March 4, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., March 4, 2008 - The Nittany Lion basketball team (14-14; 6-10 Big Ten) will look to build on its most Big Ten wins in the last seven seasons and add a third Big Ten road win Wednesday when it travels to No. 10/8 Wisconsin (24-4; 14-2 Big Ten) for a 9:00 p.m. (ET) tip on the Big Ten Network. The game can be heard live on the Penn State Sports Network (WMAJ 1450 AM in State College) with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi calling the action and will be streamed to www.GoPSUsports.com. Penn State will try to win for just the third time in its 14th trip to Madison and for the first time since 1995. Freshman Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) is coming a spectacular career night in a win over Michigan in which he posted career highs with 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven threes. His 28 points marked a best for a Penn State player in a Big Ten game and the most for a PSU freshman since Walter Young posted 30 vs. Pittsburgh in 1977. Penn State has won four of its last eight games and stands seventh in the Big Ten on pace for its best finish since 2001. Wisconsin stands tied a top the Big Ten with Purdue with a 14-2 record and has won five straight. It will be senior night in Madison with four seniors honored including standouts Brian Butch and Michael Flowers. Butch leads the Badgers averaging 12.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg. The Badgers are 15-2 in the Kohl Center this season. GAME NOTES Penn State (14-14; 6-10 Big Ten) at #10/8 Wisconsin (24-4; 14-2 Big Ten) Wed., March 5, 2008 @ 9:00 p.m. (ET) The Kohl Center (17,142), Madison, Wisc. TV: Big Ten Network Radio: Penn State Sports Network Series At A Glance: Penn State plays its final road game of the season at No. 10 Wisconsin. The Badgers won, 80-55, at the Jordan Center on Jan. 15 and own a 20-8 lead in the series having won the last seven meetings. Penn State is 2-11 at Wisconsin and 0-7 vs. the Badgers under Coach DeChellis. The Lions' last win came in 2003 at home and last win in Madison in 1995. Coaches: Penn State: Ed DeChellis - 56-90 (5th at PSU); 161-183 (12th Overall); Wisconsin: Bo Ryan - 166-59 (7th at PSU); 549-162 (24th Overall) Television: BTN: Wayne Larivee (p-by-p) & Tim McCormick (analyst) Radio: Penn State Sports Network: Steve Jones (p-by-p), Dick Jerardi (analyst). Flagship: WMAJ (1450 AM) WEB: Audio and Gametracker links at GoPSUsports.com. Up Next: The Lions host No. 12 Indiana Sun., March 9 at 2:00 p.m. in the regular season finale on ESPN. PSU lost 81-65 at IU earlier this year and trails the series 3-27. PSU is 3-10 at home and has lost the last four meetings. PSU's last win came in 2006 at home, 71-68. Lions Win 4-of-Last 8/Back-to-Back Games: Penn State dropped four straight games after losing leading scorer and rebounder Geary Claxton to a season-ending torn ACL just six minutes into a loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 15 and six overall. Since then, coach DeChellis and his staff have shuffled the line-up, found new combinations and new scoring sources and guided Penn State to a 4-4 mark in its last eight games. Penn State's back-to-back wins on Feb. 27 and March 1 marked the latest in the season Penn State has won consecutive games since winning first and second round games (March 16 & 18) in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Lions Tie Most Big Ten Wins Under DeChellis: Despite the loss of leading scorer Geary Claxton 3 1/4 games into the Big Ten season, Penn State has equaled its most Big Ten wins under coach Ed DeChellis and has an opportunity to earn its best Big Ten finish since 2001. Penn State is seventh in the conference with a 6-10 mark, just ahead of Iowa (5-12) and Michigan (5-12). Penn State went 7-9 in the Big Ten and tied for sixth in 2001. Penn State's previous high finish under Ed DeChellis in the Big Ten came with a 6-10 mark and eighth place finish in 2006. A Chance For Rare Threes: Penn State will look to equal a season-best three road wins in Big Ten play Wednesday in Madison. Penn State has won three Big Ten road games in a season five times since joining the conference in 1992-93, last achieving the mark in 2006. The Lions haven't won in Madison since 1995 and are 2-11 at Wisconsin. A win would also mark Penn State's third straight in Big Ten play, marking the first time the Lions have achieved the feat since wins over Michigan, at Minnesota