Penn State @ Michigan
Crisler Arena
Game Time: 8:04 p.m., Wednesday.
Ed DeChellis Audio.
Records: Penn State 7-18, 1-11; Michigan 12-15, 3-10.
Coaches: Ed DeChellis is 16-37 in his second season at Penn State and 121-129 overall. Tommy Amaker is 63-47 in four seasons at Michigan and 131-112 overall.
Series: Michigan leads, 16-8.
Last meeting: The Wolverines beat the Nittany Lions 66-62 at the Jordan Center Jan. 15. It was Michigan’s last win.
Last time out: Penn State fell at Northwestern (54-39) Saturday. Michigan dropped a home game to Indiana (70-63) Sunday.
TV: ESPN-Plus via WPSX locally (Tom Hamilton, Tim McCormick).
Radio: Penn State Sports Network (Steve Jones, Dick Jerardi).
Next up: The Lions play host to Iowa Saturday. Michigan is at Northwestern the same day.
Probable Starters:
Penn State — G Ben Luber, 6-0 So. (5.6 ppg), G Danny Morrissey, 6-2 Fr. (6.9 ppg), F Geary Claxton, 6-5 Fr. (12.5 ppg), F Jason McDougald, 6-9 Sr. (1.1 ppg), F Aaron Johnson, 6-8 Jr. (12.6 ppg).
Michigan — G Dion Harris, 6-3 So. (13.5 ppg), G Sherrod Harrell, 6-3 Jr. (1.8 ppg), F Ron Coleman, 6-6 Fr. (7.1 ppg), F Graham Brown, 6-9 Jr. (5.4 ppg), C Courtney Sims, 6-11 So. (10.2 ppg).
Quick Quiz: When was the last time Penn State beat Michigan in a revenue-producing sport?
Penn State Notes:
• Senior forward Kevin Fellows sustained a scratched eye in practice last Friday. It caused him to head to the bench early in the Northwestern game, after he made his first start of the season (and third of his career). His status for Wednesday’s game was not known as of press time.
• Penn State has lost 30 straight Big Ten road games. Including conference tournament action, the Nittany Lions have dropped 33 consecutive league outings away from the BJC. Penn State’s last Big Ten road win was at Iowa (78-73) in the next to last game of the 2000-01 regular season.
• Johnson has 314 points on the season for the Lions. Claxton has 312. Prior to Big Ten play, Johnson had 203 points and Claxton 136.
• Stat watch: Penn State is averaging 63.9 points per game, second from the bottom in the Big Ten.
Michigan Notes:
• What a difference five weeks makes. The last time these two teams met, the Wolverines were riding a five-game winning streak. This time around, they’ve lost 10 in a row.
• Guard Daniel Horton, who had 10 assists and one turnover the last time the two teams met, will not play for the remainder of the season due to a disciplinary suspension.
• Stat Watch: Michigan is averaging 61.7 points per game, last in the Big Ten.
Quiz Answer: The Nittany Lion basketball team beat the Wolverines 82-80 at the Big Ten tournament March 8, 2001. The hoop team has since lost seven straight to the Wolverines. Meanwhile, the PSU football team has lost six straight to the Maize and Blue, dating back to 1996.
FOS Prediction: Michigan 27, Penn State 24.
Comment: OK, we’re kidding. That was the score the last time the Lions and Wolverines met on the gridiron. We’ll say 57-54 — Michigan — in this one.
FOS Prediction Record: 18-7.
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