UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team (4-6, 1-5) plays host to Northwestern (6-7, 3-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan 23, its fourth game in seven days. The Bryce Jordan Center will provide the backdrop for Big Ten Network broadcast.
The Nittany Lions and Wildcats meet only once this season. Penn State has won its last two home games vs. Northwestern and has a 33-20 lead in the series, but the Wildcats won the last game of the 2019-20 regular season at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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Chris Vosters (pxp) & John Beilein (analyst)
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
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LIVE STATS: Penn State vs. Northwestern
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ROSTER: Penn State | Northwestern
SCHEDULE: Penn State | Northwestern
STATS: Penn State | Northwestern
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Northwestern
NORTHWESTERN
Coach: Chris Collins (Duke, 1996)
Rutgers Record: 115-126 (Eighth season)
Career Record: Same
2020-21 Record: 6-7, 3-6 Big Ten
Leading Scorer
#10 Miller Kopp, Jr., F – 18.6 ppg
Leading Rebounder
#15 Ryan Young, R-So., C – 8.8 rpg
Assists Leader
#0 Boo Buie, So., G – 4.7 apg
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Interim Head Coach: Jim Ferry (Keene State, 1990)
Penn State Record: 4-6 (First season)
Career Record: 318-271 (20th season)
Top Scorer
#12 Myreon Jones, Jr., G – 16.0 ppg
Top Rebounder
#21 John Harrar, Sr., F – 8.0 rpg
Assists Leaders
#5 Jamari Wheeler, Sr., G – 4.0 apg
PENN STATE LAST GAME STARTERS
F -- 15 – Seth Lundy – Sr. | 12.4 ppg | 3.9 rpg
Note: First career double-double with 16 points with career-best 10 rebounds and three steals vs. Rutgers
F -- 21 – John Harrar – Sr. | 7.3 ppg | 8.0 rpg
Note: Had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds in B1G win over Scarlet Knights; Has six career games with 10+ rebounds; Has 18 offensive rebounds in last three games
G – 0 – Myreon Jones -- Jr. | 16.0 ppg | 2.5 rpg
Note: Tied for team lead with 17 points in Thursday's win, all of his points coming in second half. Averaging 20.2 points over the last five games
G – 5 – Jamari Wheeler -- Sr. | 4.7 ppg | 4.1 rpg | 4.0 apg
Note: Tied his season best total with six assists vs. Rutgers; Now eighth on Penn State's career steals list with 164
G – 12 – Izaiah Brockington -- Jr. | 14.1 ppg | 4.9 rpg
Note: Penn State's second-leading scorer and rebounder; Tied for share of team lead with 17 points in Rutgers win
STARTING 5
A family meeting, of sorts, will take place at Saturday's game. Brothers Talor Battle, Penn State assistant coach and the Nittany Lions' all-time leading scorer, and Boo Buie, sophomore point guard for Northwestern, will be on opposing benches.
With nine games of 10+ points this season, junior guard Myreon Jones has 30 career double-figure scoring games. He now has 612 career points and is one shy of 100 career 3-pointers.
The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in offensive rebounding with a 13.3 per-game average. Senior forward John Harrar ranks 17th nationally with 3.70 offensive rebounds per game.
In the last three games, Penn State has outrebounded all three opponents and has a +6.7 rebounding margin (PS 43.0-Opp 36.3).
Penn State has one of the toughest, if not the toughest schedule in 2020-21. According to ESPN.com, the Nittany Lions are the SOS leader and are third in the kenpom.com SOS rankings.
SERIES vs. NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern snapped Penn State's three-game series win streak with a win at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the final regular-season game, and what would be the final game of 2019-20 for both teams.
The Nittany Lions have won the last two meetings in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Series streak: Northwestern, W1
Last game: Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern 80, Penn State 69, 3/7/2020
Overall series: PS leads 33-20 (PS H: 17-6)
Ferry vs. Northwestern: 0-2 (at LIU)
Series record and results from last 20 games are listed on page 5 of the game notes.
LAST TIME OUT: PENN STATE EARNS 75-67 BIG TEN WIN OVER RUTGERS
Penn State absorbed a late surge by Rutgers to pick up its first Big Ten win with a 75-67 final. Led by 17 points each from Myreon Jones and Izaiah Brockington, the Nittany Lions were buoyed by the efforts of Seth Lundy, who recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
Penn State never trailed in the game, getting out to a quick start by shooting 53.3 percent from the field in the first half. Rutgers used a 51.3 percent shooting in the second half, including 6-6 mark over four minutes midway through the period, to make its run and cut the lead down to four points.
The Scarlet Knights countered Nittany Lion baskets with their own, but couldn't get closer than four points down the stretch. With about a minute to play and down by four, Rutgers was forced to foul and send the Nittany Lions to the line. Rutgers couldn't convert its final two field goal attempts and Jones canned two more free throws with four seconds left for the final.
Jones caught fire in the second half, scoring all 17 of his points in that period, including the first six points after the break to extend the Nittany Lions' lead to 40-25. Rutgers clawed back into the game with its 11-0 run with field goals from five different Scarlet Knights. Four-straight free throws by Penn State halt the run and put the Nittany Lions back up by double-digits, 58-47.
With the Nittany Lions leading by four with 1:57 to play, Jones showed his tenacity. He finished 5-6 from the foul line to secure the win prior to the Nittany Lions' matchup with Northwestern on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions were the aggressors to open the game, jumping out to an early 15-4 lead in the first seven minutes of play. Sam Sessoms had nine first-half points off the bench to pace the Nittany Lions with Lundy and Brockington close behind with eight each.
Rutgers used a 5-0 run to pull within six before Sessoms drilled the Nittany Lions' first trey of the game. Jamari Wheeler followed up by picking the pocket of a Rutgers' ball handler. Wheeler finished the play with an easy layup on the other end of the floor for a 20-9 lead.
Lundy scored Penn State's next six points, finishing with eight for the half, and the Nittany Lions went up 26-14 with 7:13 before the break. Harrar and Sessoms combined for the last eight points for a 34-24 cushion at halftime.
Rutgers' Ron Harper Jr. led all scorers with 18 points while Myles Johnson had seven rebounds to lead the Scarlet Knights.
Penn State had the advantage on the boards 40-27, had 10 steals and had 14 of its 15 made free throws in the second half.
FOLLOW PENN STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL VIRTUALLY
Please stay connected and follow Penn State men's basketball virtually throughout season. While we are unable to host fans this season due to COVID-19 protocols, fans are able to join the interest list for tickets for the 2021-22 men's basketball season. Sign up for the 2021-22 interest list by clicking here.
