No. 2 seed Texas vs. No. 10 seed Penn State for trip to the Sweet 16

Gerry Hamiltonby:Gerry Hamilton03/18/23

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The No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns will tip-off against No. 10 seed Penn State at 6:45 p.m. central on CBS with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

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Texas (27-8) is a No. 2 seed for the first time since the 2007-08 season. That Texas team led by D.J. Augustin and Damion James advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 seed Memphis. That also happens to be the last time the Texas program advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Penn State (23-13) enters today in search of a first Sweet 16 appearance since the 2001 season. The 76-59 win over No. 7 seed Texas A&M Thursday was also the programs first trip to the Round of 32 since the 2001 season.

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Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry coached the Longhorns to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City last week, securing an automatic bid in the Big Dance. Terry is 20-7 as the interim head coach, including a combined 15-6 in Big 12 regular and postseason play.

How to watch the game

Texas and Penn State tip-off at 6:45 p.m. Central on CBS with Brian Anderson (play by play), Jim Jackson (analyst) and Allie LaForce (reporter) calling the action.

The game will be played at the Wells Fargo Arena (17,053) – Des Moines, Iowa

Texas and Penn State have never played on the hardwood before. Texas beat Colgate 81-61 in a first ever meeting between the two teams in the round of 64 Thursday.

The Rodney Terry File

Rodney Terry enters Tuesday with a career record of 183-163. He has been a head coach at the Division I level for ten year prior to joining Chris Beard’s staff in Austin.

Terry built the Fresno State program up in his time in California. The Bulldogs won 20 or more games in four of Terry’s last five seasons. That included three times in post season play. Terry has a 1-1 record in the NCAA Tournament.

Penn State by the numbers

Record: 23-13 (10-10 in the Big 10)
vs. the Field of 68 (10-5):
Furman 73-68 (November 17)
Michigan State 58-67 (December 7)
at Illinois 74-59 (December 10)
Iowa 83-79 (January 1)
Purdue 63-76 (January 8)
Indiana 85-66 (January 11)
at Purdue 60-80 (February 1)
at Maryland 68-74 (February 11)
Illinois 93-81 (February 14)
at Northwestern 68-65 OT (March 1)
Maryland 65-64 (March 5)
Illinois 79-76 (March 9) *Big 10 Tournament
Northwestern 67-65 OT (March 10) *Big 10 Tournament
Indiana 77-73 (March 11) *Big 10 Tournament
Purdue 65-67 (March 12) *Big 10 Tournament
Texas A&M 76-59 (March 16) *NCAA Tournament round of 64

Penn State in the NCAA Tournament: First second round appearance since 2001. 1954 is the lone Final Four appearance in school history. It’s also the last time the Nittany Lions appeared in the Elite Eight. The 2001 season is the last Sweet 16 appearance.

Scoring: 72.3 (163rd)
Scoring margin: +4.3 points (130th)
Field goal percentage: 46.5% (68th
Three-point percentage: 38.5% (13th)
Free throw percentage: 73.8% (78th)
Free throws attempted per game: 12.2 (350th)
Assists per game: 13.9 (110th)
Rebounds per game: 32.6 (289th)
Rebound margin: -2 (T-289th)
Blocked shots per game: 2.2 (314th)
Steals per game: 4.4 (347th)
Turnovers per game: 9.0 (4th)
Assists/TO ratio: 1.55 (10th)
Defensive field goal percentage: 42.7% (122nd)

Penn State starters

PG Jalen Pickett, super senior, 6-4 (17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists)

CG Camren Wynter, super senior, 6-2 (8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists)

SG Andrew Funk, super senior, 6-5 (12.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists)

G/W Seth Lundy, senior, 6-6 (14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds)

PF Kebba Njie, freshman, 6-10 (3.5 points, 3.6 rebounds)

Key reserves

G/W Myles Dread, super senior, 6-4 (5.4 points, 2.0 rebounds)

PG Kanye Clary, freshman, 5-11 (3.7 points, 0.9 rebounds)

G/W Evan Mahaffey, freshman, 6-6 (2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds)

Texas starters

PG Tyrese Hunter, 6-1, sophomore (10.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists)

CG Marcus Carr, 6-2, super senior (15.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals)

Timmy Allen, 6-5, super senior (10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists)

Dillon Mitchell, 6-8, freshman (4.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.7 steals)

PF Dylan Disu, 6-9, senior (8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks)

The reserves 

SG Sir’Jabari Rice, 6-4, super senior (12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists)

PF Christian Bishop, 6-7, super senior (6.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals)

CG Arterio Morris, 6-3, freshman (4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists)

Brock Cunningham, 6-6, senior (4.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists) 

PF Alex Anamekwe, 6-5.5, freshman (1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds)

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