Yale @ Penn St. preview

Penn State is rolling through the first section of its schedule with four double-digit wins to begin the season and will look to make it five straight when it hosts Yale on Saturday. The Nittany lions are averaging 88.5 points while shooting 50.2 percent from the floor.

Penn State took a three-point lead into halftime against Bucknell on Tuesday before Lamar Stevens scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half of a 98-70 triumph. "I thought our defense in the second half was unbelievable," Nittany Lions coach Patrick Chambers told reporters. "We had a really good job in stances, really communicating, and limiting them to one shot. ... I thought Lamar Stevens showed why he's a candidate for Player of the Year and All-American. He really stepped up and his energy, his effort and his enthusiasm has really domino-ed through the rest of the team." Stevens and his high-scoring teammates have the program off to an historic start, with Tuesday's win marking the first time in program history that Penn State scored at least 80 points in each of the first four games. The Bulldogs are coming off their own high-scoring effort after outlasting Sienna 100-89 in triple-overtime on Wednesday - the team's third overtime contest of the young season.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT YALE (3-2): The Bulldogs got a breakout performance on Wednesday from junior guard Azar Swain, who knocked down a 3-pointer to tie it late in regulation and forced a second overtime with a pair of free throws before finishing with a career-high 25 points. Swain is shooting 30.2 percent from beyond the arc but was trusted with the final shot in regulation and knocked it down. "Coach (James Jones) drew up a play for me at the top of the key," Swain told reporters. "I had an option to kick it, but they gave me some space. That's a shot I work on. There was a lot of trust and confidence in the huddle."

ABOUT PENN STATE (4-0): Stevens is the star of the rising squad, but senior forward Mike Watkins is the defensive anchor and is averaging eight rebounds and four blocked shots. "I've said it before and I'll say it every time, I think Mike (Watkins) is the best big man in the Big Ten," Stevens told reporters. "When he's at his best, he's unstoppable and he makes everything so much easier for everybody else on both ends of the floor. So, for me, just knowing that he's next to me and that he's a guy that I'm able to go to and trust makes it so much easier for me. And it makes it easier for everybody else, Coach (Chambers) included." Watkins scored a season-high 18 points in Tuesday's win and is shooting 67.9 percent from the floor.

TIP-INS

1. Penn State shot 60 percent from the floor on Tuesday - its first 60-plus effort since 2009.

2. Bulldogs F Paul Atkinson is averaging 19 points on 63 percent shooting and 7.2 rebounds.

3. Nittany Lions G Jamari Wheeler is 10-of-13 from the floor over the last three games.

PREDICTION: Penn State 85, Yale 71