Notable Victories

MARCH 21, 1942 Penn State 41 , Illinois 34

NCAA Tournament | New Orleans, La. John Lawther’s Lions captured third place at the NCAA East Regional by beating the Big Ten champion Illinois “Whiz Kids.”

MARCH 12, 1954 Penn State 78, LSU 70

NCAA Tournament | Iowa City, Iowa Jesse Arnelle collected 24 points and 14 rebounds as Penn State defeated eighthranked LSU and Bob Pettit in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

MARCH 13, 1954 Penn State 71 , Notre Dame 63

NCAA Tournament | Iowa City, Iowa The Nittany Lions ended Notre Dame’s 18game winning streak and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Jesse Arnelle (22), Jack Sherry (14), Jim Blocker (13) and Ed Haag (12) led Penn State in scoring.

MARCH 20, 1954 Penn State 70, USC 61

NCAA Tournament | Kansas City, Mo. Jesse Arnelle tallied 25 points as Penn State claimed third place in the 1954 NCAA Tournament and a Top 10 national ranking.

FEB. 28, 1966 Penn State 80, Syracuse 79

University Park, Pa. Jeff Persson hit a turn-around shot at the buzzer to defeat Syracuse before an estimated crowd of 8,100 in Rec Hall.

FEB. 16, 1972 Penn State 86, Virginia 74

University Park, Pa. An estimated 8,000 fans crammed into Rec Hall to see the Nittany Lions defeat the sixth-ranked Cavaliers. Ron Brown finished with 23 points and eight assists to lead PSU.

FEB. 23, 1974 Penn State 66 , Pittsburgh 64

University Park, Pa. Ron Brown’s 32 points, including the game-winner at the buzzer, lifted PSU past seventh-ranked Pittsburgh and ended the Panthers’ 22-game winning streak.

MARCH 6, 1989 Penn State 86, W. Virginia 64

A-10 Tournament | Philadelphia, Pa. Ed Fogell’s 28 points paced the Nittany Lions to an Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal win over the 13th-ranked Mountaineers.

MARCH 21, 1990 Penn State 58, Rutgers 55

NIT | Piscataway, N.J. In the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal, Penn State rallied for the win and a ticket to the Final Four at Madison Square Garden.

MARCH 9, 1991 Penn State 81, George Washington 75

A-10 Tournament | University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions raced out to a 20-6 margin and never looked back in winning the Atlantic 10 title and clinching an NCAA Tournament berth for first time in 26 years.

MARCH 15, 1991 Penn State 74, UCLA 69

NCAA Tournament | Syracuse, N.Y. Bruce Parkhill’s squad rallied from a fourpoint halftime deficit to upset No. 16 UCLA in the first round and give Penn State its first NCAA Tournament win since 1955. James Barnes scored 19 points and DeRon Hayes added 16.

JAN. 27, 1994 Penn State 71, Purdue 68

University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions scored the final eight points of the game to upset No. 7 Purdue and Player of the Year Glenn Robinson.

MARCH 15, 1995 Penn State 62, Miami (Fla.) 56

NIT | University Park, Pa. Trailing 48-28 with 14:07 left, Penn State outscored the Hurricanes 34-8 the rest of the way in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

MARCH 23, 1995 Penn State 67 , Iowa 64

NIT | Iowa City, Iowa Pete Lisicky nailed a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to play to advance the Nittany Lions to the NIT Final Four.

JAN. 11, 1996 Penn State 76, Minnesota 61

University Park, Pa. The Lions routed the Gophers to win the inaugural game at the Bryce Jordan Center and during the same week, earned their first Associated Press national ranking in 31 years, at No. 20.

FEB. 21, 1998 Penn State 74, Purdue 63

University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions followed Pete Lisicky’s 19 points and Jarrett Stephens’ 17 to upset #5 Purdue in the Jordan Center. The win was Penn State’s first over a top-5 team in nearly 50 years.

MARCH 18, 1998 Penn State 66, Georgia 60

NIT | New York Playing without second-leading scorer Jarrett Stephens, Penn State held off SEC foe Georgia in the NIT semifinals. Freshman Joe Crispin led the way with 18 pts as PSU earned its first appearance in the NIT title game.

DEC. 1, 1998 Penn State 65, Temple 64

University Park, Pa. Joe Crispin scored a team-high 18 points, including a game-winning fall-away jumper at the :20 mark to lead Penn State to a thrilling 65-64 win over No. 10 and eventual Elite Eight team Temple.

FEB. 27, 1999 Penn State 98, Ohio State 85 (ot)

University Park, Pa. Sophomore Joe Crispin turned in arguably the most explosive 50 seconds of basketball in PSU history by scoring eight unanswered points to start the overtime period as Penn State downed No. 10 and eventual NCAA Final Four team Ohio State 98-85. Crispin ended the game with 29 points.

