Penn St. @ Michigan preview
Crisler Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2019 ) Michigan 69, Penn St. 75
Michigan looks to break out of its recent slump when it hosts Penn State on Wednesday in Big Ten play. The Wolverines have dropped three out of their last four games, including a 90-83 setback to No. 19 Iowa Friday, to fall out of the national rankings, and they hope to avoid losing three consecutive conference games for the first time in nearly five years by recording their ninth straight home win in the rivalry with the Nittany Lions.
“They showed a lot of passion in these last two games on the road but unfortunately we weren’t able to get the win we wanted,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard told reporters. “We’re a family and they know I’m going to fight for them.” Penn State ended a three-game skid with an impressive 90-76 win against Ohio State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions raced out to a 10-2 start to make their first appearance in the Top 25 since 1996, before dropping out following their losing streak, but avenged a 32-point loss to the Buckeyes earlier in the season, and hope to build on the big win by knocking off Michigan on the road for the first time in almost 10 years. “We had a little losing streak there and you never want one to lead to two, and two to lead to three,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers told reporters. “We have to come out and be ourselves and have to compete and do what Penn State basketball does.”
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network
ABOUT PENN STATE (13-4, 3-4 Big Ten): Lamar Stevens scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half against Ohio State en route to becoming the second player in program history to reach 1,000 Big Ten points. “It’s a blessing just to be able to play in this league so long and have the ability to play every night against great teams,” Stevens told reporters. “That’s a cool milestone, but I’m more worried about the team getting these wins.” Myreon Jones added 20 points, four assists and a pair of steals while Seth Lundy finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots as the Nittany Lions scored the most points in a regulation game over a Top 25 opponent in team history.
ABOUT MICHIGAN (11-6, 2-4): Eli Brooks knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a career-high 25 points, but the Wolverines dropped their fifth straight road game of the season despite shooting 50 percent from the field and committing eight turnovers. Franz Wagner added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists while Jon Teske produced 14 points, a career-best seven assists, four steals and a pair of blocked shots in the loss to Iowa. Zavier Simpson dished out six assists to overtake Rumeal Robinson (575) for second place on Michigan’s all-time list with 579. Isaiah Livers, who is averaging 13.6 points per game this season, could return to the lineup after missing the past five contests with a groin injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Michigan has won eight of the last nine overall meetings with Penn State.
2. Stevens has scored 20 or more points 37 times in his career.
3. Simpson leads the nation in assists per game (8.7).
PREDICTION: Michigan 77, Penn State 71