DES MOINES, Iowa - Penn State arrived in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday afternoon ahead of its much-anticipated return to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The tenth-seeded Nittany Lions are in the Big Dance for the first time since 2011 and are set to meet seventh-seeded Texas A&M on Thursday night at 9:55 PM at Wells Fargo Arena. Here are some key numbers to know entering the matchup!
2 – Players on Penn State's roster with NCAA tournament experience. Camren Wynter participated in the Big Dance in 2021 at Drexel and Michael Henn represented UC-Davis in the tournament in 2017. Myles Dread and Seth Lundy with Penn State and Jalen Pickett at Siena were poised to participate in the 2020 tournament prior to its cancellation due to COVID-19
5 – Thursday's game marks Penn State's fifth all-time matchup with Texas A&M and first-ever meeting in an NCAA Tournament game. The Nittany Lions and Aggies last met in the 2017 Legends Classic in Brooklyn. It's also Penn State's first game against an SEC opponent since defeating Alabama 73-71 in December 2019.
6 – Victories by Penn State in Thursday games this year, posting a perfect 6-0 record when playing on the work week's penultimate day.
7 – Total Quad 1 victories by Penn State this season with 5 of those coming in a 16-day stretch between February 23rd and March 11th.
8 – Consecutive games decided by four points or less dating back to Penn State's 75-71 win at Ohio State on February 23rd. The Nittany Lions posted a 6-2 mark over this stretch and finished the season winning eight of their final 10 games.
9 – All-time victories in NCAA tournament games in program history. Penn State's last victory came in the second round of the 2001 tournament, an unforgettable 82-74 upset of second-seeded North Carolina on March 18, 2001.
10 – Penn State is participating in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history and for the first time since 2011. The 2019-20 team was on track to earn a berth in the Big Dance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
12 – The Nittany Lions secured their 12th 20-win season in the program's 127-year history with a 79-76 win vs. Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
17 – Points per game averaged by senior forward Seth Lundy during the Big Ten Tournament, helping earn him recognition to the conference's all-tournament team along with teammate Jalen Pickett.
25 – The program record for scoring in a single NCAA tournament game, set by Jesse Arnelle in 1954 vs. USC and matched the following year by Arnelle against Kentucky.
30 – Career points shy of reaching 2,000 for senior+ guard Camren Wynter. Teammate senior+ guard Jalen Pickett has already surpassed the mark, accumulating 2,177 points during his remarkable career. The pair are among five Nittany Lions with 1,000 career points.
152 – Program-record career games played by senior+ guard/forward Myles Dread, who will make his NCAA tournament debut on Thursday against Texas A&M.
202 – Career points amassed by Penn State legend Jesse Arnelle in three NCAA tournament appearances, the most all-time by any Nittany Lion player.
234 – Assists by guard Jalen Pickett this season to establish a new single-season program record.
364 – Program record 3-pointers made this season by Penn State. The team sits one made 3-pointer away from tying Purdue's record-setting Big Ten mark of 365 converted triples during the 2018-19 season.
