Red-Hot Penn State Heads to Northwestern SundayRed-Hot Penn State Heads to Northwestern Sunday

Red-Hot Penn State Heads to Northwestern Sunday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team takes its three-game win streak on the road Sunday when the Nittany Lions head to Northwestern for a 1 p.m. ET/noon CT tipoff on Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The Nittany Lions take their three-game win streak on the road Sunday afternoon when Penn State visits Northwestern.
  • Penn State sits 6-6 in Big Ten play and is coming off three-straight double-digit wins against Rutgers (61-46), Indiana (85-71) and Iowa (89-79).
  • Kanye Clary is averaging a team-best 17.9 points per game, while Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist member Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 14.0 points, a team-best 5.3 assists and a Big Ten-best 2.87 steals per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS NORTHWESTERN

  • Penn State would win four-straight Big Ten games for the first time since the 2019-20 season when the Nittany Lions won eight straight from Jan. 18-Feb. 15, 2020.

 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

  • The Wildcats are 16-7 overall and 7-5 in conference play heading into Sunday's matchup.
  • Northwestern is 6-0 in Big Ten games played inside Welsh-Ryan Arena and 12-1 overall at home this season.
  • The Wildcats are coming off an 80-68 home win over Nebraska Wednesday night in their most recent game.
  • Boo Buie leads Northwestern with 19.0 points and 5.4 assists per game. Brooks Barnhizer (14.5 ppg), Ryan Langborg (12.0 ppg) and Ty Berry (11.6 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST NORTHWESTERN

  • Penn State and Northwestern meet for the second time this season Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
  • The Nittany Lions have won five of the last six matchups with the Wildcats.
  • Northwestern claimed a 76-72 win in the season's first meeting on Jan. 10 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions commanded the first half, shooting 55.6 percent from the field as they entered the halftime break up eight. Penn State went cold in the second half and couldn't quite overcome Northwestern's push despite out-rebounding the Wildcats 30-25 and forcing 18 turnovers in the game. Kanye Clary led Penn State with 25 points, four rebounds and two assists.

 
THREE-STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DIGIT DUBS

  • The Nittany Lions ride a three-game win streak into Evanston Sunday afternoon, with all three wins coming by double digits. The streak started with back-to-back double-digit road wins last week at Rutgers (61-46) and Indiana (85-71). It marked the first time in program history that Penn State won consecutive Big Ten road games by more than 12 points each. Penn State returned home Thursday and kept its momentum going with an 89-79 victory over Iowa.
  • Key team stats from the three-game win streak:
Stat Last 3 Season Avg.
Points per game 78.3 ppg 76.5 ppg
Scoring defense 65.3 ppg 73.5 ppg
FG% 49.4% 44.1%
3FG% 42.6% 32.4%
Assists per game 15.7 12.4
Steals per game 10.3 9.1
Scoring margin +13.0 +3.0
  • Key player stats from the three-game win streak:
    • Ace Baldwin Jr.: 19.7 ppg, 8.0 apg, 3.7 spg, 56.3 FG%, 58.3 3FG%
    • Zach Hicks: 13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 42.9 3FG%
    • Qudus Wahab: 12.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 65.2 FG%
    • D'Marco Dunn: 12.0 ppg, 51.9 FG%, 50.0 3FG%

 
ON THE RIGHT RHOADES

  • Penn State has made great strides throughout its first year under head coach Mike Rhoades. Notable accomplishments so far in Rhoades' first year at the helm include:
    • Sit 6-6 in Big Ten play through first 12 games, which is Penn State's best record through the first 12 games of the conference season since the 2019-20 team started 8-4. Rhoades' 6-6 start is the best conference record through the first 12 Big Ten games by a first-year Penn State head coach since Jerry Dunn's 1995-96 team started 9-3 in Big Ten play during his first season.
    • Defeated No. 11 Wisconsin on Jan. 16 - the  highest-ranked win under a first-year head coach in program history.
    • Defeated Indiana at Assembly Hall for the first time under a first-year head coach in program history and the first time overall since 2014.
    • On track to have the highest-scoring offense under a first-year head coach at Penn State since 1954-55.
    • Signed top-40 recruiting class in the country.

 
FIRST-YEAR OFFENSE

  • Penn State enters Sunday's game averaging 76.5 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.

 
TURN UP THE PRESSURE

  • The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 15.83 turnovers per game, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 13th in the nation. Penn State's +5.0 turnover margin ranks eighth in the country.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored a Big Ten-best average of 16.8 points off turnovers per game thus far this season, while Penn State's opponents have only scored 10.7 points per game off Nittany Lion turnovers.

 
DEFENDING THE ARC

  • Penn State ranks second the Big Ten in three-point percentage defense (through games on Feb. 8) as the Nittany Lions have allowed their opponents to shoot just 30.7 percent from downtown thus far this season.
  • Penn State's three-point percentage defense has been a key factor in the Nittany Lions' success this season as the Nittany Lions have held their opponents to a 25.7% clip from downtown in Penn State's 12 wins, compared to a 36.0 opponents' 3FG% in PSU's 11 losses.

 
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist honoree Ace Baldwin Jr. is stuffing the stat sheet, averaging 14.0 points per game, a team-best 5.3 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.87 steals per game. His 2.87 steals per game ranks sixth in the nation.
  • Should he finish the season averaging 14+ points per game, 5+ assists per game and 2+ steals per game, Baldwin Jr. would be one of just four Big Ten players to do so since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since former Nittany Lion standout Tim Frazier did so in 2011-12:
    • 2023-24: Ace Baldwin Jr. (PSU) - 14.0/5.3/2.8
    • 2011-12: Tim Frazier (PSU) - 18.8/6.2/2.4
    • 1997-98: Mateen Cleaves (MSU) - 16.1/7.2/2.4
    • 1992-93: Tracy Webster (WIS) - 14.1/6.4/2.4
  • Baldwin Jr. currently owns career marks of 1,151 points, 540 assists and 249 steals. He is on track to be the only active Division I player with 1,000+ points, 500+ assists and 250+ steals once he records his 250th career steal.

 
DO IT ALL

  • Ace Baldwin Jr. has proven to be one of the most dynamic and clutch players in the conference. With Thursday night's game against Iowa tied at 71 with 4:07 to play, Baldwin Jr. came up with clutch play after clutch play as the senior scored 13 points in the game's final 3:48 and finished with 22 points, six assists and four steals.
  • He turned in a 15-point, 10-assist, 5-rebound, 5-steal performance on Jan. 31 in Penn State's road win at Rutgers. He is the first Big Ten player since at least the 2010-11 season (13 years) to notch a 15/10/5/5 game.
  • 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.

 
BIG Q

  • Veteran big man Qudus Wahab has shot 81.3 percent (13-16) from the field over the last two games combined while averaging 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
  • He owns career marks of 1,252 points and 920 rebounds. His 920 rebounds rank 16th amongst active Division I players and he is one of just 19 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds.
  • Wahab is having the most efficient season of his five-year collegiate career, shooting a career-best 64.9 percent (85-131) from the field.

 
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 +14.2 ppg increase in scoring production trails only SIU's Xavier Johnson's +17.0 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.
  • Five-foot-eleven Kanye Clary's 17.9 points per game is the highest scoring output by any power conference player under six-foot tall this season.
  • Clary is the ninth-highest scoring sophomore in the country. Clary's 18.3 points per Big Ten game and 17.9 points per game overall both rank sixth amongst conference players.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions return home Wednesday night to host Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

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