Nittany Lions Travel to Michigan for Wednesday Night ShowdownNittany Lions Travel to Michigan for Wednesday Night Showdown

Nittany Lions Travel to Michigan for Wednesday Night Showdown

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team takes its five-game win streak on the road Wednesday night when the Nittany Lions head to Michigan looking to hand the Wolverines their first conference loss of the season. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The Nittany Lions look to win their sixth-straight game when Penn State travels to Michigan Wednesday for a Big Ten road battle.
  • Penn State is 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play after earning conference wins at #17 Illinois (74-59) on Dec. 10 and at home against Iowa (83-79) Sunday.
  • Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (16.8 ppg), rebounds (7.4 rpg) and assists (7.5 apg) and is the only player in the country averaging 16/7/7. Seth Lundy (13.5 ppg) and Andrew Funk (12.4 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS MICHIGAN

  • Penn State would win its sixth-straight game, its longest win streak since an eight-game stretch from Jan. 18, 2020 to Feb. 15, 2020.
  • The Nittany Lions would earn just their fourth-ever win in Ann Arbor.

 
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES

  • The Wolverines own an 8-5 record and are a perfect 2-0 in conference play.
  • Michigan's two Big Ten wins have come on the road at Minnesota (90-75) in December  and at home against Maryland (81-46) Sunday afternoon.
  • Michigan center Hunter Dickinson leads the Wolverines with 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Jett Howard, son of head coach Juwan Howard, follows with 14.6 points per game and has drained a team-best 32 3-pointers. Kobe Bufkin follows with 12.1 points per game.

 
AGAINST MICHIGAN

  • Michigan owns a 38-14 advantage in the all-time series against Penn State, including a 22-3 mark when playing in Ann Arbor.
  • The Nittany Lions most recent win against the Wolverines came on Jan. 22, 2020 when Penn State captured just its third-ever win in Ann Arbor with a 72-63 victory.
  • Penn State and Michigan met just once last season with the Wolverines earning a one-point (58-57) win in Happy Valley on Feb. 8, 2022. The two teams shot a combined 12-for-55 in the second half, but the Wolverines held the heavy advantage at the charity stripe to seal the victory. Jalen Pickett led Penn State with 14 points.

 
11-3

  • Penn State is off to an 11-3 start to the 2022-23 season, its best since start through 14 games since the 2019-20 team started 12-2.
  • Five of the Nittany Lions' 11 wins have come over teams currently ranked in the top 100 of the KenPom rankings, and Penn State's only three losses were a two-point neutral-site defeat to Virginia Tech, a double-overtime road loss at Clemson, and a loss to Michigan State in a game that was a one-possession contest until the final two minutes. 
  • The Nittany Lions would improve to 12-3 should Penn State beat Michigan. Penn State has only gotten off to a 12-3 start or better through the first 15 games of the season five times since joining the Big Ten in 1992-93 (30 years).

 
FIVE-GAME WIN STREAK

  • The Nittany Lions are riding a five-game win streak into Ann Arbor, their longest since an eight-game stretch in 2020.
  • Penn State hasn't lost a game since December 7 when the Nittany Lions fell 58-67 to Michigan State.
  • Penn State has shot 48.0% from the field (above season avg. of 46.5%) and 37.7% from 3-point range (below season avg. of 38.8%) during the five-game streak.
  • Jalen Pickett has tallied 18.6 points per game in the five-straight wins, but Andrew Funk has provided the biggest statistical difference. Funk is averaging 16.6 points per game while making 4.4 3-pointers per contest at a 53.7% (22-41) clip over the last five games.

 
BALL SECURITY

  • Penn State leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.78).

 
THE THREE IS KEY

  • Penn State ranks fifth in the nation with 11.0 3-pointers made per game. The Nittany Lions are shooting the long ball at a 38.8 percent (154-397) clip, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 21st in the country.
  • Penn State has made double-digit 3-pointers in nine of its 14 games this season.

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 25 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Jan. 2:
Team Stat Value National Rank
Fewest turnovers/game 8.8 1
Assist-to-turnover ratio 1.78 1
3FG made per game 11.0 5
FT% 77.9% 16
3FG% 38.8% 21
Defensive rebounds/game 28.4 23
Player Stat Value National Rank
Assist-to-turnover ratio – Jalen Pickett 3.75 4
Assists per game – Jalen Pickett 7.5 4
3FG made/game – Andrew Funk 3.14 21

 
 
THE MAESTRO

  • Jalen Pickett is the only player in the country currently averaging at least 16 points (16.8) per game, 7 rebounds (7.4) per game and 7 assists (7.5) per game. Pickett ranks fourth in the country in both assist-to-turnover ratio (3.75) and assists per game (7.5).
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native is the only player in the Big Ten that ranks in the top 10 in scoring (5th), rebounding (9th) and assists (1st) in the conference statistical standings. He's recorded a triple-double and four double-doubles through 14 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 two points to reach the 1,000-career point milestone. Dread will 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 14 games of the season. The Paulsboro, N.J. native is one of three 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 80% from the charity stripe.
  • Lundy is averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 60.9% from two, 40.3% from three and 81.3% from the free throw line.
  • Lundy owns two double-doubles this season and has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 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 (2.4 3-pointers/game) leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, converting his looks from deep at a 45.8 percent clip. Andrew Funk has made a Big Ten-best 3.1 3-pointers per contest at a 43.6 percent clip, the second-best 3FG% in the Big Ten behind only Dread.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions makes their return to the City of Brotherly Love when Penn State hosts #1 Purdue at the Palestra in Philadelphia Sunday evening at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. General public tickets for the highly-anticipated game sold out within hours in early November.

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