Penn St. @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2017 ) Penn St. 102, Indiana 110

A pair of Big Ten teams hoping to break free from the middle of the pack meet Tuesday in Indiana as the Hoosiers host Penn State in the first meeting since a triple-overtime thriller last February. Behind a career-high 28 points by Robert Johnson, Indiana picked up a big road win with a 75-71 triumph at Minnesota on Saturday to pull to .500 early in the conference schedule.

The win came after the Hoosiers learned that 6-10 sophomore De'Ron Davis would be out indefinitely with a leg injury and after sixth man Collin Hartman was unable to go due to a sore right shoulder. "It was a next-man-up mentality when De'Ron went down, and then we saw Collin go down," Indiana forward Juwan Morgan told reporters. "The show doesn't stop because we're missing a few actors." The Nittany Lions also received a career-best performance from Lamar Stevens, who made 14-of-19 shots en route to 30 points in a 78-63 win over Northwestern on Friday. The sophomore forward is averaging 17.8 points on 53.7 percent shooting in four Big Ten games for Penn State.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT PENN STATE (12-5, 2-2 Big Ten): Stevens' big performance helped the Nittany Lions overcome a poor shooting game for leading scorer Tony Carr (18.3 points per game), who was 3-of-13 from the floor and had 12 points. Mike Watkins is emerging as a force along the front line and has two consecutive 17-rebound performances while producing 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting. Watkins ranks second among Big Ten players in field-goal percentage (68.3) and blocks (3.4), and Penn State has the league's top two players in steals with Josh Reaves (2.4) and Jamari Wheeler (2.1) leading the way.

ABOUT INDIANA (9-7, 2-2): Morgan also had a big game against Minnesota by scoring 20 points while tying career highs with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. He and Johnson rank as the team's only two double-digit scorers but freshman Justin Smith had a breakout performance versus the Golden Gophers with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Johnson has established season highs in assists in each of the last two games, first handing out five in a loss to Wisconsin and then dishing seven against Minnesota.

TIP-INS

1. Johnson's previous best scoring effort was a 27-point showing in the 110-102 win in three OTs against the Nittany Lions last season.

2. Penn State G Shep Garner averages 10.2 points but has a total of five on 2-of-9 shooting over his last two games.

3. The Nittany Lions rank fifth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage at 37.8, while the Hoosiers are 13th at 31.2.

PREDICTION: Indiana 74, Penn State 72