The Penn State Nittany Lions and Purdue Boilermakers are playing live on the Big 10 Tournament basketball schedule for a quarterfinals matchup on Friday afternoon and the game from the United Center in Chicago starts up past 2 pm ET and is on ESPN and the WatchESPN website as PSU and their conference rival matchup.
Penn State comes into the game after a win against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday and that matchup saw DJ Newbill score 18 points to lead the team and he also added six rebounds. The Hawkeyes got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Aaron White and now Penn State comes in and will try and pull off another win. The team has not been very impressive all season, as they have had 14 losses, but they kept many of those games close and that means other schools should watch out.
Newbill is a nice player and if PSU can make it into the next round, the bigger teams in the conference will be looking to avoid an upset. Penn State has had a solid run into the tournament, as they have won over Nebraska and Iowa and this is not the best push for the team in conference postseason play in a number of years. The team made it to the finals in 2011, but they lost to Ohio State in that matchup.
Penn State had to rally in this game and they now have the chance to keep things going. The team comes in with an 18-15 record and they will matchup with Purdue after playing the team and losing in January in overtime. Penn State had a nice run in the second half against, scoring 15 points and allowing just two and that helped get the score closer and that was some revenge after the team lost in Overtime at the end of last month against the Hawkeyes.
The Nittany Lions did not play well at the end of the season, winning just two of their final 10 games. The team finished 13th in the conference and they lost to all the top teams, including Maryland, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan this season. The team is averaging 67 points per game and they come in with Newbill leading the way in scoring and assists this season and he is key if they want to keep thin run going.
Purdue comes into the game after winning over Illinois and they have Penn State next and they are 12-6 in the Big Ten this season. Purdue is the favorite based on record, as they were third in the conference and they went 20-11 overall. The team comes in averaging 70 points per game and they are ranked 34th in assists per game. The team comes in having lost their final two games of the season to Ohio State and Michigan State on the road, but they won four straight before that heading into the end.
Check here for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Purdue Boilermakers live coverage from ESPN and the WatchESPN website after the Wisconsin and Michigan matchup finishes for the Big Ten tourney.