UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's basketball team begins play in the College Basketball Invitational vs. Hampton at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Bryce Jordan Center. It is the 20th overall postseason appearance for the Nittany Lions and the first in the CBI, now in its seventh year. The winner will play the victor of Stony Brook at Siena next Monday in the quarterfinals. The Seawolves and Saints face each other Tuesday.
AT A GLANCE
- It is the first meeting in program history between Penn State and Hampton.
- The Lions are 31-20 in postseason play, including a 9-11 record in NCAA tourney action (nine appearances) and a 22-9 mark in the NIT (10 appearances).
- D.J. Newbill and Tim Frazier were selected by both the Big Ten coaches and media to the 2014 All-Big Ten second and third teams, respectively. Newbill, also an NABC All-District selection, is second in scoring in the Big Ten (17.8 ppg) while Frazier leads the league in assists (5.5) and was in the Top 10 of scoring (15.4) and steals (1.6).
- Tim Frazier is the lone current PSU player to see action beyond the Big Ten tournament with a NCAA appearance as a sophomore in 2011. He had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 40 minutes vs. Temple (L, 66-64).
- Tim Frazier is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, given annually to one student-athlete with notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. VOTE: bit.ly/Vote4Frazier [MORE: Page 14]
- With 15 wins, Penn State and head coach Patrick Chambers have reached a victory mark topped just three times in this millennium (21, 2000-01; 27, 2008-09; 19, 2010-11).
- Penn State finished the regular season first in the Big Ten in two-point percentage defense (45.1) in conference action after holding eight B1G opponents to shooting percentages at or below 40%.
- D.J. Newbill ranks 23rd all-time in career scoring with 1,072 points and now has 568 for the season, the ninth-highest single-season total in program history.
- Frazier needs seven points to reach 500 for the season. He and Newbill would become PSU's fourth duo with 500+ in same season.
POSTSEASON PIECES
- Four of Penn State's 15 wins came vs. teams in the 2014 NCAA tournament field - Ohio State (twice), Nebraska and Mount St. Mary's ... In all, the Lions had 11 games vs. tourney teams this season.
- PSU faced five teams in seven games among the the NIT bracket, winning the matchup vs. top-seeded St. John's.
- Among CBI teams, Penn State faced Princeton this season in the Return to Rec event at Rec Hall in December, falling in overtime.
- The Lions are 12-14 all-time vs. the CBI tourney field: Fresno State, Hampton, Illinois State (0-2), Morehead State (1-0), Old Dominion (2-0), Oregon State (0-1), Princeton (8-4), Radford, Siena (1-0), South Dakota State, Stony Brook (0-1), Texas A&M (0-3), Tulane (0-2), UTEP (0-1) and Wyoming.
- All-time, this is Penn State's 20th appearance in the postseason and first in the CBI, now in its seventh season. The Lions have played in nine NCAA tournaments and 10 NITs.
- Penn State is 31-20 in postseason, including a 9-11 record in NCAA tourney action and a 22-9 mark in the NIT.
- Patrick Chambers' 2009-10 team at Boston University advanced to the 2010 CBI Semifinals. The Terriers made the NCAA tournament the following campaign.
SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Hampton enters the postseason with an 18-12 record and as winners in 10 of its last 12 games. The Pirates finished second in the MEAC standings at 13-3, falling to Coppin State in the conference tourney.
Du'Vaughn Maxwell leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game and a team-leading 7.5 boards and 3.0 blocks en route to earning the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year award
Deron Powers tallies 4.1 assists per contest and is second in scoring with 11.6 ppg. In all, three players are averaging in double-figures for a team that is producing at a 73.2 ppg clip.
The Pirates were 7-8 on the road this season, winning each of their last six true away games. They are 0-2 all-time vs. Big Ten schools, falling 77-61 at Michigan Dec. 21,1998 and 70-62 at Ohio State Dec. 30, 2002.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting between the programs. Penn State is 11-1 all-time vs. teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The lone loss was to South Carolina State in the 2004 Black Coaches Association Classic, 63-43. The last meeting vs. a MEAC was last season vs. Delaware State, an 80-76 win.
HAMPTON - DYK?
- Hampton University is a historically black university located in Hampton, Va.
- It was founded in 1868 by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen.
- Notable alumni include Booker T. Washington (1875), founder of Tuskegee University and prominent leader in the African-American community, and Alberta Williams King (1924), Martin Luther King's mother.
- Hampton's marching band "The Force" participated in Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration parade, chosen from a pool of applicants to represent the state of Virginia.
LAST TIME OUT
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) - D.J. Newbill had 16 points and Tim Frazier added 11 for Penn State, who fell to Minnesota 63-56 in the Big Ten tournament opening round March 13.10th-seeded Penn State (15-17) struggled shooting the ball, making only 32.2 percent from the field. Austin Hollins scored 18 points, Deandre Mathieu added 13 and Andre Hollins hit a late 3-pointer to help Minnesota edge the Nittany Lions. Penn State got within three just before halftime and within 58-54 with 2:35 to go, but Andre Hollins made a free throw and hit the 3 in the final minute to close it out. The Nittany Lions finally roared back late, cutting a 51-38 deficit to 58-54 on two free throws from Brandon Taylor made two free throws with 2:35 to go.
UP NEXT
The winner of the first-round contest between Penn State and Hampton will face the winner of Stony Brook at Siena next Monday, March 24. The Seawolves and Saints face off in the first CBI tournament game Tuesday evening in Loudonville, N.Y., the home of Siena. Stony Brook enters the tourney with a 23-10 mark, while Siena is 15-17. The Nittany Lions have faced each team once before in program history, defeating the Saints in 1999 and falling to the Seawolves in 2006. Should Penn State win Wednesday, it would travel to the site of the winner because of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament games in the Bryce Jordan Center next week.
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