Men’s Basketball Faces #5 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Title Game SundayMen’s Basketball Faces #5 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Title Game Sunday
Penn State Athletics

Men’s Basketball Faces #5 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Title Game Sunday

CHICAGO – The Penn State men's basketball team takes on top-seeded and fifth-ranked Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game Sunday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The 10th-seeded Nittany Lions take on the top-seeded Boilermakers in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon from the United Center in Chicago.
  • Penn State has won eight of its last nine games and advanced to the semifinals by way of wins over Indiana (77-73), Northwestern (67-65 OT) and Illinois (79-76).
  • Consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (18.1 ppg), rebounds (7.4 rpg) and assists (6.8 apg) and is the only player in the country averaging 18/7/6. Honorable mention All-Big Ten picks Seth Lundy (14.2 ppg) and Andrew Funk (12.2 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS #5 PURDUE

  • Penn State would win its first Big Ten Tournament title in program history.
  • Penn State would earn its ninth Quad 1 win of the season and seventh Quad 1 win in the last 18 days.

 
FOR THE TROPHY

  • The 10th-seeded Nittany Lions are set to make their second-ever appearance in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. Penn State defeated third-seeded Indiana 77-73 in the semifinals Saturday, second-seeded Northwestern 67-65 in overtime in Friday night's quarterfinals, and seventh-seeded Illinois, 79-76, in Thursday's second round. 
  • Penn State advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the second time in program history and first time since 2011. The Nittany Lions are seeking their first Big Ten Tournament title in program history.
  • Jalen Pickett has averaged 18.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 4.7 apg to lead Penn State in its three tournament games. Seth Lundy is averaging 16.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Andrew Funk has tallied 14.3 ppg while shooting 47.8 percent (11-23) from 3-point range.
  • The Nittany Lion defense has stepped up through its tournament run, holding its opponents to a 41.3 FG% and 23.7 3FG% while owning a +4.7 rebound margin through the three tournament games. 

 
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS

  • Big Ten regular-season champion and fifth-ranked Purdue is 28-5 overall. The Boilermakers finished the conference slate at 15-5 to earn the regular-season title and the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The Boilermakers earned a quarterfinal win over Rutgers and a semifinal victory over Ohio State to advance to Sunday's Championship game.
  • National Player of the Year Zach Edey leads Purdue with 22.1 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. Freshman guards Fletcher Loyer (11.1 ppg) and Braden Smith (10.0 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST PURDUE

  • The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers meet for the third time this season in Sunday's Big Ten Tournament Championship game.
  • Purdue swept the regular-season series, defeating Penn State 76-63 on Jan. 8 at The Palestra in Philadelphia before taking down the Nittany Lions 80-60 on Feb. 1 in Mackey Arena.
  • The Boilermakers have won the last six meetings between the two teams, and all four of the previous Big Ten Tournament meetings.

 
RESUME WORKSHOP

  • Penn State owns eight total Quad 1 wins. Six of those Quad 1 wins have come in the last 17 days as the Nittany Lions have put together a dazzling run, going 8-1 since Feb. 14.
    • Penn State Quad 1 Wins:
      • 3/11    vs. Indiana                   W, 77-73
      • 3/10    vs. Northwestern        W, 67-65 (OT)
      • 3/9      vs. Illinois                    W, 79-76
      • 3/5      Maryland                    W, 65-64
      • 3/1      at Northwestern         W, 68-65 (OT)
      • 2/23    at Ohio State               W, 75-71
      • 1/11    Indiana                        W, 85-66
      • 12/10  at Illinois                     W, 74-59
  • The Nittany Lions also own four Quad 2 wins in home victories over Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, in addition to a neutral site win against SoCon Tourney champion Furman.
  • Penn State is 10-1 in Quad 3/4 games. The Nittany Lions have only lost one game to a team outside of the NET top 90, with that loss coming on the road at Nebraska.

 
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME

  • The Nittany Lions have won eight of their last nine games.
  • Six of those eight wins are currently Quad 1 victories: at Ohio State, at Northwestern, Maryland, vs. Illinois, vs. Northwestern and vs. Indiana.
  • Four of the last five wins have been by three points or less. Entering the road win at Northwestern on March 1, the Nittany Lions were 0-3 this season in games decided by three points or less.

