresh off a bye weekend, the Penn State men's basketball team travels to Wisconsin for a Tuesday night road test at the Kohl Center. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State returns from a bye weekend with a tough test at Wisconsin Tuesday night.
  • The Nittany Lions are 12-5 overall, 3-3 in conference play, and coming off an 85-66 rout of Indiana Wednesday night. Penn State has also earned conference wins against Iowa (83-79) and at then-No. 17 Illinois (74-59).
  • Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (17.6 ppg), rebounds (7.4 rpg) and assists (7.4 apg) and is the only player in the country averaging 17/7/7. Seth Lundy (14.4 ppg) and Andrew Funk (12.2 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS WISCONSIN

  • The Nittany Lions would earn their first-ever victory inside the Kohl Center and win in Madison for the first time in nearly 28 years. Penn State's last road win at Wisconsin came inside the Wisconsin Field House on Jan. 26, 1995 (78-67).

 
SCOUTING THE BADGERS

  • The Badgers are 11-5 on the season and 3-3 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin started conference play 3-0, but has dropped its last three games - all of which have been played without Badger leading scorer Tyler Wahl (13.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg) who has missed the last three games with an injury.
  • Wisconsin's three conference victories came over Minnesota (63-60, Jan. 3), at Iowa (78-75 OT, Dec. 11) and against Maryland (64-59, Dec. 6).
  • Wahl leads four Badgers in double figures, while Chucky Hepburn (12.7 ppg), Steven Crowl (12.4 ppg) and Connor Essegian (10.5 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST WISCONSIN

  • Penn State looks for its first-ever win in the Kohl Center and first victory in Madison, Wis. since 1995. The Nittany Lions are 0-18 in the Kohl Center, which opened in Jan. 1998, and 2-22 all-time on the road at Wisconsin. Penn State's last road win at Wisconsin came on Jan. 26, 1995, a 78-67 win in the Wisconsin Field House.
  • The two teams met just once last season, a tight 51-49 victory for the Badgers. Penn State had a look from behind the arc in the final seconds for the win, but the shot came up just short.

 
THE NITTANY LIONS

  • Penn State's bread and butter boils down to four things: they're experienced, they take care of the ball, shoot the ball well from 3-point range, and capitalize on opportunities at the free throw line.
  • The Nittany Lions own the nation's most experienced roster per KenPom. Penn State leads the country in fewest turnovers per game (8.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.74). The Nittany Lions are fond of the three ball, making the fourth-most 3-pointers per game (11.1) in Division I while shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. Penn State's 3-point shooting percentage (39.5% - 12th) and free throw shooting percentage (77.9% - 14th) both rank in the top 15 in the nation.

 
BUILDING THE RESUME

  • Penn State is off to a 12-5 start to the 2022-23 season, its best since start through 17 games since the 2019-20 team also started 12-5.
  • The Nittany Lions sit 3-3 in conference play after a tough six-game stretch to open Big Ten action. Five of Penn State's six conference games have come against the top seven scoring offenses in the conference (Penn State is also in the top seven). The Nittany Lions have beaten three of the league's four top offenses in Iowa (first), Indiana (second) and Illinois (fourth).
  • Penn State's two best wins were a 15-point road win at Illinois (currently 23 in NET rankings) on Dec. 10, which is still the Illini's only home loss of the season, and a 19-point thumping of Indiana (currently 32 in NET rankings) on Jan. 11 for the Nittany Lions' largest win over the Hoosiers in program history.
  • Penn State has no bad losses on its resume. The Nittany Lions suffered a two-point neutral-site defeat to Virginia Tech (55 in NET) and a double-overtime road loss at Clemson (49 in NET) in non-conference play. All three of Penn State's conference losses have come against teams that currently sit in the top four of the conference standings in Purdue (first), Michigan State (tied third) and Michigan (tied third).

