KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Penn State men's basketball team is set to match up with Butler in the second round of the ESPN Events Invitational Friday afternoon from State Farm Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Tipoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: ESPN+ – Dave O'Brien (pxp) & Cory Alexander (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Joe Putnam (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- ESPN EVENTS INVITATIONAL: Website | Bracket
- GAME NOTES: Penn State
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State and Butler meet in the second round of the ESPN Events Invitational Friday.
- The Nittany Lions and Bulldogs both dropped tight games in the opening round of the three-game tournament Thursday. Penn State was within three points of #12 Texas A&M in the final six minutes, but the Aggies pulled away late to secure an 89-77 win. Butler came out on the short end of a back-and-forth battle with #19 Florida Atlantic, 86-91.
- Penn State and Butler will meet for the second-straight year. The Nittany Lions earned a 68-62 home win over the Bulldogs on Nov. 14, 2022 in last season's Gavitt Tipoff Games.
- Kanye Clary (19 points, 4 assists), Puff Johnson (15 points, 4 rebounds) and Ace Baldwin Jr. (12 points, 2 assists) all scored in double figures for the Nittany Lions Thursday against #12 Texas A&M.
- Clary leads the 4-1 Nittany Lions with 17.8 ppg so far this season. Baldwin Jr. is averaging 11.2 ppg with team-best marks of 3.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Qudus Wahab is averaging a double-double with 10.6 ppg and 10.8 rpg.
SCOUTING BUTLER
- The Bulldogs got off to a 3-0 start in their second season under head coach Thad Matta, but have since dropped their last two games, both to ranked opponents in #18 Michigan State (54-74) and #19 Florida Atlantic (86-91).
- Butler came out on the short end of a back-and-forth affair vs. #19 Florida Atlantic in the Bulldogs' ESPN Events Invitational opener Thursday. Five Butler players finished in double figures, led by Jahmyl Telfort's 19 points. DJ Davis (13 points), Pierre Brooks (13 points), Posh Alexander (12 points) and Andre Screen (12 points) followed, while Screen led Butler with eight rebounds.
- Butler's three wins this season came over Eastern Michigan (94-55), Southeast Missouri State (91-56) and ETSU (81-47).
- Telfort leads Butler with 13.6 points per game so far this season, while Brooks (13.2 ppg), Alexander (12.2 ppg) and Davis (12.0 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points in the balanced Bulldog attack. Screen and Jalen Thomas are both averaging a team-best 5.6 boards per game, while Alexander leads the team with 5.0 assists per contest.
AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
- Penn State and Butler meet for the second-straight year and the fifth time in program history Friday in the second round of the ESPN Events Invitational.
- The all-time series is currently tied 2-2, but Penn State has won each of the last two meetings.
- The Nittany Lions earned a 68-62 home win over Butler on Nov. 14, 2022 in last season's Gavitt Tipoff Games. Penn State's defense set the tone for the victory as the Nittany Lions held Butler to a 34.3 percent (23-for-67) mark from the field and 21.7 percent (5-for-23) clip from 3-point range. The Nittany Lions out-rebounded the Bulldogs 40-36 and held a 30-24 edge in points in the paint. Current Denver Nugget Jalen Pickett recorded just the second triple-double in Penn State history, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
- Prior to last year's Gavitt Games matchup, the Nittany Lions and Bulldogs last met in a home-and-home series in 1992, which was Penn State's independent year between its time in the Atlantic 10 and Big Ten.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions will close out the three-game ESPN Events Invitational Sunday at either 10:30 a.m. or 4 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.