Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Faces Road Test At Penn State
2/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2006
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana men's basketball team travels to State College, Pa., where it will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. EST. IU is coming off a 70-67 loss to then-No. 18/19 Iowa on Feb. 11, in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers were led by senior forward Marco Killingsworth's sixth double-double this season with 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the losing effort.
Penn State enters the contest with a 3-8 league ledger and an 11-11 overall mark. The Nittany Lions are coming off an 82-62 defeat to Wisconsin on Feb. 11. Sophomore forward Geary Claxton led the Penn State charge offensively, with team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds on the night.
On The Air
The Indiana-Penn State game will be televised on ESPN Plus, with Tom Hamilton (play-by-play), and former IU super sub John Laskowski (color commentary) on the call. Additionally, all of Indiana's games can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.
Scouting Penn State
Penn State enters the Feb. 15 contest with an 11-11 overall mark and a 3-8 record in Big Ten play. Since their 66-65 upset win at Illinois on Feb. 4, the Nittany Lions have lost two straight contests. Most recently, PSU dropped an 82-62 decision to Wisconsin on Feb. 11 in State College, Pa.
Penn State is led by sophomore guard/forward Geary Claxton, who boasts team highs of 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. Freshman forward Jamelle Cornley (12.4 ppg) and senior forward Travis Parker (10.8 ppg) also average double digits, while junior guard Ben Luber averages a team-best 4.5 assists per contest.
Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis is in his third year at the helm of the Nittany Lion basketball team. DeChellis has posted a 27-53 (.338) record at Penn State, while his 10-year record as a head coach stands at 132-146 (.475).
The Penn State Series
Indiana and Penn State will meet on the hardwood for the 26th time in the series history. The Hoosiers own a 23-2 all-time advantage, including winning three consecutive games over the Nittany Lions. Under sixth-year head coach Mike Davis, the Hoosiers are 8-1 against Penn State, including a 3-1 mark at the Bryce Jordan Center.
This is the first meeting between the two teams this season; however, the two schools will also meet one week from the Feb. 15 game, when Penn State travels to Bloomington on Feb. 22. Last year, IU and PSU played only once, with the Hoosiers sneaking out a 68-63 win on Feb. 2, 2005. Indiana was led by four players in double figures.
Penn State Last Time Out
The Penn State men's basketball team could not overcome Wisconsin's rebounding advantage of 21 and 62-percent field goal shooting in the second half, and fell 82-62 on Feb. 11.
Penn State took a 36-34 lead into halftime as the Nittany Lions shot 53 percent in the first half.
PSU was led by sophomore Geary Claxton, who recorded team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Jamelle Cornley finished the game with 14 points, playing only nine minutes in the second half. Senior Travis Parker contributed 13 points and continued his hot streak from three-point range hitting 3-of-5 on the day. He is now 10-of-14 from behind the three-point arc over the last three games.
Indiana Last Time Out
The then-No. 24/21 Indiana men's basketball team fell in its first conference home loss in 14 games, as the No. 18/19 Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Hoosiers, 70-67, at Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall on Feb. 11. Despite a double-double effort from senior forward Marco Killingsworth (21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds) and 18 points from senior guard Marshall Strickland, IU could not overcome the Hawkeyes' sharp shooting.
Strickland made his presence known early. The Mt. Airy, Md., native's aggressive play earned him three trips to the line accounting for six of his 13 first-half points.
Despite a solid early effort from the field (7-of-15), the Hoosiers still remained behind by four at 25-21 and 10 minutes remaining in the opening half. Iowa's 6-of-11 shooting performance from beyond the arc helped them to a 38-30 halftime lead.
Mr. Double-Double
Senior forward Marco Killingsworth had an impressive performance in the Hoosiers' loss to Iowa on Feb. 11. The Wooden Award nominee recorded 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the defeat. It was the most rebounds by an IU player since since A.J. Moye pulled down 15 boards against Michigan on March 3, 2004.
Furthermore, it marked Killingsworth's sixth double-double this season and 14th of his standout career. His six double-doubles this season are the most by an IU player since Jeff Newton had 11 during the 2002-03 campaign. For the season, the All-American candidate is averaging team-highs of 18.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest, which both rank fourth among the Big Ten leaders.
