Behind 14 points from Talor Battle and 13 points from David Jackson, Penn State leads Michigan 36-31 after on half at Chrisler Arena in Ann Arbor. Here are some notes from the first frame.
- After a strong performance at Indiana, the 1-2-3 punch of Battle, Jackson and Jeff Brooks is playing well again, scoring all but three of Penn State's points. That's what happens when neither gets into foul trouble.
- Billy Oliver has played fairly well in place of Andrew Jones, who spent much of the first half on the bench with foul trouble. He only has one point, but has been making hustle plays here and there and setting up the scorers well.
- Michigan was 4-9 from the perimeter in the first half and had a few more open treys to boot. Penn State needs to clamp down the on the Wolverines on the outside. They're not particularly adept at shooting the deep ball. No sense making it easier on Michigan than it has to be.
- No one for Penn State has more than two rebounds individually, but as a team the Nittany Lions did a good job on the glass, out rebounding Michigan 15-9 in the first half.
- Good news and bad news for Penn State on the turnover front: Penn State only has five turnovers but has only forced five by Michigan.
- Oliver, Cammeron Woodyard and Tim Frazier have already taken more shots combined than they did in the entire game against Indiana. Good to see them looking for some opportunities.