GAME NOTES: A pair of teams sporting records above .500 get together on Tuesday night, as the Penn State Nittany Lions play host to the Akron Zips.

Akron comes in at 3-1, and is fresh off a 68-63 win over South Carolina on Sunday as part of the Charleston Classic. The team's lone setback came two days earlier in a 79-51 shellacking at the hands of Miami. The Zips will tip off their Mid-American Conference slate at home versus Western Michigan on Jan. 6, 2015.

Penn State is off to a 4-1 start, thanks in part to consecutive victories in Charleston over the weekend. The first was a 72-71 nail biter against Cornell, and the second a 63-61 decision versus USC. The Nittany Lions, who suffered their only defeat to Charlotte in their first game in the event last Thursday, will open their Big Ten Conference schedule at Wisconsin on New Year's Eve.

While Penn State leads the all-time series with Akron, 4-2, the last meeting during the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off fell in favor of the Zips, 85-60.

Noah Robotham scored 16 points, Deji Ibitayo added 15 off the bench, and Kwan Cheatham, Jr. chipped in with 13, all of which the Zips used to push past South Carolina on Sunday. Akron played well on defense, limiting the Gamecocks to 39.1 percent field goal efficiency, which included a poor 2-of-10 showing from 3-point range. The Zips themselves, didn't shoot the lights out (.420, .200), but took advantage of 17 turnovers, while claiming a 22-11 edge in points from the foul line.

It's still early, but Akron has four players averaging double figures in the scoring column, paced by Robotham and his 12.0 ppg. The three others all net roughly 10 ppg, helping the team as a whole generate 64.8 ppg behind a field goal percentage of only .400, which includes a long-range rate of just .326. Fortunately, the Zips have done well for themselves at the other end by permitting a mere 61.2 ppg, with foes having a particularly tough time hitting the 3-pointer (.294). Opponents are converting just 56.1 percent of their foul shots as well.

D.J. Newbill was high man for Penn State once again in the recent win over USC, as the talented guard tallied 22 points in hitting 8-of-17 total shots. Backcourt mate Shep Garner (13 points) was the only other player to finish in double figures for coach Patrick Chambers' club, which made good on 42.4 percent of its field goal tries, which included seven treys. The Nittany Lions won the game despite being outrebounded (51-37), thanks to a stellar defensive effort that permitted the Trojans just 27.3 percent success on their overall shots.

Newbill and Garner are the only two Lions averaging double digits in scoring at the moment, with the former netting 20.8 ppg and the latter 12.3 ppg. Newbill is dropping his 3-pointers at an impressive 62.5 percent rate (10- of-16), while his free throws are falling at 94.4 percent (17-of-18). In addition, he is also handing out 3.5 apg in an attempt to get his teammates involved in the action. As a collective unit, PSU is averaging 67.2 ppg, while allowing just 58.5 ppg, which its foes net after shooting only 31.6 percent from the field, which includes a 29.5 percent showing from beyond the arc.

This should be an entertaining game between two teams that are hoping to get better with each passing effort. Newbill will be the best player on the court, but he can't do it alone. Expect Garner and some of PSU's other players to raise their level of play enough to give the home crowd another reason to smile.