Starting The Right Five
Due to a variety of reasons, the Hoosiers have used an amazing nine different starting lineups throughout the season. Below is a breakdown of each starting lineup used during the 2005-06 campaign:
Starting Five- Record
Killingsworth, White, Vaden, Strickland, Monroe - 3-0
Killingsworth, Allen, Vaden, Strickland, Monroe - 2-0
Killingsworth, Kline, Vaden, Strickland, Monroe - 2-0
Killingsworth, Wilmont, Vaden, Strickland, Monroe - 2-2
Killingsworth, Ratliff, Vaden, Strickland, Monroe - 3-1
Killingsworth, Kline, Wilmont, Vaden, Strickland - 1-1
Killingsworth, Ratliff, Vaden, Strickland, Calloway - 0-1
Killingsworth, Ratliff, Vaden, Calloway, Monroe - 0-1
Killingsworth, Wilmont, Vaden, Strickland, Calloway - 0-2
Suhr Thing
Junior guard Errek Suhr is showing why he has earned a scholarship this season after spending his first two years as a walk-on player. The Bloomington, Ind., native connected on both of his three-point attempts against Iowa on Feb. 11, to finish with six points in 13 minutes of action. He is currently tied for the Big Ten lead in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on .529 (18-of-34) of his shots during the campaign. Should he finish as the Big Ten leader from behind the arc, he will become the first Hoosier to accomplish the feat since Dane Fife led the league in 2002 (.471), and the fourth IU player in school history to achieve the honor as the league's top three-point shooter.
Free Throw Streaking
Senior guard Marshall Strickland is having a career year in 2005-06, and is on pace to best his previous career highs in every major offensive category. One of the most dramatic improvements has come on the free throw line. Although Strickland has always been a consistent free-throw shooter with a .767 career average entering this season, he comes into the Penn State game leading the Big Ten with a .943 (50-of-53) average at the charity stripe. Additionally, the Mt. Airy, Md., native hit all eight of his free throws he attempted against Iowa on Feb. 11 to run his consecutive free throws made streak to 31 - tied for fifth best in school history. Strickland is now chasing former Hoosier Pat Graham's single-season school record 38 straight from the charity stripe, which was set during the 1990-91 campaign. Additionally, if Strickland remains on his current pace, he would better the school record of .921 by Steve Alford during the 1984-84 season.
Dual Threat
Senior forward Marco Killingsworth and sophomore forward/guard Robert Vaden are quickly becoming one of the more formidable tandems in the Big Ten. They enter the Feb. 15 Penn State game as one of the top scoring and rebounding duos in the conference this season. So far on the campaign, Killingsworth (18.3 ppg and 8.1 rpg) and Vaden (14.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg) are averaging a combined 32.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. Those numbers are among the Big Ten's top duos this season. Below is a complete listing of the top pairs in the league:
Duo - Pts. - Reb.
Ager-Davis, MSU - 37.0 - 13.6
Tucker-Taylor, WIS - 34.4 - 9.1
Killingsworth-Vaden, IND - 32.3 - 13.6
Vukusic-Hachad, NW- 30.8 - 8.0
Horton-Sims, MICH 28.7 - 9.1
Haluska-Brunner, IOWA - 29.0 - 14.9
Brown-Augustine, ILL - 28.1 - 12.2
Dials-Foster, OSU - 29.0 - 12.0
Grier-Hargrow, MINN - 27.8 - 10.3
Claxton-Cornley, PSU - 28.2 - 12.3
Kiefer-White, PUR - 23.6 - 11.9
Earl The Pearl
Junior point guard Earl Calloway has been coming into his own over Indiana's last three games. The Atlanta, Ga., native scored a career-high 10 points in back-to-back contests against Wisconsin and Iowa on Feb. 8 and 11, respectively. Those performances came after an impressive stint against No. 1/1 Connecticut on Feb. 4. Playing the final 11 minutes of that contest, Calloway had a career-high five rebounds to go along with eight points, three assists and two steals, which earned him the starting nod against in IU's last two contests. Over his last three games, Calloway is certainly proving his worth, averaging 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
