Written by
The Sports Network
East Lansing, MI (Sports Network) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten
Conference standings meet in East Lansing this evening, as the Penn State
Nittany Lions challenge the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin
Center.
Penn State comes in with a record of 10-14, which includes a 2-9 mark in
conference play. The Nittany Lions are in the midst of a four-game losing
streak, and they've won only two games since posting back-to-back victories
over Mount St. Mary's and Cornell just prior to Christmas. PSU is a woeful 1-8
in true road tilts this season, and has lost its last seven bouts as the
visitor.
Michigan State is 18-5 on the year, and 7-3 in conference, and the team's
record is even more impressive when you consider it started the year 0-2 after
losses to ACC powers North Carolina and Duke. The Spartans took care of bitter
rival Michigan on Sunday, 64-54, giving the team three victories in it last
four outings. MSU is a perfect 14-0 at home this season, and has won 15
straight at the Breslin Center going back to last year.
Michigan State owns a commanding 29-7 advantage in the all-time series with
Penn State, and that includes an 18-1 mark in East Lansing. However, the Lions
have won two of the last three meetings, the most recent of which being a
61-48 decision in the semifinals of the 2011 Big Ten Conference Tournament.
Despite being the lowest scoring team in the Big Ten (61.8 ppg), Penn State
has one of the more productive players in the conference on its roster in the
form of junior guard Tim Frazier. The 6-1 native of Houston, Texas is
averaging 18.3 points and 6.3 assists per game, although he is shooting just
40.7 percent from the field and only 28.8 percent from three-point range.
Jermaine Marshall is the Lions' only other double-digit scorer at the moment,
but his 10.3 ppg come on just 37.1 percent field goal efficiency. As a team,
PSU is hitting a mere 38.3 percent of its total shots, 30.8 percent from
downtown, and only 66.7 percent of its free throws. Conversely, its foes are
42.8 percent accurate from the floor, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc and
74.2 percent at the foul line. The Lions do however, own favorable margins in
both rebounding (+3.7) and turnovers (+1.5). Frazier was once again on top of
his game in netting 23 points, but Penn State still managed to lose for the
fourth straight time and the seventh time in the last eight games with a 77-64
setback at Iowa last Saturday.
Hot shooting and a dominating rebounding effort proved to be the difference in
Michigan State's recent win over Michigan, as the Spartans hit 52.2 percent of
their field goal attempts and easily won the battle on the boards, 40-16.
Draymond Green logged a double-double consisting of 14 points and 16 rebounds,
while Keith Appling and Branden Dawson pitched in with 10 points apiece for
MSU. The club's defensive effort held the Wolverines to 39.6 percent field
goal efficiency, and UM star guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. to just four points. As
it is pretty much every year under the watchful eye of head coach Tom Izzo,
Michigan State is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, and it comes
into this contest sporting the best rebounding margin in the Big Ten at +10.5.
Through 23 games, Green is the team's leading scorer with 14.8 ppg, and he
adds 10.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 34 steals and 24 blocks to his impressive stat line.
Appling is the only other double-digit scorer presently, netting 11.9 ppg, and
he is the active assists leader with 3.8 apg. As a collective unit, the
Spartans are putting up 73.7 ppg while allowing a mere 59.1 ppg. They are
hitting their total shots at a 47.7 percent clip, while the opposition does so
at just 37.9 percent, which includes a poor 29.3 percent effort from long
range.
The Sports Network