Penn St. @ Rutgers preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2019 ) Penn St. 66, Rutgers 65

No. 20 Penn State looks to continue to climb up the national rankings when it visits Rutgers in Big Ten play on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions have won five consecutive games, including an 89-86 victory over Iowa at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia on Saturday to improve to 12-2, and they hope to stay on track for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011 by beating the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway for the fourth straight time.

"Our vision has always been to be a Top 25 team and to find success and go to the NCAA Tournament consistently," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers told reporters. "We're going in the right direction and people are coming out." Rutgers is also playing some of its best basketball in recent memory as it routed Nebraska 79-62 on Friday to extend its winning streak to five games. The Scarlet Knights have won 10 consecutive home games, including a victory over No. 25 Seton Hall in the Garden State Hardwood Classic on Dec. 14, and they hope to feed off the crowd's energy as they search for their second home win over a ranked opponent in conference play in as many seasons after knocking off 16th-ranked Ohio State on Jan. 9, 2019. "This league is a monster," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told reporters. "Great coaches, great teams and venues that are packed."

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT PENN STATE (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten): Philadelphia native Izaiah Brockington racked up a career-high 23 points in his hometown and Curtis Jones added four 3-pointers en route to 16 points. "I definitely wanted to win in front of my family and friends and just go out on a good note," Brockington told reporters. "I definitely put a little extra emphasis on this game." Lamar Stevens scored 16 points and pulled down four rebounds against the Hawkeyes to overtake Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley (755) for sixth place on the program's all-time rebounding list with 758, while Myles Dread finished with 14 points, seven boards and four assists.

ABOUT RUTGERS (11-3, 2-1): Caleb McConnell went a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor en route to a career-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists as the Scarlet Knights notched their largest margin of victory on the road in the Big Ten in program history. Myles Johnson added 18 points and 14 rebounds to register his fourth double-double of the season while Jacob Young finished with 16 points and five boards against the Cornhuskers. Geo Baker, who is averaging 11.5 points and four assists per game this season, missed the win over Nebraska with a thumb injury, and is out for an indefinite period of time.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Stevens has scored in double figures in 99 games in his career.

2. Rutgers has won the battle of the boards in 13 of its 14 games this season.

3. Dread has made 20 straight free throws.

PREDICTION: Penn State 73, Rutgers 72