University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, February 8
University Park, PA
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Penn State
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Head to No. 22/19 Penn State for Saturday Showdown
2/7/2020 10:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: BTN – Brandon Gaudin (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Tip Time: 4:01 p.m. ET/3:01 p.m. CT
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM – Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play);
Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 381
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 40th Meeting (29-10)*
Series (Away): 18th Meeting (10-7)*
Current Streak: W-5
Richard Pitino vs. Penn State: 8-4
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 767-840*
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 50-79
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team looks for its second season sweep of the year as it travels to No. 22/19 Penn State on Saturday. The Gophers, who have won five straight against the Nittany Lions - their longest active streak against a Big Ten opponent - topped PSU 75-69 on Jan. 15 in Minneapolis.
• Sophomore center Daniel Oturu was named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 List, which ranks him among the top candidates in the nation for the men's basketball player of the year. The award will be announced in April.
• On Jan. 23, Marcus Carr's last-second heroics helped lift the Gophers to a season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota won in Columbus for the first time since 2005, which also marked the last time that the Maroon and Gold swept the Scarlet and Grey during the regular season. It also was the first regular-season sweep by the Gophers since doing so against Penn State in 2014.
• Minnesota has been tested early and often, playing one of the nation's toughest schedules. Through the games of Feb. 6, the Gophers' schedule ranks as the second toughest in NCAA Division I according to KenPom.com.
• The Gophers rank highly among the nation's college basketball teams in several categories. As of Feb. 7, Minnesota is 26th in blocked shots per game (B1G: 4th). Daniel Oturu is seventh in rebounds per game (B1G: 1st), 19th in the country in blocks (B1G: 2nd), and 32nd in field goal percentage (B1G: 1st). Oturu's 12 double-doubles rank 12th in the country and third in the Big Ten. Marcus Carr is 10th in the country in assists per game (B1G: 2nd) and leads the Big Ten in minutes per game (NCAA: 18th). Oturu is also the Big Ten's second leading scorer, trailing Iowa's Luka Garza (23.2 ppg). Gabe Kalscheur leads the Big Ten in total 3-pointers made and treys per game.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
• Penn State enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, having won five straight since the loss in Minneapolis to vault into fourth place in the conference standings at 7-4.
• PSU is also 11-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to Wisconsin, 58-49, on Jan. 11 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
• Lamar Stevens and Myreon Jones pace the Nittany Lions offense, scoring 16.9 points and 14.1 points per game, respectively.
• Penn State leads the conference in forcing turnovers (14.7) and steals per game (8.5), with Jamari Wheeler leading the way in that category at a Big Ten-high 1.8 spg.
• Mike Watkins is leading the Big Ten and ranks 15th nationally with 2.8 blocks per game.
FOUR SCORE... AND SIX YEARS AGO
• Wednesday's win over the Badgers marked the second time this season that four Gophers scored in double-figures in Big Ten play, and the fifth time overall. Minnesota also did it against Northwestern, DePaul, North Dakota and Cleveland State.
• The victory also marked the first triumph over the Badgers at Williams Arena in more than six years, dating back to the Jan. 22, 2014 81-68 victory over Wisconsin in Pitino's first season.
• The 18-point margin of victory over Wisconsin was the largest for the Gophers in the annual series since a 76-57 win at Williams Arena on March 4, 1992.
UP NEXT
• The Gophers have their second bye of the year, sitting idle during the week before returning to action to host rival Iowa on Sunday, February 16.
• Tip off is scheduled for 12 p.m. with FS1 and KFAN 100.3 FM carrying the action live from the Barn.
TV: BTN – Brandon Gaudin (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Tip Time: 4:01 p.m. ET/3:01 p.m. CT
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM – Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play);
Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 381
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 40th Meeting (29-10)*
Series (Away): 18th Meeting (10-7)*
Current Streak: W-5
Richard Pitino vs. Penn State: 8-4
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 767-840*
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 50-79
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team looks for its second season sweep of the year as it travels to No. 22/19 Penn State on Saturday. The Gophers, who have won five straight against the Nittany Lions - their longest active streak against a Big Ten opponent - topped PSU 75-69 on Jan. 15 in Minneapolis.
• Sophomore center Daniel Oturu was named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 List, which ranks him among the top candidates in the nation for the men's basketball player of the year. The award will be announced in April.
• On Jan. 23, Marcus Carr's last-second heroics helped lift the Gophers to a season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota won in Columbus for the first time since 2005, which also marked the last time that the Maroon and Gold swept the Scarlet and Grey during the regular season. It also was the first regular-season sweep by the Gophers since doing so against Penn State in 2014.
• Minnesota has been tested early and often, playing one of the nation's toughest schedules. Through the games of Feb. 6, the Gophers' schedule ranks as the second toughest in NCAA Division I according to KenPom.com.
• The Gophers rank highly among the nation's college basketball teams in several categories. As of Feb. 7, Minnesota is 26th in blocked shots per game (B1G: 4th). Daniel Oturu is seventh in rebounds per game (B1G: 1st), 19th in the country in blocks (B1G: 2nd), and 32nd in field goal percentage (B1G: 1st). Oturu's 12 double-doubles rank 12th in the country and third in the Big Ten. Marcus Carr is 10th in the country in assists per game (B1G: 2nd) and leads the Big Ten in minutes per game (NCAA: 18th). Oturu is also the Big Ten's second leading scorer, trailing Iowa's Luka Garza (23.2 ppg). Gabe Kalscheur leads the Big Ten in total 3-pointers made and treys per game.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
• Penn State enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, having won five straight since the loss in Minneapolis to vault into fourth place in the conference standings at 7-4.
• PSU is also 11-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to Wisconsin, 58-49, on Jan. 11 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
• Lamar Stevens and Myreon Jones pace the Nittany Lions offense, scoring 16.9 points and 14.1 points per game, respectively.
• Penn State leads the conference in forcing turnovers (14.7) and steals per game (8.5), with Jamari Wheeler leading the way in that category at a Big Ten-high 1.8 spg.
• Mike Watkins is leading the Big Ten and ranks 15th nationally with 2.8 blocks per game.
FOUR SCORE... AND SIX YEARS AGO
• Wednesday's win over the Badgers marked the second time this season that four Gophers scored in double-figures in Big Ten play, and the fifth time overall. Minnesota also did it against Northwestern, DePaul, North Dakota and Cleveland State.
• The victory also marked the first triumph over the Badgers at Williams Arena in more than six years, dating back to the Jan. 22, 2014 81-68 victory over Wisconsin in Pitino's first season.
• The 18-point margin of victory over Wisconsin was the largest for the Gophers in the annual series since a 76-57 win at Williams Arena on March 4, 1992.
UP NEXT
• The Gophers have their second bye of the year, sitting idle during the week before returning to action to host rival Iowa on Sunday, February 16.
• Tip off is scheduled for 12 p.m. with FS1 and KFAN 100.3 FM carrying the action live from the Barn.
Highlights: Gophers 89, TX Southern 53
Sunday, December 14
Highlights: Gophers 57, Purdue 85
Wednesday, December 10
Gopher Round Table: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, December 10
Cinematic Recap: Gophers-Indiana
Saturday, December 06