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Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Penn State Preview

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Penn State's Lamar Stevens is averaging 18.9 points per game.
Penn State's Lamar Stevens is averaging 18.9 points per game. (USA Today Sports Images)

With Michigan squarely in contention for the Big Ten championship with four weeks left in the regular season, the Wolverines travel to Penn State Tuesday night.

The second matchup of the season between these two teams tips off at 8:31 p.m. on BTN with Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel on the call.

Michigan has won eight straight games against Penn State and leads the series 36-12. The Wolverines are 13-8 all-time in games played in State College, winning the last two and five of the last six. Earlier this season, U-M defeated Penn State 68-55 at the Crisler Center.

Penn State has won only one game in 2019, winning against Northwestern on Feb. 4 59-52, which is Penn State’s only win in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions only other victories this season were over North Florida, Jacksonville State, Wright State, Virginia Tech, Colgate, Duquesne and UMBC.

Where Penn State has struggled the most this season is on offense. The Nittany Lions have an adjusted offensive efficiency of 106.1, which is 138th in the country. Penn State has an effective field goal percentage of 46.8 percent, which is 315th in college basketball as the Nittany Lions struggle to shoot from both two and three.

Penn State’s defense is much better than its offense as its adjusted efficiency of 95.2 is the 37th best mark in the nation. The Nittany Lions are one of the best teams in the nation at getting steals as their steal percentage of 11.1 is 36th in the nation. Penn State ranks third in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 7.6 per game.

Junior forward Lamar Stevens leads Penn State while scoring 18.9 points per game, while also leading the team by averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in 22 of 23 games with 11 20-plus point games so far this season. He has played 90.1 percent of Penn State’s available minutes, which is the 33rd highest in college basketball and is also using the 70th most possessions.

Freshman guard Rasir Bolton adds 12.0 points and is second on the team with 42 three-point field goals. Senior guard Josh Reaves averages 10.2 points and leads the team with 76 assists. Reaves is one of the best players in the country at getting steals as his steal percentage of 4.8 is the 11th best in college basketball.

Redshirt junior center Mike Watkins is one of the best rebounders in the country with a defensive rebounding percentage of 31.8 percent, which is the third best mark in college basketball. His block percentage of 7.9 is 67th in the country.

Freshman guard Myles Dread leads Penn State with 2.2 threes per game and he is shooting 36.2 percent from deep.

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