After picking up its second Big Ten conference win, IU men’s basketball is headed east looking to notch its first road victory of the season at Penn State.
Penn State is 3-2 in Big Ten Conference play for the first time since 2010-11, and the Nittany Lions are 11-7 overall. They have won seven of their 10 home games so far this season.
“I think they are better this year,” junior guard Rob Johnson said. “They are definitely playing faster. They got more guys, so they have a little more depth, so I think they’re a better team.”
Playing at Penn State has been a challenge for IU in recent years. The Hoosiers suffered one of their three conference losses last season at the Nittany Lions’ Bryce Jordan Center.
“Last year they popped us because we didn’t come in there with the right mindset,” IU Coach Tom Crean said on his radio show on WHCC 105.1 FM. “On a veteran team we did not come in there with the right mindset of knowing that we were going to be in a fight that day. If we don’t go into this game with the mentality that we are going to be in a fight in this game, then it will happen to us again.”
In recent weeks, Penn State freshman forward Mike Watkins has been one of Penn State’s best players. He took home Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week last week for the second time this year. Watkins is a huge threat on the boards and ranks only behind Purdue’s sophomore Caleb Swanigan in rebounds in conference play with 9.8.
“We have to be aggressive with him when he has the ball in the post and the pick-and-roll,” Crean said on his radio show. “The biggest thing is we have to keep him off the glass because he is coming off a 15-rebound game.”
Junior guard Shep Garner is Penn State’s leading scorer. He averages 12.4 points per game. He is also Penn State’s leading shot taker with 10.7 shots per game.
Junior forward Payton Banks is Penn State’s best 3-point shooter and is shooting just less than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Crean said he is impressed by how Penn State Coach Pat Chambers has improved recruiting and increased the talent level in recent years.
“They are a deep team, and by deep, I mean when he goes to the bench — in the past with Penn State, at times when he would go to the bench, you could see a difference,” Crean said on his radio show. “When he goes to the bench now, you don’t see a difference. I think that is a tribute to what he has done in his recruiting.”
Against a deep team like Penn State, IU is going to have its hands full to get to .500 in the Big Ten.
“You’ve got to take it one game, one possession at a time, especially when you’re going on the road,” Johnson said. “Every possession matters, and we have to come with a really strong mindset from the beginning of the game, so that’s something we have to do well this time around.”
