Published Feb 10, 2024
Penn State aims for fourth straight win against Northwestern on Sunday
Dub Jellison  •  Happy Valley Insider
Staff Writer
Twitter
@dubjellison

The Penn State Nittany Lions are set for another roadtrip on Sunday afternoon, traveling to Evanston to take on Northwestern at Welsh Ryan Arena. Mike Rhoades and company have found their stride in early February, picking up three straight conference wins over Rutgers, Indiana and Iowa. The Nittany Lions will look to notch their fourth consecutive triumph on Sunday, which would tie the largest win streak of the season, after starting the year 4-0.

Last time out, Penn State produced its largest point total in a Big Ten game this season, knocking off Iowa 89-79 in Happy Valley. Ace Baldwin continues to shine in the absence of Kanye Clary, averaging 19.6 points and seven assists per game across those three outings. Jameel Brown and D'Marco Dunn have also come on strong of late during Penn State's recent hot streak.

Penn State has climbed back .500 in conference play with a record of 6-6, along with a 12-11 overall mark for the season.

Northwestern is looking to continue its rebound after having snapped a two-game skid last time out against Nebraska. The Wildcats are 16-7 on the year, with a 7-5 mark in Big Ten play, which has them inside the top four. Northwestern's only home loss to date was a head scratcher against Chicago State, but have taken care of Purdue and Illinois inside Welsh Ryan.

Sunday's matchup will be the second of the season between Penn State and Northwestern, with the Wildcats taking the first game 76-72 in Happy Valley.

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WHERE, WHEN, HOW TO WATCH

WHEN: February 11th, 2024 - 1:00 p.m. ET

WHERE: Welsh Ryan Arena (7,039) -- Evanston, Illinois

TV/STREAM: BTN

Radio: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)

STAT COMPARISON

STAT COMPARISON
OFF EFF = Offensive Efficiency / DEF EFF = Defensive EFF
Penn StateSTATNorthwestern

76.5 (114)

PS/G

75.2 (153)

73.5 (233)

PA/G

70.0 (125)

44.1% (221)

FG%

47.3% (53)

52.1% (111)

2P%

51.9% (119)

32.4% (243)

3P%

39.6% (7)

74.3% (82)

FT%

72.1% (164)

34.5 (344)

REB/G

32.3 (359)

9.91 (221)

O-REB/G

8.22 (316)

1.14 (158)

AST/TO RATIO

1.83 (6)

70.1 (62)

TEMPO

64.6 (327)

1.125 (75)

OFF EFF

1.168 (31)

1.033 (114)

DEF EFF

1.016 (83)

RANKINGS COMPARISON

RANKINGS COMPARISON
Sagarin and NET rankings will be added upon the intial release of both. NET is exepcted to be released in December
TEAMKenPomESPN BPIHaslamNETAverage

Penn State

87

100

70

95

88

Northwestern

48

43

40

55

46.5

See the full rankings.

-- KenPom
-- NET
-- ESPN BPI
-- Haslam

Who is Penn State's projected starting five?

PENN STATE PROJECTED STARTERS
PositionPlayerPointsReboundsAssists

G

14.0

2.0

5.3

G

17.9

3.0

2.8

F

7.1

3.4

1.0

F

7.5

4.0

1.5

C

9.7

8.0

0.6

Kanye Clary is once again questionable for today's game after taking an elbow to the face on January 27 against Minnesota.

Who is Iowa's projected starting five?

Indiana's Projected Starters
PositionPlayerPointsReboundsAssists

G

19.0

3.4

5.4

G

11.6

3.9

1.4

F

12.0

3.3

2.6

G

14.5

6.7

2.8

F

5.0

3.9

1.7

Penn State vs Northwestern Four Factors

FOUR FACTORS
TEAMEff. FG%Turnover %Off. Reb %FT RATE

Penn State

50.7%

15.2%

27.4%

34.8

Northwestern

54.6%

13.8%

25.5%

28.2