Penn State Hosts #11/8 Wisconsin in Tuesday Night TiltPenn State Hosts #11/8 Wisconsin in Tuesday Night Tilt

Penn State Hosts #11/8 Wisconsin in Tuesday Night Tilt




UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team looks to hand #11/8 Wisconsin its first Big Ten loss of the season Tuesday night when the first-place Badgers come to Happy Valley for a 9 p.m. tipoff on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The Nittany Lions return home looking to snap a two-game skid when Penn State hosts first-place Wisconsin Tuesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Penn State sits 2-4 in Big Ten play with conference wins over Ohio State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions have erased double-digit deficits in both of their Big Ten wins this season.
  • Kanye Clary is averaging a team-best 18.6 points per game, while Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 12.8 points, a team-best 4.9 assists and a Big Ten-best 3.0 steals per game. Baldwin Jr.'s 3.0 steals per game ranks third in the country.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS #11/8 WISCONSIN

  • Penn State would defeat a team ranked in the top 15 in the country for the first time since Jan. 30, 2021 when the Nittany Lions defeated #14/13 Wisconsin 81-71 in Happy Valley.

 
SCOUTING THE #11/8 BADGERS

  • The Badgers currently sit in first place in the Big Ten standings with a perfect 5-0 conference record that is part of a 13-3 overall mark.
  • Wisconsin rides a six-game win streak into Happy Valley and hasn't lost a game since a Dec. 9 road loss at then-#1 Arizona.
  • The Badgers are coming off a 71-63 home win over Northwestern in their most recent game Saturday.
  • AJ Storr leads the Badgers with 14.8 points per game, while Tyler Wahl (11.8 ppg) and Steven Crowl (11.7 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST WISCONSIN

  • Penn State and Wisconsin meet for the only time this regular season Tuesday night in Happy Valley.
  • The Badgers have won the last five matchups between the two teams and Penn State will be looking for its first win over Wisconsin since an 81-71 home victory on Jan. 30, 2021.
  • Each of the last four meetings between the two teams have been decided by five points or less.
  • Eight of Penn State's 11 all-time wins over Wisconsin have come in Happy Valley.
  • Wisconsin won both of last season's matchups: a 63-60 victory in Madison on Jan. 17 and a 79-74 overtime win in the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 8.

 
TURN UP THE PRESSURE

  • The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 16.59 turnovers per game, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 13th in the nation. Penn State's +5.2 turnover margin ranks eighth in the country.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored a Big Ten-best average of 17.8 points off turnovers per game thus far this season, while Penn State's opponents have only scored 10.9 points per game off Nittany Lion turnovers.

 
FIRST-YEAR OFFENSE

  • Penn State enters Tuesday's game averaging 76.3 points per game in Mike Rhoades' debut season.
  • That mark is on track to be Penn State's best offensive output since the 2000-01 team averaged 76.8 points per game en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.
  • It is also on pace to be Penn State's best offensive output under a first-year head coach since 1954-55 when the Nittany Lions put up 78.7 ppg under John Egli.

 
SOPHOMORE LEAP

  • Sophomore guard Kanye Clary has seen the second-highest PPG increase by a Division I player from last season to this season. Clary's +14.9 ppg increase in scoring production trails only SIU's Xavier Johnson's +16.8 ppg difference. 
  • The Virginia Beach, Va. native played limited minutes as a freshman behind Penn State's veteran 2022-23 backcourt that included two 2023 NBA Draft picks and five 1,000-point scorers.
Clary Stat 2023-24 2022-23 Increase
Points per game 18.6 3.7 +14.9 ppg
FG% 47.9% 43.4% +4.5%
Rebounds per game 3.2 0.9 +2.3 rpg
Assists per game 2.7 0.7 +2.0 apg
Minutes per game 30.8 10.4 +20.4 mpg

 
CAN'T STOP CLARY

  • Five-foot-eleven Kanye Clary's 18.6 points per game is the highest scoring output by any power conference player under six-foot tall this season.
  • Clary is on track to be one of only two Big Ten players under 6'0 to average more than 18 points per game in a season since 1992-93. Only Purdue's 5'11 Carsen Edwards has accomplished the feat:
    • 2018-19 - Carsen Edwards (5'11) - 24.3 ppg
    • 2023-24 - Kanye Clary (5'11) - 18.6 ppg
    • 2017-18 - Carsen Edwards (5'11) - 18.5 ppg
  • Clary is tied for the second-highest scoring sophomore in the country. Clary's 18.6 points per game and 20.7 points per conference game both rank fifth amongst Big Ten players this season.

 
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has stuffed the stat sheet through his first 17 games as a Nittany Lion, averaging 12.8 points per game, a team-best 4.9 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 3.0 steals per game. His 3.0 steals per game ranks fourth in the nation.
  • Baldwin Jr. has proven to be one of the most dynamic players in the conference. He is the first Big Ten player to have a 25+ point game (vs. VCU & Michigan), 13+ assist game (at Purdue) and 8+ steal game (vs. Northwestern) in a single season since Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves during the 1997-98 season.
  • Baldwin Jr. scored his 1,000th career point on Dec. 29 in Penn State's win over Rider and notched his 500th career assist in his 13-assist performance at Purdue on Jan. 13. His 234 career steals rank third amongst active Division I players.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions face their first repeat opponent of the season Saturday when Penn State travels to Ohio State for a noon tipoff on the Big Ten Network. Penn State won the season's first meeting with the Buckeyes 83-80 on Dec. 9 in Happy Valley.

 
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.