and vs. Purdue in early February of 2001. Oh What A Night/Battle Sets Freshman Scoring Mark Vs. Big Ten: Freshman Talor Battle was spectacular in a 69-61 win over Michigan (3/1) leading Penn State with career highs in points (28), rebounds (13/ all defensive), assists (6), threes (7) and shooting percentage (10-13, 77%). It marked Battle's first career double-double as he set Penn State season highs in rebounds, assists and threes and was a red hot 7-of-9 from three, including three in a decisive 18-3 run late in the second half after he returned from being sidelined for four minutes with a bruised tailbone. Battle had 15 points and seven boards at halftime. Battles 28 points set a Penn State record for freshman scoring in Big Ten play eclipsing the 26 points scored by Marlon Smith vs. Ohio State in 2004. It was the most points scored by a PSU freshman since Walter Young put up 30 vs. Pittsburgh on Jan. 29, 1977. PSU Top Freshman Scoring Games Vs. Big Ten 28 Talor Battle vs. Michigan, 2008 26 Marlon Smith vs. Ohio State, 2004 23 Joe Crispin vs. Iowa, 1998 22 Dan Earl vs. Illinois, 1994 PSU Top Freshman Scoring Games All-Time 40 Jesse Arnelle vs. Georgetown, 1952 30 Jesse Arnelle vs. Syracuse, 1952 30 Walter Young vs. Pittsburgh, 1977 28 Talor Battle vs. Michigan, 2008 Scouting The Badgers: Wisconsin is tied for the Big Ten lead with Purdue with a 14-2 conference recorded and ranked No. 10 in the nation with a 24-4 mark. They have won their last five games, including victories over Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan State in the top half of the Big Ten. The Badgers are coming off a 57-42 victory over Michigan State in Madison on Feb. 28 and have had nearly a week to prepare for the Lions. Brian Butch led the Badgers vs. MSU scoring 16 points and adding seven boards. He leads the team scoring 12.4 ppg followed closely by guard Trevon Hughes (12.3 ppg) and forward Marcus Landry (11.0 ppg). Hughes has 38 threes on the year, but Jason Bohannon leads the team with 40 while shooting 40 percent from the arc. The Badgers lead the Big Ten in scoring defense (54.9 ppg), rank second in field goal defense (38.6%) and are fourth in field goal percentage (45.1%) and rebounding (35.7 rpg). The Badgers have Penn State and Northwestern remaining on their schedule as the look to secure no worse than a tie for the best record in the Big Ten. Hot At Home: Penn State went 3-0 at home in February and with a victory over Michigan on March 1 has won four consecutive Big Ten home games for the first time since since Penn State was 9-0 in 1995-96, the Jordan Center's inaugural campaign. Following a win over Wisconsin to close Rec Hall, the Lions won all eight Big Ten games in their sparkling new facility en route to second place in the standings. A Penn State has won 12 home games on the season, equaling the second-highest total in the Bryce Jordan Center, a 12-2 mark in 1997-98. A 13-4 record posted in 1999-2000 is the high home win total. That mark could be equaled in the final game of the regular season vs. Indiana on March 9. Battle Making Case For All-Big Ten Freshman Team/Sixth Among Freshman Scorers: With 10 double-digit scoring outings and four career highs so far in Big Ten play, including a spectacular 28-point, 13 rebound, six assist effort in a win over Michigan (3/1), freshman point-guard Talor Battle is making a strong case for inclusion on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team among a strong group of first-year conference players. Battle's 12.4 ppg in Big Ten games is second on the team and ranks sixth among freshman (16th overall) and his 1.50 steals rank second among freshmen (8th overall). Included in his performances are 20 points on a career best 80 percent (4-5) from three in a match-up with Eric Gordon at Indiana and scoring Penn State's last nine points and team-high 14 points, six boards and four assists, with two game-winning FT with :07.1 to play, in a win over Illinois (2/16). He also made a trey with 1:05 to play and a strip just before buzzer in comeback win over Iowa (2/27). Melle The Man: Jamelle "Melle" Cornley posted back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career to lead Penn State in scoring with 20 points at Minnesota and 22 in a win over Iowa. He now has 11 career 20-point scoring games. He shot 59 percent from the floor (16-27) and a truly remarkable 90.9 percent (10-11) from the foul line while playing 35.5 minutes per game in the two games, this from a career 