Rutgers @ Penn St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2020 ) Penn St. 61, Rutgers 72

Penn State looks to stay in the hunt for its first Big Ten regular-season title when it hosts Rutgers on Wednesday. The 14th-ranked Nittany Lions, who had won eight straight games from Jan. 18 to Feb. 15, have dropped two in a row following a 68-60 loss against Indiana on Sunday to fall two games behind eighth-ranked Maryland at the top of the conference standings and look to avenge a 72-61 loss to the Scarlet Knights in early January.

“I was really enjoying winning,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers told reporters. “I’ve been here a long time so I was really enjoying it and maybe we can start a new one.” Rutgers is heading in the wrong direction after a 79-71 setback to Wisconsin on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights have lost five of their last seven games, including four straight on the road, to tumble out of the national rankings, and hope to take a big step toward securing their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991 by knocking off a ranked opponent for the fourth time this season. “We work and we continue to grind,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told reporters. “We’ll have a chance if we keep playing hard and fighting through the obstacles that this league brings especially on the road.

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

ABOUT RUTGERS (18-10, 9-8 Big Ten): Ron Harper Jr. scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds against Wisconsin to register his second 20-point game in his last three outings. Geo Baker added 16 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Badgers to become the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 points for his career with 1,003. Montez Mathis tallied 12 points while Akwasi Yeboah finished with eight points and eight boards, but the Scarlet Knights fell to 1-7 on the road despite shooting 50 percent from the field.

ABOUT PENN STATE (20-7, 10-6): Lamar Stevens racked up a game-high 29 points to go along with six rebounds against Indiana to overtake Jesse Arnelle (2,138) in second place on the Nittany Lions’ all-time scoring list with 2,145 points. “Lamar Stevens was great but he needs some help,” Chambers told the media. “We can’t play that way because we are successful when we’re sharing the basketball and multiple guys get into double figures.” Myreon Jones, who is averaging 14.1 points this season, could return to the lineup Wednesday after missing the last five games with an undisclosed illness.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Stevens is averaging 23 points over his last six games.

2. Harper has scored in double figures in 17 games this season.

3. Three of the last five meetings have been decided by four points or fewer.

PREDICTION: Penn State 74, Rutgers 67