 
THE SHREWSBERRY EFFECT

  • Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry has guided the 22-12 Nittany Lions to just the 12th 20-win season in the 127-year history of Penn State basketball.
  • Penn State is poised to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 (2020 team was projected to make the field before the Covid-19 pandemic canceled postseason play).
  • He collected more Big Ten wins (17) in his first two seasons than any other Penn State head coach has previously through their first two seasons.
  • The Nittany Lions finished 10-10 in the Big Ten this season, just the eighth time in Penn State's 31 seasons in the Big Ten that the Nittany Lions have finished .500 or better.

 
FROM PURDUE TO PSU

  • Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry squares off against one of his great friends and mentors Sunday when the Nittany Lions take on Matt Painter and Purdue. Shrewsberry served two stints on Painter's Purdue staff, most recently as associate head coach and offensive coordinator during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. He was also on Painter's staff as an assistant coach during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons before serving six seasons as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.
  • Penn State video coordinator Grady Eifert also has Boilermaker roots, starring on Purdue's 2019 Elite Eight team before spending the 2020-21 and 2019-20 seasons as a graduate assistant on Painter's staff.

 
THE THREE IS KEY

  • The 2022-23 Penn State team (34 games played) has already set the program single-season team record for 3-pointers made in a season (currently at 357). The previous school record stood with the 2017-18 team's 294 treys (39 games played, NIT Champions).
  • The Big Ten record for 3-pointers in a season is 365, which was set by Purdue in 2018-19 (36 games, Elite 8) while Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry was an assistant coach on Purdue's staff. The Nittany Lions are just eight triples away from tying the Big Ten record and nine away from breaking the record.
  • Penn State ranks fourth in the nation with 10.5 3-pointers made per game. The Nittany Lions are shooting the long ball at a 38.7 percent (357-922) clip, a mark that ranks 11th in the nation.

 
ALL-BIG TEN HONORS

  • The Nittany Lions collected the following All-Big Ten honors Tuesday:
    • Jalen Pickett - Consensus First Team All-Big Ten (Coaches & Media - unanimous pick by the conference media)
    • Seth Lundy - All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (Coaches & Media)
    • Andrew Funk - All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (Coaches & Media)
    • Camren Wynter - Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree

 
18/7/6

  • Jalen Pickett is the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points (18.1) per game, seven rebounds (7.4) per game and six assists (6.8) per game.
  • Only two men's college basketball players in the last 30 years (since 1992-93 season) have finished the season averaging 18/7/6 or better: Michigan State's Denzel Valentine (19.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 7.8 apg - 2015-16) and Memphis' Penny Hardaway (22.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.4 apg - 1992-93).

 
THE ALL-AMERICAN MAESTRO

  • Jalen Pickett is Penn State's first All-American in nearly 70 years. He was named to the Sporting News All-America Second Team Tuesday. Pickett joins Jesse Arnelle as the only two Nittany Lions in program history to earn second-team or higher All-America status. Arnelle collected first-team All-America honors in 1954 from the Helms Foundation and second-team honors in 1955. Pickett is the first Penn State player to ever land on the Wooden Award National Ballot and is also an Oscar Robertson Trophy Late Season Watchlist honoree and Top 5 Finalist for the Bob Cousy Award.
  • Pickett ranks in the top 10 nationally in both assists per game (6.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.07) while engineering a Penn State offense that ranks 16th in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric. The six-foot-four guard played his best in Big Ten play, averaging 19.2 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 55.8% from the field.
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native's season highlights include a 41-point game, a 32-point game, 13 20-point games, six double-doubles and one triple-double. He has already set a Penn State single-season assists record through 34 games this season, dishing 230 assists to this point.

 
THE BIG TEN'S BEST SHOOTING DUO

  • Penn State's duo of Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy have provided a lethal 1-2 punch on the perimeter as they both rank in the top three in the Big Ten in 3FG% and 3FG made per game.
  • Andrew Funk leads the conference with a 41.3 3FG% and 3.0 triples per game. Seth Lundy ranks second with a 40.1% 3FG% and third with 2.6 treys per contest.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions learn their postseason opponent and destination immediately following the Big Ten title game. The NCAA Selection Show is set to air on CBS at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT Sunday.

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