Penn State Athletics Game Notes for Cornell

Penn State Takes On Cornell Wednesday Cousy Award Candidate Tim Frazier only NCAA Division I player posting 17 points and seven assists per game.

Penn State Athletics

Game Notes vs. Cornell

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Dec. 20, 2011 - Penn State (7-5) will close out its non-conference season on Wednesday when the Nittany Lions take on Cornell (4-5) in a 7:30 p.m. tip at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across Pennsylvania on the Penn State Sports Network.

Penn State is coming off its largest margin of victory of the season in a 72-43 defeat of Mount St. Mary's on Sunday in which the Lions hit 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half and had five players reach double-figures. Junior guard Tim Frazier was named a Bob Cousy Award Candidate on Monday, one of five Big Ten players to make the list, and currently is the only NCAA Division I player posting more than 17 points and seven assists per game. He stands third in the Big Ten scoring 17.2 points per game and leads the conference with 7.3 assists per game.

Cornell dropped a close, 64-60, game at No. 24 Illinois on Monday after leading for the majority of the game.

Penn State will be looking for its eighth non-conference win of the year to surpass its 7-4 mark posted by last year's NCAA Tournament team in the pre-Big Ten campaign. The Lions will open their 20th season in the Big Ten with a pair of road games beginning Dec. 29 with a match-up at Michigan.

Penn State will not return to the Bryce Jordan Center until Jan. 5 when the Nittany Lion take on Purdue in an 8:00 p.m. tip.

PENN STATE (7-5; 0-0 Big Ten) vs. CORNELL (4-5; 0-0 Ivy)

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21, 2011 @ 7:30 P.M. (ET)

BRYCE JORDAN CENTER (15,261) • UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.

GAME INFO

TELEVISION: Big Ten Network; Eric Collins & Tim Doyle

RADIO: Penn State Sports Network; Local: 1450 AM; Sirius: CH 131; XM; CH 191 Steve Jones (p-by-p) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)

LIVE STATS & AUDIO:

GAMETRACKER | ALL-ACCESS AUDIO

COACHES:

PENN STATE: Patrick Chambers - 7-5 (1st at PSU); 49-33 (3rd Overall)

CORNELL: Bill Courtney - 14-23 (2nd at Cornell); same overall

RPI: Penn State: #192 ; Cornell: #166

NEXT UP:

Penn State will open its 20th season of Big Ten play with a pair of road games, first at Michigan on Dec. 29. The Lions are 2-15 all-time at Michigan, but posted a 55-51 victory there in 2010. UM leads the series 27-10 and has won four of the last six meetings. PSU is 7-12 in Big Ten openers, but has won four of the last five. The Lions are 3-8 in road Big Ten openers.

THE GAME:

Coming off its largest margin of victory of the season in a 72-43 (29) victory over Mount St. Mary's, Penn State will finish up its non-conference slate on Wednesday when it takes on Cornell at the BJC. It will be the first meeting between the programs since a 66-54 Lion victory at the BJC in 2005. PSU trails the series, 4-5, having won just two of the last seven meetings. The Lions are 4-0 at home vs. the Big Red and are 36-47 all-time vs. Ivy League teams. The teams first met in 1898 with the Lions taking a 26-5 victory in the Armory at Penn State. Patrick Chambers' BU team downed Cornell last year, 66-61, in Boston. The Big Red's Drew Ferry had 22 in that game. Wednesday's game will be the last home game until a Jan. 5 meeting vs. Purdue. Penn State will be looking for its eighth non-conference win to surpass the number of non-con wins from last year's NCAA Tournament team that went 7-4 in the pre-Big Ten season.

