Men’s Basketball Back in BJC to Host Illinois Tuesday NightMen’s Basketball Back in BJC to Host Illinois Tuesday Night
Penn State Athletics

Men’s Basketball Back in BJC to Host Illinois Tuesday Night

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team returns to the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night to host Illinois in a 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPNU.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State returns home looking to snap a four-game losing streak when the Nittany Lions host Illinois inside the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night.
  • The Nittany Lions took down the then-No. 17 Illini 74-59 in the season's first meeting on Dec. 10 in Champaign, Ill.
  • Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounds (7.6 rpg) and assists (6.9 apg) and is the only player in the country averaging 17/7/6. Seth Lundy (14.6 ppg) and Andrew Funk (12.7 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS ILLINOIS

  • The Nittany Lions would earn their third Quad 1 win of the season.
  • Penn State would improve to 12-2 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
  • The Nittany Lions would complete the regular-season sweep of Illinois.

 
SCOUTING THE ILLINI

  • The Illini sit in fourth place in the Big Ten standings with an 8-5 conference record that is part of a 17-7 overall mark.
  • Illinois has won eight of its last 10 games and is coming off a 69-60 home victory over #24 Rutgers Saturday.
  • Terrence Shannon Jr. leads Illinois with 16.9 points per game. Matthew Mayer (11.8 ppg) and Dain Dainja (10.3 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST ILLINOIS

  • Penn State looks for its first regular-season sweep of the Illini since the 2019 season.
  • The Nittany Lions earned their largest road win over a ranked opponent in program history on Dec. 10 when Penn State took down the No. 17 Illini 74-59 in Champaign, Ill.
  • Penn State controlled a nine-point halftime lead and held off several Illinois runs in the second half while shooting 50.0 percent (12-24) from 3-point range to earn the dominant road win.
  • Andrew Funk and Jalen Pickett scored 20 points apiece to lead four Nittany Lions in double figures. Funk was 6-for-9 from deep while Pickett added seven rebounds and six assists to round out his strong overall performance. Seth Lundy finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Myles Dread nailed five triples for 15 points.

 
HOME COOKIN'

  • Penn State is 11-2 when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
  • The Nittany Lions' only two losses in Happy Valley this season were the Big Ten opener against Michigan State (58-67) on Dec. 7 and an overtime loss to Wisconsin (74-79, OT) on Feb. 8. 
  • Penn State is averaging 78.0 points per game in its 13 games inside the BJC this season while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range.

 
QUALITY WINS

  • Penn State's two best wins this season are a pair of dominant Quad 1 victories: a 15-point road win at Illinois (currently 22 in NET rankings) on Dec. 10 and a 19-point thumping of Indiana (currently 17 in NET rankings) on Jan. 11 for the Nittany Lions' largest win over the Hoosiers in program history.
  • The Nittany Lions also own two Quad 2 wins in home victories over Iowa and Michigan.
  • 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 (100 in NET) on Feb. 5.

 
OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

  • Penn State has several opportunities ahead to get back on track with quality wins. Five of the Nittany Lions' six remaining regular-season games are Quad 1 games for Penn State.

 
CLOSE CALLS

  • Eight of Penn State's 11 losses this season have come by single digits, with five of the 11 losses being decided either in overtime or by six points or less.

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 20 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Feb. 12:
Stat Value National Rank
Fewest turnovers per game 8.9 2
Assist-to-turnover ratio 1.63 3
3FG made per game 10.8 4
3FG% 38.7% 11
Effective FG% .556 19
Player Stat Value National Rank
Assist per game – Jalen Pickett 6.9 4
Assist-to-turnover ratio – Jalen Pickett 3.15 5
3FG% - Seth Lundy 45.3% 6
3FG made per game – Andrew Funk 3.1 18

 
 
17/7/6

  • Jalen Pickett is the only player in the country averaging at least 17 points (17.2) per game, seven rebounds (7.6) per game and six assists (6.9) per game.
  • Only two men's college basketball players in the last 30 years (since 1992-93 season) have finished the season averaging 17/7/6 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 MAESTRO

  • Point guard Jalen Pickett is the engine that makes Penn State go. Pickett ranks in the top five nationally in both assists per game (6.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.15) while engineering a Penn State offense that ranks second in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (8.9).
  • 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 (eighth) and assists (first). The six-foot-four guard has played his best in Big Ten play, averaging 18.1 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game and 6.3 assists per game through 14 conference contests.
  • Pickett 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: Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team, 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.

 
PICKETT NEARING 2,000

  • Jalen Pickett needs just 19 points to reach the 2,000-career point milestone.
  • Pickett has put together a stellar collegiate career with career marks of 1,981 points, 696 rebounds and 771 assists through three seasons at Siena and two at Penn State.
  • He is the only active Division I player with upwards of 1,900 career points, 600 career rebounds and 700 career assists.

 
ELITE EFFICIENCY FOR LUNDY

  • Senior Seth Lundy is producing at an elite level on both ends of the floor. The Paulsboro, N.J. native is the only player in the country that is averaging 10+ points (14.6 ppg) and 6+ rebounds (6.2) per game while shooting more than 50% from two (54.5%), 45% from three (45.3%) and 80% from the free throw line (80.3%).
  • Lundy is 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.

 
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 41.2 percent clip. Seth Lundy leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the nation with a 45.3% 3-point shooting percentage while ranking second in the conference, behind only Funk, with 2.8 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 at Nebraska on Feb. 5. It tied the second most 3-pointers made in a game by a Nittany Lion in program history.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions are back on the road this weekend for a Saturday night matchup at Minnesota. Tipoff is slated for 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.

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