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 30 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Jan. 16:
Team Stat Value National Rank
Fewest turnovers per game 8.6 1
Assist-to-turnover ratio 1.74 1
3FG made per game 11.1 4
3FG% 39.5% 12
FT% 77.9% 14
Player Stat Value National Rank
Assist-to-turnover ratio – Jalen Pickett 3.91 2
Assists per game – Jalen Pickett 7.4 4
3FG made/game – Andrew Funk 3.1 20

 
 
17/7/7

  • Jalen Pickett is the only player in the country averaging at least 17 points (17.6) per game, 7 rebounds (7.4) per game and 7 assists (7.4) per game.
  • Only one college basketball player in the last 30 years (since 1992-93 season) has finished the season averaging 17/7/7. Michigan State's Denzel Valentine finished the 2015-16 season averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game en route to first team All-America honors and Big Ten Player of the Year accolades.

 
THE MAESTRO

  • It's no secret that Penn State's offense runs through Jalen Pickett. The point guard ranks second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.91) and fourth in assists per game (7.4).
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native is the only player in the Big Ten that ranks in the top 10 in scoring (5th), rebounding (10th) and assists (1st) in the conference statistical standings. He's recorded a triple-double and four double-doubles through 17 games this season.
  • Pickett owns eight 20-plus point games this season, four of which have come in Penn State's six Big Ten games. He is currently averaging 20.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 6.7 apg while shooting 53.3% (48-90) from the field, 53.3% (8-15) from 3-point range and 86.4% (19-22) from the free throw line in conference play.

 
FIVE 1,000 POINT SCORERS

  • The Nittany Lions are one of three teams in the country with five 1,000-point scorers on their 2022-23 roster - Myles Dread (1,006 points), Andrew Funk (1,438 points), Seth Lundy (1,004 points), Jalen Pickett (1,851 points) and Camren Wynter (1,814 points).
  • San Diego and UAB are the only two other teams that have five active 1,000-point scorers on their 2022-23 rosters.
  • Seth Lundy was the most recent Nittany Lion to reach the mark, becoming the 39th all-time member of Penn State's 1,000 career point club on Jan. 11 against Indiana. Myles Dread accomplished the feat one week earlier on Jan. 4 in Penn State's road game at Michigan.

 
BALL SECURITY

  • Penn State leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game (8.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.74).
  • Since the turn of the millennium, Penn State has never finished the season averaging fewer than 10.5 turnovers per game (2010-11 team).

 
THE THREE IS KEY

  • Penn State ranks fourth in the nation with 11.1 3-pointers made per game. The Nittany Lions are shooting the long ball at a 39.5 percent (189-478) clip, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th in the nation.
  • Penn State has made double-digit 3-pointers in 10 of 17 games this season. The Nittany Lions drilled a program-record 18 triples in two games this season, the season opener against Winthrop on Nov. 7 and in the 19-point rout of Indiana on Jan. 11.

 
ELITE EFFICIENCY FOR LUNDY

  • Senior Seth Lundy is producing at an elite level on both ends of the floor through the first 17 games of the season. The Paulsboro, N.J. native is the only player in the Big Ten and one of just three players in the country that is averaging 10+ points (14.4 ppg) and 6+ rebounds (6.6) per game while shooting more than 55% from two (56.5%), 40% from three (42.6%) and 80% from the free throw line (82.0%).
  • Lundy's having his most consistent year in the Blue & White and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. 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.

 
LETHAL PERIMETER PUNCH

  • Penn State's trio of Myles Dread, Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy have provided a lethal 1-2-3 punch on the perimeter as all three are shooting over 40% from deep with at least 35 made 3-pointers.
  • Andrew Funk has made a Big Ten-best 3.1 3-pointers per contest at a 42.1 percent clip. Seth Lundy is shooting 42.6 percent from behind the arc while draining 2.5 treys per game. Myles Dread (2.1 3-pointers/game) is converting his looks from deep at a team-best 43.2 percent clip.
  • Funk and Lundy became the first Big Ten duo in the last 20 seasons with seven made 3-pointers in the same game in Penn State's Jan. 11 win over Indiana. The pair both shot 7-for-12 from deep en route to the 19-point Penn State victory.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State returns to the Bryce Jordan Center for its only Saturday home game of the season when the Nittany Lions host Nebraska at 2:15 p.m. Saturday. Penn State will host its annual Coaches vs. Cancer game, with a portion of ticket proceeds bought from this link being donated to the Penn State chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer.

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