Nittany Lions Face Georgia Tech in Madison Square Garden SaturdayNittany Lions Face Georgia Tech in Madison Square Garden Saturday
PSU Athletics/Selders

Nittany Lions Face Georgia Tech in Madison Square Garden Saturday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team heads to New York City Saturday to face Georgia Tech inside the famed Madison Square Garden as part of the Holiday Festival at MSG. Tipoff from the "World's Most Famous Arena" is slated for noon and the game will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State returns to play following final exams with a trip to New York City to take on ACC-foe Georgia Tech inside Madison Square Garden.
  • The Nittany Lions are coming off a thrilling comeback victory over Ohio State last Saturday as Penn State erased an 18-point second-half deficit to earn an 83-80 win over the Buckeyes.
  • Kanye Clary is averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game, while Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 14.0 points and a Big Ten-best 2.4 steals per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS GEORGIA TECH

  • Penn State would win its third-straight game played in Madison Square Garden.
  • The Nittany Lions would win their first game away from the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
  • Penn State would improve to 4-1 all-time against Georgia Tech.

 
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS

  • The Yellow Jackets are 5-3 overall and 1-0 in ACC play under first-year head coach Damon Stoudamire.
  • Georgia Tech will be playing its first game since Dec. 9, a 70-49 home win over Alabama A&M.
  • The Yellow Jackets own a pair of strong wins over Duke (72-68) and Mississippi State (67-59) this season, both of which were home victories. Georgia Tech is 0-2 in games played away from their home gym this season.
  • Miles Kelly leads the Yellow Jackets with 17.0 points per game, while Kowacie Reeves is the only other Georgia Tech player averaging double-digit points with 12.5 ppg.

 
AGAINST GEORGIA TECH

  • The Nittany Lions and Yellow Jackets meet for the fifth time in program history Saturday when the two teams tussle in Madison Square Garden.
  • Penn State owns a 3-1 edge in the all-time series and has won each of the last two meetings - a 67-60 home win in the 2016 Big Ten/ACC Challenge and an 85-83 road victory in the 2008 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
  • The four previous meetings between the two programs have been decided by an average of 4.5 points per game.

 
THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARENA

  • Penn State returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time since winning the 2018 NIT Championship inside the World's Most Famous Arena.
  • The Nittany Lions are 15-7 all-time in the current Madison Square Garden Arena and have won five of their last six games in the World's Most Famous Arena. Penn State won both the 2018 and 2009 NIT Championships inside the building. 
  • Penn State's last 10 games at "The Mecca":
3/29/18 vs. Utah – NIT W, 82-66
3/27/18 vs. Mississippi State – NIT W, 75-60
3/3/18 vs. #8 Purdue – BTT L, 70-78
3/2/18 vs. #13 Ohio State – BTT W, 69-68
3/1/18 vs. Northwestern – BTT W, 65-57
12/18/16 vs. St. John's W, 92-76
1/30/16 vs. Michigan L, 72-79
4/2/09 vs. Baylor – NIT W, 69-63
3/31/09 vs. Notre Dame – NIT W, 67-59
12/27/00 vs. Hofstra W. 74-71

 
COMEBACK FOR A BOUNCE BACK

  • The Nittany Lions are coming off a thrilling comeback victory over #RV/25 Ohio State Saturday night in their most recent game. Penn State erased an 18-point second-half deficit by catching fire for a 46-25 run in the game's final 15:30.
  • Penn State caught fire in its 54-point second half, shooting 61 percent from the floor and 53 percent from deep as it constructed its 18-point comeback. Ace Baldwin Jr. cashed in a game-tying jumper with 58 seconds to play before following with a go-ahead triple to give the Nittany Lions their first lead of the second half with 32.3 seconds left in the game. The win snapped Penn State's five game losing streak and gave the Nittany Lions their first Big Ten win of the season.
  • Five Nittany Lions scored in double figures, led by Kanye Clary with 19 points. D'Marco Dunn followed with a career-best 16, with Leo O'Boyle (15 points), Zach Hicks (11 points), and Qudus Wahab (10 points) rounding out the top scorers. O'Boyle connected on four triples in the game, his most as a Nittany Lion, fueling the Penn State shooting performance in the second half.

 
TURN UP THE PRESSURE

  • The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 16.60 turnovers per game, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks 18th in the nation. Penn State forced a season-high 29 turnovers in its win over Morehead State on Nov. 17.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored an average of 16.1 points off turnovers per game thus far this season.

 
SOPHOMORE LEAP

  • With a roster full of new faces, its a returning sophomore that has asserted himself for the Nittany Lions through the first 10 games of the season in Kanye Clary.
  • Clary has scored 165 points through the first 10 games of his sophomore season, already outdoing his freshman year total of 117 points that was accomplished in 32 games. 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's 16.5 points per game leads the team. He has scored in double figures in eight games this season, including four 20-plus point efforts, while leading the team in scoring in eight of Penn State's 10 games.

 
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. earned well-deserved preseason recognition as a preseason top 20 finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award as well as being ranked as the No. 40 player on The Almanac's list of Top 100 Players entering the 2023-24 season.
  • Baldwin Jr. has stuffed the stat sheet through his first 10 games as a Nittany Lion, averaging 14.0 points per game, 3.6 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.4 steals per game.
  • Baldwin Jr. has come up clutch in each of Penn State's last two games, both of which were Big Ten contests. He made a pair of game-tying free throws with four seconds to play to force overtime on the road at Maryland on Dec. 6. The guard then scored both the game-tying and go-ahead baskets in the final minute of Penn State's 83-80 comeback victory over Ohio State on Dec. 9.

 
BIG Q

  • Graduate student Qudus Wahab owns career marks of 1,134 points and 826 rebounds, making him one of just 15 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 points and 800 rebounds.
  • Wahab is shooting a team-best and career-high 69.8 percent from the field. He is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions return home for their final two non-conference games of the regular season. Penn State hosts Le Moyne on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. before welcoming Rider on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m.

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