Penn St. @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 10, 2016 ) Penn St. 73, Pittsburgh 81

Pittsburgh coach Kevin Stallings is in the process of a complete roster overhaul and his Penn State counterpart Patrick Chambers got a taste of what Stallings is currently dealing with in the last few days. In a series that has been played 147 times -- Penn State leads 75-72, the Panthers and Lions will meet in the semifinals of the Legends Classic on Monday in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Pittsburgh, which is filled with freshmen and transfers and has only two players returning from a team that had its first losing season since 1999-00, dropped its first two games to Navy and Montana before toppling UC Santa Barbara 70-62 on Friday. Penn State, on the other hand, returns just about all of its key players from a season ago and has started 4-0 for the first time since 2010-11 - the last time the Nittany Lions made the NCAA Tournament. However, Chambers’ crew faced adversity in the last two games when three key players went down with injuries. Star point guard Tony Carr sprained an ankle early in the second half in a 70-57 win over Montana and missed the victory over Columbia on Friday; sharpshooter Shep Garner broke his nose in the Montana game and played with a face mask against Columbia; and defensive stopper and No. 3 scorer Josh Reaves missed the Columbia game as well with an ankle injury.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT PENN STATE (4-0): In addition to the injuries, several players got in early foul trouble Friday so the Lions didn’t take control until after the break, as 6-10 sophomore Mike Watkins keyed a decisive 14-0 run with seven points, four boards, two blocks and a steal. Garner, who made two late 3-pointers to help hold off Montana, scored 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting against Columbia which included five 3-pointers. "With all the obstacles and challenges that we have faced in the last 48 hours ... and the way those kids came out and competed after the Montana game with a quick turn-around was just fun to watch," Chambers told reporters afterward. "It was fun to be a part of."

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (1-2): Senior Ryan Luther had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three 3-pointers, and Jonathan Milligan and Jared Wilson-Frame added 14 points apiece as the Panthers overcame a 10-point, first-half deficit against the Gauchos, Frame, a 6-5 junior college transfer, leads the team in scoring (16.3 points per game) and 3-pointers (six), and is shooting 50 percent from the floor overall. Luther, who averaged 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds last season in 19 minutes, is tallying 15 points and 9.3 boards per game in 33 minutes, and 6-6 freshman Shamiel Stevenson is scoring 12.3 points a game and adding seven rebounds and two assists.

TIP-INS:

1. The winner plays Texas A&M or Oklahoma State in Tuesday's final while the losers meet in the consolation game.

2. The Lions hope that Carr (20 points, 5.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds per game) and Reeves (14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals) can return for one or both games of the Legends Classic, but freshman waterbug Jamari Wheeler filled in nicely with seven points, four assists and three steals in 36 minutes against Columbia.

3. Watkins, who finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in 23 minutes Friday, moved into sixth on Penn State’s all-time blocks list with 103.

PREDICTION: Penn State 74, Pittsburgh 64