Minnesota @ Penn St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2020 ) Penn St. 69, Minnesota 75

No. 20 Penn State looks to stay on track for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 when it hosts Minnesota on Saturday. The Nittany Lions have racked up five consecutive wins, including an impressive 75-70 road victory over 14th-ranked Michigan State on Tuesday,and they hope to stay in the hunt for their first Big Ten regular season championship by avenging a 75-69 loss to the Golden Gophers on Jan. 15.

“It’s great that we’re in the position that we’re in, but if we start focusing on that, then that’s when you’re going to slip up,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers told reporters. “So we’re going to focus on getting better every single day and enjoy this quest that we’re on.” Minnesota gave its NCAA Tournament hopes a boost with a 70-52 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday. The Golden Gophers had dropped three of their previous four games before recording their largest margin of victory over the Badgers in 26 years, and they hope to build on the impressive win by completing the season sweep of Penn State while adding another victory over a ranked opponent to their tournament resume. “It was a terrific win and I’m happy for our guys and for our Minnesota fans, as I know this means a lot to them,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “It means a lot to our university and our state, but we also want to get back to the NCAA Tournament.”

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

ABOUT MINNESOTA (12-10, 6-6 Big Ten): Payton Willis (9.5 points) knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a career-high 21 points in the win over Wisconsin after missing the previous game with a shoulder injury. “It’s never good to be hurt, but it was a blessing in disguise because I got a few days of rest,” he said. “We are fighting for the NCAA Tournament, so every game is big for us.” Daniel Oturu added 17 points and 14 rebounds against the Badgers to register his 12th double-double of the season, while sophomore Marcus Carr flirted with a triple-double after finishing with 12 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

ABOUT PENN STATE (17-5, 7-4): Lamar Stevens poured in 13 of his team-leading 24 points in the second half and added seven rebounds to help the Nittany Lions knock off Michigan State in East Lansing for the first time since 2009. Sophomore Myreon Jones went 6-of-8 from 3-point range en route to 20 points to go along with five assists, while Mike Watkins finished with 10 points and eight rebounds to become the third player in program history to grab 900 boards in his career. Myles Dread tallied seven points as Penn State won five straight Big Ten games for the first time in school history.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Penn State is 11-1 at home this season.

2. Carr has dished out seven or more assists in 12 games in 2019-20.

3. Oturu is ranked seventh nationally in rebounds per game (11.3).

PREDICTION: Penn State 76, Minnesota 69