60 percent foul shooter. His run included 18 second half points to bring Penn State from 12 down to victory vs. Iowa. Cornley Hits 1,000-point/500 Rebound Total: Junior Jamelle Cornley scored 20 points at Minnesota to become just the 16th Nittany Lion to post 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career (28th to hit 1,000). He grabbed his 500th career rebound at Michigan State (Feb. 20). He has 1,048 career points, good for 22nd place, with Steve Kuhn (1,057) and Gyasi Cline-Heard (1,058) next on the list. Walker Sparks Lions Off The Bench: As he has throughout his career, senior Mike Walker has provided a big spark for Penn State coming off the bench most recently scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 from the arc in a "Senior Night" victory over Michigan on March 1. He hit three threes in a decisive 18-3 run in the second half of that game. He scored in double-digits in three straight games in February and has nine total double-digit outings on the year. He has led Penn State in scoring four times on the year, scoring 17 in a big win over Virginia Tech (11/28) while going 3-of-6 from three,14 points on 4-of-8 in a 60-39 victory over Denver (12/15), 12 while going 4-of-6 from three at Purdue and 10 while going 4-of-4 in a loss to Purdue (1/23). He has three or more treys in six games on the year and is third on the team with 41 threes on the year. Freshmen Making Clutch Plays: For the second consecutive home game, a freshman made the game-winning play for the Nittany Lions. In the 65-64 win over Iowa, David Jackson made a three-point play with :18.3 to play, as Penn State erased an seven-point deficit (64-57) with 2:40 to go. Freshman point guard Talor Battle made a three-pointer with 1:05 to play to draw the Lions within 64-62 and stripped Iowa's Justin Johnson of the ball as he was attempting a three-point shot just before the buzzer. On Feb. 2, Battle was fouled as he drove the lane, and made both free throws with :7.1 left, scoring Penn State's last nine points, to lift the Lions to a 52-51 win over Illinois. D.J. Delivers-Again: In the contest prior to his game-winning three-point play vs. Iowa., freshman David Jackson delivered the best game of his young career Feb. 24 at Minnesota, posting career-highs with 19 points and eight rebounds. A starter in 10 of the last 12 games, Jackson was 6 of 10 from the floor, hitting 3 of 5 three-point attempts. He also was 4 of 5 at the line and blocked one shot in 32 minutes. Jackson is shooting a team-best 40.0 on three-point attempts (10-25), going 8 of 19 (42.1) in Big Ten games, and is third on the team in free throw shooting at 73.8 pct. Winning the Close Ones : A team that has four freshmen and a junior transfer seeing significant playing time is learning how to win close games. Penn State has had five Big Ten games decided by five points or less and has won the last two to bring its mark to 3-2 in such games. Consecutive One Point Wins: Penn State's one-point win over Illinois (52-51) was its first one-point game since a 56-55 victory over Hartford on Dec. 6, 2006. The Nittany Lions' next win was a 65-64 decision over Iowa, marking the first time since December 1979 that consecutive Penn State wins were by a single point (38-37 at Colgate; 47-46 vs. Texas Tech). The win over Iowa marked the fifth one-point game under Ed DeChellis, with Penn State going 4-1 in those games, winning the last four. Last Time vs. Wisconsin:
Penn State lost its leading scorer and rebounder in Geary Claxton six minutes into the game with a season ending ACL injury. Trailing 12-2 and struggling to score at the time, Penn State made just 1-of-12 to start the game and was down 20-4 in a flash. Wisconsin cruised opening up as much as a 31-point lead in the 80-55 win. Jamelle Cornley led PSU with 13 points. Michael Flowers had 23 on 5-of-6 from three for UW.
Penn State last traveld to Madison on Feb. 17 of last year in the midst of a string of three straight games vs. top three ranked teams and four of five vs. top four ranked. It marked the toughest stretch in program history and the first Big Ten team ever to play such a stretch. The Lions fell 75-49 at the Kohl center as Alando Tucker scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half to break open the game. Geary Claxton had 15 and Jamelle Cornley 12. Kammron Taylor added 18 points on four threes for the No. 3 ranked Badgers as Wisconsin hit 12-of-23 from the arc and their bench out-scored the Lions 25-2.
|
|