Penn State Hosts Michigan State Wednesday NightPenn State Hosts Michigan State Wednesday Night
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Hosts Michigan State Wednesday Night




UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team returns home Wednesday night to host Michigan State in a key Big Ten battle inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • After playing three of its last four games on the road, Penn State returns home to host Michigan State Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Penn State sits 6-7 in Big Ten play and has won three of its last four games, with all three of those victories being double-digit wins.
  • Kanye Clary is averaging a team-best 17.1 points per game, while Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist member Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 14.1 points, a team-best 5.4 assists and a Big Ten-best 2.83 steals per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS MICHIGAN STATE

  • Penn State would even its Big Ten record at 7-7 with its fourth win in the last five games.
  • The Nittany Lions would earn just their 11th win in the 55-game series between MSU & PSU.

 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

  • The Spartans sit 15-9 overall and 7-6 in conference play heading into Wednesday night's matchup.
  • Michigan State has won six of its last eight games and three of its last four after starting Big Ten play just 1-4.
  • The Spartans are coming off an 88-80 home win over #10 Illinois in their most recent game Saturday.
  • Tyson Walker leads Michigan State with 19.0 points per game. Malik Hall (11.8 ppg), A.J. Hoggard (11.7 ppg) and Jaden Akins (11.0 ppg) round out Michigan State's balanced attack.

 
AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE

  • Penn State and Michigan State meet for the second time this season Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • The Spartans claimed the season's first meeting, 92-61, on Jan. 4 in East Lansing.
  • The Nittany Lions fell victim to a hot-shooting Michigan State team in the season's first meeting, as the Spartans shot 56.3 percent from the field compared to Penn State's 32.3% clip. Kanye Clary finished with a team-best 21 points while also adding five assists. Nick Kern Jr. finished with 10 points.

 
THREE OF FOUR

  • The Nittany Lions have won three of their last four games, with all three of those wins coming by double digits. Penn State earned back-to-back double-digit road wins at Rutgers (61-46) and Indiana (85-71), marking the first time in program history that Penn State won consecutive Big Ten road games by more than 12 points each. The Nittany Lions then beat Iowa (89-79) at home on Feb. 8 before dropping a five-point road game at Northwestern (68-63) Sunday.
  • Key team stats from the last four games:
Stat Last Four Games Season Average
Scoring defense 66.0 ppg 73.3 ppg
FG% 48.0% 44.1%
3FG% 40.2% 32.3%
Assists per game 15.3 apg 12.5 apg
Scoring margin +8.5 ppg +2.7 ppg
  • Key player stats from the last four games:
    • Ace Baldwin Jr. – 19.0 ppg, 8.0 apg, 3.3 spg, 48.9 FG%, 47.1 3FG%
    • Zach Hicks – 13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 42.9 3FG%
    • Qudus Wahab – 10.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 68.0 FG%
    • D'Marco Dunn – 10.0 ppg, 46.9 FG%, 46.2 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 6-7 in Big Ten play through first 13 games, which is Penn State's best record through the first 13 games of the conference season since the 2019-20 team started 8-4. Rhoades' 6-7 start is the best conference record through the first 13 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.
    • Won consecutive Big Ten road games (at Rutgers & at Indiana) by 12-plus points for the first time in program history.
    • Won Big Ten home opener (vs. Ohio State) for the first time under a first-year Penn State head coach since 2012.
    • 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 Wednesday's game averaging 76.0 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 15.42 turnovers per game, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 19th in the nation. Penn State's +4.6 turnover margin ranks 10th in the country.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored a Big Ten-best average of 16.4 points off turnovers per game thus far this season, while Penn State's opponents have only scored 10.5 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. 11) as the Nittany Lions have allowed their opponents to shoot just 31.0 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:
12 Wins 12 Losses
3-Point FG% Defense 25.7% 36.1%

 
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist honoree Ace Baldwin Jr. is stuffing the stat sheet, averaging 14.1 points per game, a team-best 5.4 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.83 steals per game. His 2.83 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) - 14.1/5.4/2.8
    • 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. the only currently active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,168), 500+ career assists (548) and 250+ career steals (251). His 251 career steals rank third amongst active Division I players.

 
BIG Q

  • Veteran big man Qudus Wahab has shot 83.3 percent (15-18) from the field over the last three games combined.
  • He owns career marks of 1,256 points and 925 rebounds. His 925 rebounds rank 17th amongst active Division I players and he is one of just 20 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 65.4 percent (87-133) from the field.

 
HICKS HEATING UP

  • Zach Hicks has turned it up a notch as of late, scoring in double figures in each of the last three games.
Zach Hicks Last Three Games Season Avg.
Points per game 15.7 ppg 7.4 ppg
3FG% 47.6% 32.1%

 
SOPHOMORE LEAP

  • Sophomore guard Kanye Clary has made quite the leap in his sophomore season as Penn State's leading scorer. 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.
Kanye Clary 2023-24 2022-23 Increase
Points per game 17.1 ppg 3.7 ppg +13.4 ppg
FG% 46.1% 43.4% +2.7%
Rebounds per game 2.9 0.9 +2.0 rpg
Assists per game 2.7 0.7 +2.0 apg
Minutes per game 29.8 10.4 +19.4 mpg
  • Five-foot-eleven Kanye Clary's 17.1 points per game is the highest scoring output by any power conference player under six-foot tall this season.
  • Clary's 17.1 points per game overall ranks seventh amongst Big Ten players, while his 16.6 points per conference game ranks ninth.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions are back on the road this weekend when Penn State travels to Nebraska for a noon ET/11 a.m. CT tipoff Saturday on Big Ten Network.

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