SCOUTING CORNELL:

Cornell (4-5) is coming off a 64-60 loss at No. 24 Illinois on Monday in a game in which the Big Red led for the majority. Junior Josh Figini tied his career high with 14 points, all in the first nine minutes of the game. Cornell hit 10 3-pointers and had a season-low 10 turnovers. Illinois won the battle of the boards 42-25 and limited the Big Red to under 40 percent shooting in the win. Cornell packed in a zone and saw Illinois shoot 7-of-21 from three. Cornell has two wins in its last five games, both coming in overtime at home (vs. Lehigh and Albany). They also have a 71-66 victory over Patrick Chambers' former BU team. Drew Ferry leads Cornell posting 14 ppg and has made 34 threes while shooting 44 percent from the arc. Cornell is scoring 68.6 ppg while making 8.7 threes and getting 9.0 steals per contest. They are getting out-rebounded by 8.1 per game and allowing opponents to score 70.7 ppg.

FRAZIER NAMED COUSY CANDIDATE/ONLY D1 PLAYER POSTING 17+ POINTS & 7+ ASSISTS PER GAME:

On Monday, Tim Frazier was named by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame among the candidates for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. Frazier, who is the only player in NCAA Division I currently averaging better than 17 points and seven assists per game, was one of five Big Ten players named to the list, which will be narrowed to 30 players in January and a final five on March 1. Frazier joined Trey Burke (Michigan), Aaron Craft (Ohio State), Lewis Jackson (Purdue) and Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin) among Big Ten players on the list.

YOUNG LIONS:

Penn State's six underclassmen playing at least 10 minutes per game ranks tied for the most among Big Ten teams. Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio State also play six underclassmen significant minutes. Through the first 12 games, three freshmen & three sophomores are averaging at least 14 minutes per game for Penn State and have made a total of 30 starts. True-freshmen Trey Lewis (5) and Ross Travis (6) have combined for 11 starts. The Lions have just three upperclassmen playing more than 10 minutes per game.

MARSHALL EMERGING; TEAM LEADING 14.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG OVER LAST FIVE:

Redshirt sophomore Jermaine Marshall has been a scoring spark early this season. • Averaging team highs of 14.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg over the last five games. • Posted five-straight double-figure scoring outings with two 20-point outings in that span. • Second on the team scoring 9.3 ppg on the year. • Seven double-digit scoring outings on the year, three vs. Big Six conference opponents. • Led Penn State with 20 points and a career-high nine rebounds in a loss to Lafayette (12/7) at the BJC. Hit a career-best 9-of-11 at the foul line in the game. • Made first career start vs. Ole Miss (12/4). • Scored 15 first half points, including the Lions' last 10 of the half, on his way to a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds in Penn State's win at Boston College (11/30). Marshall hit 8-of-16 from the floor and a career-best 3-of-6 from three in the game. • Posted eight first half points on his way to 14 in Penn State's victory over USF (11/20). • Returned to practice on Nov. 10 after being suspended prior to the start of pre-season practice.

LAST TIME OUT:

Penn State 72, Mount St. Mary's 43, Dec. 18 • University Park, Pa.

After holding a slim 28-25 halftime lead following a sluggish first half, Penn State hit 9 of its first 11 from the floor and shot a season high 66.7 percent in the second half to post its largest margin of victory on the season, 72-43, over Mount St. Mary's. The Lions opened the second half with a 9-0 run and then posted a 22-2 spurt midway through to put the game away. MSM scored just 18 second half points while shooting 35 percent. The Lions turned 18 MSM turnovers into 28 points. A season-high five Lions scored in double-digits led by Tim Frazier's 15 points and eight assists. Cam Woodyard (14) and Billy Oliver (13) posted career highs. The Lions shot 51 percent for the game and led by as many as 31 points.

Season tickets for Nittany Lion Basketball are $200 for adults, $170 for faculty/staff and seniors, $80 for youth (18 and under) and $59 for students. Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are $117 for adults, $91 for faculty/staff and seniors and $52 for youth. Penn State students will be admitted for free to Lady Lion basketball games beginning this season.

PNC Flex Books are also available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game on Feb. 11 vs. Nebraska and the Lady Lions' Think Pink game on Feb. 26 vs. Minnesota.

For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist on Twitter (@PSUSTRETCH) and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.