Penn St. @ Minnesota preview
Williams Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Penn St. 72, Minnesota 77
Minnesota looks to extend its home winning streak to six games when it faces Penn State on Wednesday in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers used an 11-2 run in the final three minutes to knock off No. 19 Michigan 76-67 to earn their second victory over a Top 25 team this season, and they hope to beat the Nittany Lions for the fifth consecutive time.
“It was a great team effort and we got better as the game went on and that’s the key in this league,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “We got to have another great home crowd like we did (on Sunday).” Penn State tumbled out of the national rankings following a pair of losses over the past seven days. The Nittany Lions dropped a 71-62 decision to Rutgers before suffering a 58-49 home loss to Wisconsin on Saturday to fall below .500 in the Big Ten standings, and they hope to get back on track by taking down Minnesota for the first time since Jan. 14, 2017. “We’re hitting a little speed bump, a little bump in the road for us and we have to get back to work,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers told reporters. “There’s plenty of time here, lots of games left and our goals are still intact.”
TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network
ABOUT PENN STATE (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten): Lamar Stevens scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Wisconsin to record his fourth double-double of the season. Stevens also blocked two shots to move into a tie with Jon Jagla (110) for fifth place on the program’s all-time list and needs 17 points to reach 1,000 for his Big Ten career. Izaiah Brockington added 15 points against the Badgers, but it wasn’t enough as the Nittany Lions’ 13-game home winning streak came to an end.
ABOUT MINNESOTA (9-7, 3-3): Daniel Oturu was named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week after averaging 26 points and 8.5 rebounds against Michigan and Michigan State. Oturu scored a career-high 30 points and pulled down seven rebounds despite missing some time in the second half with a shoulder problem against the Wolverines. Marcus Carr added 21 points and 12 assists to notch his second double-double of the season while Alihan Demir finished with 13 points, which all came in the second half.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oturu has scored 20 or more points in nine games this season.
2. Stevens has registered 14 career double-doubles.
3. Oturu is ranked fourth nationally in rebounds per game (11.9).
PREDICTION: Minnesota 76, Penn State 70