NOV. 25, 2000 Penn State 73, Kentucky 68

Lexington, Ky. Penn State’s Crispin brothers, senior Joe and sophomore Jon, put on a memorable show as the Nittany Lions, making their first appearance in Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, stunned nationally-ranked Kentucky 7368. The PSU win marked only the second time in Rupp history that UK had lost a home opener and broke Kentucky’s 20game home win streak. Joe Crispin hit 11of-26 shots, including seven treys, for 31 points while Jon Crispin nailed a stunning 9-of-12 field goals, including six treys, for a career-high 26 points. The brother duo combined for 57 of PSU’s 73 points.

MARCH 9, 2001 Penn State 65, Michigan State 63

Big Ten Tournament | Chicago Joe Crispin’s thrilling off-balance trey with little time left capped a stunning 22-point performance and gave Penn State an upset win over No. 2 Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. It also marked the highest ranked team that Penn State had beaten.

MARCH 16, 2001 Penn State 69, Providence 59

NCAA Tournament | New Orleans, La. Gyasi Cline-Heard posted a doubledouble with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Penn State to a 69-59 win over Providence in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, its first NCAA win since 1991.

MARCH 18, 2001 Penn State 82, North Carolina 74

NCAA Tournament | New Orleans, La. The senior trio of Gyasi Cline-Heard, Joe Crispin and Titus Ivory willed PSU past No. 5-ranked and second-seeded North Carolina 82-74 in front of an excited Superdome crowd in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The win moved Penn State into its first modern day (expanded field) Sweet 16 appearance. Ivory, a North Carolina native, Crispin and Cline-Heard each scored 21 points in the win.

FEB. 4, 2006 Penn State 66, Illinois 65

Champaign, Ill. The first big win of coach Ed DeChellis’ tenure, Travis Parker scored 21 points, including the game winner with 8.5 seconds to play, and Geary Claxton added 20 as Penn State defeated No. 6-ranked Illinois 66-65 in a sold-out Assembly Hall for the biggest road upset in program history. The Illini's Rich McBride had a potential game winning three-pointer waved off, ending the Illini’s 33-game home-court winning streak, then the longest in the nation. Penn State recovered after an early 13-0 deficit and Mike Walker hit all three of his 3-pointers in the last 8:10 to spark the Lions.

FEB. 2, 2008 Penn State 85, Michigan State 76

University Park, Pa. Without injured leading scorer and rebounder Geary Claxton, Penn State got 19 points from Stanley Pringle and 17 from Talor Battle hitting nine threes and 34-of51 from the free throw line to stun No. 7 Michigan State and defeat their first ranked foe at home since 2001.

FEB. 1, 2009 Penn State 72, Michigan State 68

East Lansing, Mich. Trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, Penn State rode a stellar 29-point performance from sophomore Talor Battle to down the ninth-ranked Spartans, an eventual Final Four team, and earn the program’s first win in East Lansing, Mich.

APRIL 2, 2009 Penn State 69, Baylor 63

NIT | New York With 36 bus loads of fans shaking the floor of Madison Square Garden and then football coach Joe Paterno cheering behind the bench, Jamelle Cornley posted 18 points and seven rebounds to lead Penn State back from a 29-25 halftime deficit to the program’s first national tournament title.

MARCH 12, 2011 Penn State 61, Michigan State 48

Big Ten Tournament | Indianapolis Penn State blew past the Spartans to reach the program’s first Big Ten Tournament Championship game and clinch the Nittany Lions first NCAA bid in a decade. The Lion backcourt of Talor Battle (25) and Tim Frazier (22) raced past Michigan State as the Lions outscored the Spartans, 35-22, in the second half.

FEB. 27, 2013 Penn State 84, Michigan 78

University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions earned their first Big Ten win of the season. It was the first win over the highest ranked opponent (No. 4) since 2001 and the highest in the Jordan Center.

JAN. 29, 2014 Penn State 71, Ohio State 70 (ot)

Columbus, Ohio Penn State snapped an 18-game losing streak to the Buckeyes with an overtime win in Value City Arena. D.J. Newbill hit the game-tying and game-winning shots as part of his season-high 25-point effort.

MARCH 12, 2015 Penn State 67, Iowa 58

Big Ten Tournament | Chicago D.J. Newbill scored 18 points, and the Nittany Lions shut down Iowa in the second half of a 67-58 victory to advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. It was the best Big Ten run for Penn State since it lost to Ohio State in the 2011 final.

FEB. 17, 2016 Penn State 79, Iowa 75

University Park, Pa. Donovon Jack scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting, leading the Nittany Lions to a 79-75 victory over the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes. Shep Garner and Brandon Taylor had 18 points apiece in the school's second victory over a top-25 team in two weeks. The Nittany Lions beat No. 22 Indiana 6863 on Feb. 6.

