March 9, 2008
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Penn State finishes the regular season with a 15-15 record, 7-11 in the Big Ten, good for seventh place. The seven Big Ten wins and seventh place conference finish are the Nittany Lions best since going 7-9 and tying for sixth in the Big Ten in 2001.
The Nittany Lions defeated their second Top 20 team in the past five weeks, having beaten No. 8/7 Michigan State, 85-76, on Feb. 2. Penn State beat two nationally ranked teams in a season for the first time since 2000-01.
Penn State won its fifth consecutive Big Ten home game, its longest conference home win streak since the 1995-96 season. Penn State improved to 13-4 at home on the year, equaling its most wins ever in the Bryce Jordan Center since the building opened in 1996. Penn State also went 13-4 in 1999-2000.
Penn State won its second overtime game of the season, having beaten Seton Hall, 89-86 on Dec. 8 in the Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions played their first Big Ten overtime game since beating Northwestern, 63-61 on Jan. 28, 2004 in the Jordan Center. Penn State is now 4-0 in overtime under coach Ed DeChellis.
Penn State and Indiana played their third overtime game in the series, all of which have occurred in State College. The No. 1 Hoosiers won 88-84 in double overtime on Feb. 9, 2003 in Rec Hall, and the No. 20 Hoosiers won 98-95 in double OT on Jan. 31, 1999.
Penn State defeated the Hoosiers for the first time since Feb. 15, 2006 when the Lions scored a 71-68 victory in the Jordan Center ending a four-game IU win streak.
Freshman D.J. Jackson secured a crucial three-point play with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation for the second time in four games. He notched a tip-in and sank the game-tying free throw with 22.9 seconds remaining to send the contest into overtime.
Penn State played the game without its top two leading scorers and rebounders on the season as Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley were both sidelined with knee injuries. Claxton's season was ended with an ACL tear vs. Wisconsin on Jan. 15, while it was declared prior to game time that Cornley would undergo season-ending arthroscopic knee surgery on Monday to help repair a bruised left knee he has suffered since the preseason. The pair account for nearly 30 points and 15 rebounds out of the Penn State line-up on the day.
Despite the lack of leading rebounders Claxton and Cornley, Penn State posted 43 rebounds and 15 offensive boards and trailed the rebounding battle just 45-43. The 43 boards were the most by six since losing Claxton 15 games ago and the Lions most since posting 49 in a win at Illinois in the second Big Ten game of the season.
For the second straight game Penn State started four freshmen (Talor Battle, Jeff Brooks, David Jackson and Andrew Jones) and a junior college transfer (Stanley Pringle), all first-year players.
Penn State got a season-high 41 points and 28 rebounds from freshmen on the night.
Freshman Jeff Brooks scored a career-high 12 points, getting 10 in the second half.
Freshman David Jackson posted a career-high 10 rebounds.
The Nittany Lions will play No. 10 seed Illinois on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
