Michigan resumes its Big Ten conference play Wednesday night at home against Penn State.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN with Jason Benetti and Dan Dakich on the call.
So far this season, Penn State is 7-6 with nonconference losses against DePaul, Bradley, Alabama and NC State.
While Penn State has struggled this season, the Nittany Lions do have an impressive win on their resume. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, they knocked off now No. 10 Virginia Tech 63-62, handing the Hokies their only loss of the season. Penn State is already 0-2 in the conference with losses against Maryland and Indiana.
Michigan has won its last seven games against Penn State and the Wolverines are 20-2 in Ann Arbor against Penn State, winning 14 out of their last 15 at home in the series. Michigan coach John Beilein is 15-4 all-time against Penn State.
Penn State’s defense will challenge Michigan’s offense as the Nittany Lions have the 24th best adjusted defensive efficiency in the country.
The best element of their defense is their ability to get in the passing lanes and be disruptive with a steal rate of 12.1, which is the 17th best in the nation. That will be tested as Michigan’s offense has the best steal rate of the country, meaning the Wolverines are the best team at not allowing teams to steal the ball.
On the other hand, Penn State’s offense has struggled so far this season. Their adjusted offensive efficiency of 105.8 is 118th in the country. The Nittany Lions struggle to shoot the ball and have an effective field goal percentage of 48.2, which is ranked 248th in the country. The only area where Penn State’s offense has much success is offensive rebounding where the Nittany Lions have an offensive rebounding percentage of 32.1, which is 74th in the country.
Junior forward Lamar Stevens is leading Penn State scoring 18.8 points and a also a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in every game this season for Penn State. Stevens is using 29.7 percent of Penn State’s possessions, which is the 74th highest mark in the country.
Freshman guard Rasir Bolton is scoring 14.2 points per game and is Penn State’s best three-point shooters. Bolton is averaging 2.3 three-point field goals per game and is shooting 43.7 percent from deep.
Senior guard Josh Reaves is averaging 10.0 points per game and leads the team with 45 assists. His steal percentage of 4.6 is the 20th best in college basketball.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook
