Thursday, March 12th, 5:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Conseco Fieldhouse (18,165) -- Indianapolis, Indiana. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Indiana 5-10, Penn State 15-3. Away Record: Indiana 0-11, Penn State 5-6. Neutral Record: Indiana 1-3, Penn State 1-1. Conference Record: Indiana 1-17, Penn State 10-8. Series Record: Indiana leads, 27-6.

GAME NOTES: Sixth-seeded Penn State will take on the 11th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the nightcap of the Big Ten Tournament's opening round at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The winner will take on third-seeded Purdue in Friday's quarterfinal round. Penn State is hoping to go 3-for-3 against IU this season, having already beaten the Hoosiers in both meetings during the regular slate. The Nittany Lions are seeking their first trip to the Big Dance since 2001, and they enter the conference tournament on a roll, posting wins in four of their last six games. PSU's No. 6 seed is its highest ever, and its 10 league victories are the most since 1995-96. IU has a 27-6 lead in the all- time series, although this is a much different Hoosier squad this season. They finished an abysmal 1-17 in Big Ten play, finishing the season with nine straight losses. Their most recent outing was an 85-61 loss at Wisconsin in Sunday's regular-season finale.

On the season, the Hoosiers are shooting just 43.2 percent from the floor and are being outscored by an average of 10.4 ppg. On top of that, they are committing a whopping 17.6 turnovers per game. Devan Dumes qualifies as the biggest scoring threat with his team-high 12.7 ppg, though he is shooting a rather pedestrian 41 percent from the field. Verdell Jones chips in with 10.6 ppg, while Tom Pritchard averages 9.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg. As a team, IU shot a healthy 54.1 percent from the field on Sunday against Wisconsin but still lost by 24. The Hoosiers committed 16 turnovers in the game, compared to six by the Badgers. Jones scored a team-high 23 points for IU, while Nick Williams added 19.

The Nittany Lions are guided by Big Ten Coach of the Year Ed DeChellis. They entered last Saturday's season finale at Iowa with wins in four of their previous five games, including a last-second victory over No. 23 Illinois last Thursday. But PSU ran out of gas against the Hawkeyes, falling in double- overtime, 75-67. The Nittany Lions managed to erase a nine-point deficit in the final 2:23 of regulation, but their effort eventually went to waste. All- Big Ten guard Talor Battle led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds, even scoring 12 straight at one point. Battle led the league in scoring with 17.3 ppg. Complementing Battle on offense are Jamelle Cornley (13.9 ppg), a second- team all-conference selection, and Stanley Pringle (12.9 ppg).

Throughout the season, the Hoosiers have made a bad habit of turning the ball over. If that trend continues, PSU simply has too many scorers who can make them pay.

Predicted Outcome

Penn State 80, Indiana 67