JAN. 7, 2017 Penn State 72, Michigan State 63

The Palestra | Philadelphia In only the second Big Ten home game played at a neutral site, Penn State fans packed the Palestra on a snowy afternoon and watched the Nittany Lions roll to a 4432 halftime lead. The squad's Philadelphia natives scored 55 of PSU's 72 points en route to the "homecoming" win and the first victory over the Spartans since 2011.

JAN. 14, 2017 Penn State 52, Minnesota 50

University Park, Pa. Penn State used an 11-3 run early in the second half to recover from a double-digit deficit against the 24th-ranked Gophers. Tony Carr hit two free throws with five seconds remaining for the win. Mike Watkins had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Nittany Lions in front of the largest crowd of the season.

FEB. 7, 2017 Penn State 70, Maryland 64

University Park, Pa. Lamar Stevens paced Penn State with 25 points as it dealt No. 22 Maryland its first loss of 2016-17 away from its home court. It was the fourth-straight home win over a ranked opponent, the longest such streak in program history.

JAN. 25, 2018 Penn State 82, Ohio State 79

Columbus, Ohio Tony Carr pulled up for a jumper just past center court and banked in the gamewinning basket to upset the nation's 13thranked team on the road. Penn State was one of only two teams to defeat OSU on its home court in 2017-18. The Nittany Lions broke a 21-year-old record for 3-point field goal percentage at 78.6 (11-14) and shot 58.3% overall.

FEB. 4, 2020 Penn State 75, Michigan State 70

East Lansing, Mich. For only the second time in 25 trips to East Lansing, Penn State brought home a win. The Nittany Lions went 6-for-7 in from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the victory over the No. 16 Spartans.Lamar Stevens had a team-best 24 points and went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 0:16. Myreon Jones scored 20 points off six 3-pointers.

MARCH 29, 2018 Penn State 82, Utah 66

NIT | New York In front of a crowd of 11,175, the largest for an National Invitational Tournament championship game since 2005, Penn State captured the 2018 title and finished the 2017-18 season with 26 wins, the second-most in program history. Lamar Stevens, who scored 96 points over five games, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player with 28 points in the finale. In his final collegiate game, Shep Garner set both the Big Ten Conference and Penn State single-season records for 3-point field goals (120) as well as the Penn State career record (336).

DEC. 10, 2019 Penn State 76, Maryland 69

University Park, Pa. Five Nittany Lions scored in double figures and Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins recorded double-doubles in the win over the No. 4 Terps. Izaiah Brockington scored 10 of his 14 points and had three critical steals in the second half, helping to hold off a Maryland surge that brought it within two points. Penn State made 11 free throws in the final 3:50 to secure the victory.

JAN. 4, 2020 Penn State 89, Iowa 86

Philadelphia, Pa. Penn State hit its final five shots and Myles Dread made six free throws in the last 30 seconds for an epic win over 23rd-ranked Iowa in the historic Palestra. The sell-out crowd on an unseasonably warm afternoon witnessed 24 lead changes and 10 ties. Philadelphia product Izaiah Brockington scored 15 of his career-best 23 points in the second half, and combined with Curtis Jones Jr., for 39 of the Nittany Lions' 46 bench points.

FEB. 11, 2020 Penn State 88, Purdue 76

West Lafayette, Ind. Penn State piled up on 3-pointers vs. Purdue with 10 at the half and finished with 14, just one shy of the program record. Seth Lundy contributed six treys for 18 points to hand Purdue its eighth loss against 89 wins in Mackey Arena. Mike Watkins scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and completed his double-double with 10 rebounds. The victory marked Penn State's first in 10 attempts vs. Purdue and only its third in West Lafayette.

DEC. 8, 2020 Penn State 75, Virginia Tech 55

Blacksburg, Va. Penn State picked up the 1,500th win in program history as the Nittany Lions took down No. 15 Virginia Tech on the road in the 2020 ACC/B1G Challenge. Izaiah Brockington led the charge with a carrerbest 24 points, finishing 10-for-14 from the field.

JAN. 30, 2021 Penn State 81, Wisconsin 71

University Park, Pa. A second-half scoring outburst powered the Nittany Lions to an 81-71 win over No. 14/13 Wisconsin at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions' 81-point scoring effort was the highest in the series against Wisconsin. Myreon Jones finished with a game-high 20 points. Izaiah Brockington added 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists. John Harrar finished with a careerhigh 17 points and had eight rebounds.

FEB. 15, 2022 Penn State 62, Michigan State 58

University Park, Pa. Penn State earned the first win over a ranked opponent in the Micah Shrewsberry era as the Nittany Lions used a 33-15 run in the game's final 13 minutes to erase a 14-point deficit and defeat #19 Michigan State, 62-58. The Nittany Lions only led the game for a total of 2:07, trailing by as many as 14 with 13:20 to play in the second half. The 33-15 game-closing run was cemented with a 12-4 Penn State advantage in the final 3:04. Seth Lundy led all scorers with a game-high 17 points, while John Harrar had a monster game with 16 points and 16 rebounds.