Penn_State_huddle_1276Penn_State_huddle_1276

Men’s Basketball Returns Home to Host Wisconsin Wednesday Night


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team returns home following a two-game road swing to host Wisconsin Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State returns from a two-game road swing looking to snap a two-game losing streak when the Nittany Lions host Wisconsin Wednesday night.
  • The Nittany Lions are 11-1 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season. Wisconsin won the season's first meeting, 63-60, at the Kohl Center on Jan. 17.
  • Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounds (7.8 rpg) and assists (7.0 apg) and is the only player in the country averaging 17/7/7. Seth Lundy (14.8 ppg) and Andrew Funk (12.8 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS WISCONSIN

  • The Nittany Lions would move to 12-1 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season and win their eighth-straight home game.
  • Penn State would snap a four-game losing streak to the Badgers.

 
SCOUTING THE BADGERS

  • The Badgers are 13-9 on the season and 5-7 in Big Ten play.
  • Wisconsin started the season 11-2, but has since dropped seven of its last nine games.
  • Wisconsin is coming off a tight 52-54 home loss to Northwestern Sunday night.
  • Four Badgers are averaging double-digit points, led by Chucky Hepburn's 12.6 ppg. Steven Crowl (12.0 ppg), Tyler Wahl (11.8 ppg) and Connor Essegian (11.0 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST WISCONSIN

  • The Nittany Lions look to snap a four-game losing streak to the Badgers Wednesday when Wisconsin visits the BJC for the first time in over two years.
  • Eight of Penn State's 11 all-time wins over Wisconsin have come in Happy Valley.
  • Wisconsin won the season's first meeting 63-60 on Jan. 17 at the Kohl Center. The tight battle was a one-point game at 61-60 with 2:38 to play. Wisconsin didn't make a field goal in the final three minutes of the game and would only add two free throws with seven seconds left. Penn State had a couple chances to win or tie in the final minute, but the Nittany Lions weren't able to come up with the clutch basket as Wisconsin claimed the 63-60 win. Jalen Pickett led Penn State with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

 
HOME COOKIN'

  • Penn State is 11-1 when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
  • The Nittany Lions only loss in Happy Valley this season was the Big Ten opener against Michigan State (58-67) on Dec. 7.
  • Penn State is averaging 78.3 points per game in its 12 games inside the BJC this season. The Nittany Lions are shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range.

 
ROUND TWO

  • The Nittany Lions and Badgers meet for the second time this season Wednesday night.
  • Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions had quite a bit of success bouncing back against repeat opponents dating back to last season. Of the seven Big Ten opponents that Penn State has opened a home-and-home series with a loss during Shrewsberry's tenure, the Nittany Lions have gone on to win the second game of the regular-season series four times in addition to defeating Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament in the third meeting of the 2021-22 season.

 
BUILDING THE RESUME

  • Penn State is off to a 14-9 start to the 2022-23 season with a number of strong wins.
  • Penn State's two best wins were a pair of dominant Quad 1 victories: a 15-point road win at Illinois (currently 25 in NET rankings) on Dec. 10 and a 19-point thumping of Indiana (currently 22 in NET rankings) on Jan. 11 for the Nittany Lions' largest win over the Hoosiers in program history. The Nittany Lions also own a win over Iowa (35 in NET).
  • Penn State is 9-0 in Quad 3/4 games. The Nittany Lions have only lost one game to a team outside of the NET top 80, with that loss coming on the road at Nebraska (96 in NET) in Penn State's most recent game Sunday.

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 25 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Feb. 7:
Team Stat Value National Rank
Fewest turnovers/game 8.6 1
Assist-to-turnover ratio 1.71 2
3FG made/game 10.9 5
3FG% 38.4% 17
FT% 76.0% 23
Effective FG% .553 23
Player Stat Value National Rank
Assists/game – Jalen Pickett 7.0 4
Assist/Turnover Ratio – Jalen Pickett 3.20 4
3FG% - Seth Lundy 44.8% 7
3FG made/game – Andrew Funk 3.1 20
Def. rebounds/game – Jalen Pickett 6.8 22

 
 
17/7/7

  • Jalen Pickett is the only player in the country averaging at least 17 points (17.3) per game, seven rebounds (7.8) per game and seven assists (7.0) per game.
  • Only one men's 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

  • Point guard Jalen Pickett is the engine that makes Penn State go. Pickett leads the conference and ranks in the top five nationally in both assists per game (7.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.20). The Rochester, N.Y. native is the only Big Ten player that ranks in the top 10 of the conference statistical standings in scoring (fifth), rebounding (seventh) and assists (first).
  • The six-foot-four guard has played his best in Big Ten play, averaging 18.4 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 6.3 assists per game through 12 conference contests. He's shooting 54.2% from the field, 41.2% percent from 3-point range and 75.8% from the free throw line in conference action.
  • The 6-4 guard has six double-doubles this season and 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.
  • Pickett has picked up quite a bit of national recognition over the last few weeks: Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List, Top 10 candidate for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List, and Sporting News Midseason All-America Third Team.

 
FIVE 1,000/THREE 1,500

  • The Nittany Lions are one of five teams in the country (also Missouri, Notre Dame, San Diego and UAB) with five 1,000-point scorers on their 2022-23 roster - Myles Dread (1,028 points), Andrew Funk (1,524 points), Seth Lundy (1,098 points), Jalen Pickett (1,949 points) and Camren Wynter (1,831 points).
  • Penn State is one of just two teams in the country (also Gonzaga) with three 1,500-point scorers on its 2022-23 roster - Andrew Funk, Jalen Pickett and Camren Wynter.

 
ELITE EFFICIENCY FOR LUNDY

  • Senior Seth Lundy is producing at an elite level on both ends of the floor through the first 23 games of the season. The Paulsboro, N.J. native is one of two players the Big Ten and one of just eight players in the country that is averaging 10+ points (14.8 ppg) and 6+ rebounds (6.0) per game while shooting more than 50% from two (54.7%), 40% from three (44.8%) and 80% from the free throw line (81.0%).
  • Lundy's having his most consistent year in the Blue & White and has scored in double figures in all but two games 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.

 
1-2 PERIMETER PUNCH

  • Penn State's duo of Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy have provided a lethal 1-2 punch on the perimeter. 
  • Andrew Funk has made a Big Ten-best 3.1 3-pointers per contest at a 40.8 percent clip. Seth Lundy leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in the nation with a 44.8% 3-point shooting percentage while ranking second in the conference, behind only Funk, with 2.7 triples per game.
  • 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.
  • Lundy drilled eight 3-pointers in Penn State's most recent game at Nebraska. It tied the second most 3-pointers made in a game by a Nittany Lion in program history.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State returns to the road Saturday when the Nittany Lions take on Maryland at noon on Big Ten Network.

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