Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Open Big Ten Play at Home With Penn State
12/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 26, 2010
| Penn State (7-4, 0-0 Big Ten) at Indiana (9-4, 0-0 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Dec. 27, 2010 |
| Time | 6:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall - 17,357) |
| Series Record | Indiana leads 28-7 |
| Last Meeting | IU 67, at PSU 61 (University Park, Pa. - 1/21/2010) |
| Television | Big Ten Network (Gus Johnson and Quinn Buckner) |
| Radio | IU Radio Network (Listen) | Sirius 121/XM 141 |
| Live Stats | |
| Tickets | IU Ticket Office |
| Game Notes | |
| Season Statistics | Indiana Stats | Penn State Stats |
| Social Media | @TomCrean | @IUShanaDan |
THE OPENING TIP
The Hoosiers open Big Ten play on Monday against Penn State after going 9-4 in non-conference play and are coming off a 2-2 showing in the IBN Las Vegas Classic. IU leads the series 28-7 and defeated Penn State on the road last year, 67-61, in their only meeting of the campaign.
THE COACHES
Indiana named Tom Crean as its 28th men's basketball coach on April 2, 2008, and is in his third year with the Hoosiers. He is 215-144 all-time as a head coach, collecting his 200th career win last year against Pitt at Madison Square Garden as part of the Jimmy V Classic. He came to Indiana from Marquette where he was 190-96 (66.4) in nine seasons and made five NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2003 Final Four.
Ed DeChellis is in his eighth season with the Penn State Nittany Lions and has a 207-220 record in University Park. Prior to joining Penn State, DeChellis was the head coach at East Tennessee State for seven years.
QUICK HITS
The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten and are fourth in the country in field goal percentage (51.3 percent) and second in the league field goal percentage defense (37.7 percent).
Indiana is in its 111th season of college basketball.
The Hoosiers will be looking for their second straight Big Ten and Big Ten home opening win in the last two years after they beat Michigan, 71-65, last year on December 31, 2009.
The Hoosiers will not have a four-year player in the program until Verdell Jones III, Tom Pritchard, Matt Roth, Daniel Moore and Kory Barnett enter their senior year.
Sophomore Christian Watford is sixth in the Big Ten averaging 18.3 points per game after averaging 19.3 points in the IBN Las Vegas Classic. He is fourth in the conference in free throw percentage (83.7) and has made a league-high 77 free throws. He is the only Hoosier to score in double figures every game this season.
Junior Verdell Jones III needs 82 points to become the 42nd player in IU history to reach 1,000 points in their career. He has scored 918 career points and has averaged 12.9 points for his career.
Sophomore Jordan Hulls is second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (52.1 percent), and also is fifth overall in the Big Ten hitting 55.7 percent of his field goal attempts.
Sophomore Derek Elston had a career-high 19 points against Northern Iowa. He has made 19 of his last 25 shots (76.0 percent) over the last five games.
Freshman Victor Oladipo had a career-high 16 points off the bench against Colorado. He has led the team in scoring off the bench in nine of 13 games this season.
A GLANCE AT PENN STATE
Penn State enters conference play with a 7-4 record and are coming off back-to-back losses at Virginia Tech and at home against Maine. Talor Battle is once again running the offensive show for the Nittany Lions, averaging 20.6 points to go with 5.4 rebounds and is shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. Jeff Brooks (12.3) and David Jackson (10.2) are also averaging double figures. As a team, PSU is shooting 31.8 percent while allowing opponents to connect at a 38.9 percent clip.
