Tuesday, March 24th, 9:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: O'Connell Center (12,000) -- Gainesville, Florida. Television: ESPN. NIT Record: Penn State 19-9, Florida 11-10. Series Record: Series is tied, 1-1.

GAME NOTES: A trip to Madison Square Garden and the NIT semifinals are on the line tonight, as the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Florida Gators clash in the 72nd annual tournament at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville. Top-seeded Florida is trying to reach the semifinal round in this tournament for the second straight year and the fourth time in program history as it tries to set the record for the most wins in a single season at the O'Connell Center. On Friday night, the Gators completely dominated in-state rival Miami in the second round with a solid 75-60 victory, the 18th in 19 tries at home this season for the team. The win total matches the school's number from 2006-07 when it went undefeated (18-0) on its way to the NCAA Championship. With 69 home wins in the last four years, Florida is second to only Memphis which has tallied 76 victories during that stretch. As for the second-seeded Nittany Lions, they have their sights set on tying the school's all-time record for wins in a single season at 25. Already a perfect 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the NIT over the years, PSU had to go to overtime in the first game of the tournament to defeat George Mason, then had a bit of an easier time versus Rhode Island last Thursday night in an 83-72 final. As far as the all-time series between these two schools is concerned, they've split the previous two contests, the most recent of which came in 1982. The winner of this meeting will square off against the survivor of the Kentucky/Notre Dame contest at MSG next week in semifinals.

Back in November the Nittany Lions lost a matchup against Rhode Island at The Palestra as part of the Philly Classic, but this time around PSU made sure that it got out ahead of the Rams and never looked back. Stanley Pringle led a group of four Lions in double figures with his 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, followed by Talor Battle who knocked down 4-of-9 shots beyond the arc to arrive at this 16 points. Before fouling out, Andrew Jones stepped up with a double-double consisting of 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, followed by Chris Babb who dropped in 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench. An all-conference performer in the Big Ten this season, Battle is playing more than 37 minutes per game and leads the Nittany Lions in both scoring (16.9 ppg) and assists (172), not to mention coming up with almost five and a half rebounds per game as well. Jamelle Cornley, who was on the sidelines for the URI meeting with a shoulder injury, had been the second-leading scorer for the program with 14.0 ppg and tops on the boards with 6.1 rpg, but appears as though the Lions will have to rely on other options in this clash.

Nick Calathes put together another complete game with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win against the Hurricanes last week in Gainesville. Of the team's 10 three-point field goals, four were dropped by Calathes. Also scoring in double figures for the home team were Alex Tyus and Dan Werner with 13 and 12 points, respectively, the former adding a game-high 12 rebounds as well. In fact, the effort by Tyus in the paint was the difference in the rebounding margin overall between the two programs (37-25). Calathes, the one who keeps the Gators moving in the right direction, leads the squad in both scoring and assists this season with 17.4 ppg and a total of 224 dishes over the course of 35 games. Calathes, who is one of the best three-point shooters in the SEC and has converted 40.3 percent of his opportunities, is also responsible for almost five and a half rebounds per outing and has played tight defense that has resulted in a team-high 68 steals. Tyus takes some of the pressure off Calathes with his 12.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg, shooting a healthy 59.3 percent from the floor.

Without Cornley in the lineup to give the Nittany Lions his usual effort the team will be at a huge disadvantage as it tries to keep up with Tyus on the inside and Calathes everywhere else.

Predicted Outcome

Florida 81, Penn State 66