UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team will host seven of its 11 non-conference games in the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center, as the 2021-22 non-conference slate was announced Thursday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions, who enter their first season under head coach Micah Shrewsberry, will tip off the 2021-22 season against Youngstown State on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State and the Penguins will meet for just the second time in program history.
Penn State faces its first road test on Monday, Nov. 15, when the Nittany Lions travel to take on Massachusetts. Former Atlantic-10 foes during the 1980s and 90s, the Nittany Lions and Minutemen will meet for the first time since 1991, with Penn State holding a 13-10 all-time series advantage.
PSU returns home for its next two games, beginning with a Thursday, Nov. 18 matchup against St. Francis Brooklyn in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic. The Nittany Lions then remain home to host Cornell on Monday, Nov. 22 as the Big Red returns to competition for the first time since the 2019-20 season after the Ivy League cancelled all sports in 2020-21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Penn State heads to the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla. during Thanksgiving week and will open action against LSU in the semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network. The Tigers are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago, and the two teams will be meeting for just the second time in program history. The winner of the PSU/LSU matchup will advance to take on the winner of the Oregon State/Wake Forest game on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, with the third-place game set for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. Wake Forest and Penn State met most recently in the B1G/ACC Challenge with the Nittany Lions taking a 76-54 win in December 2019 for a 2-1 series edge. Oregon State is coming off a 2021 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance.
Following the Emerald Coast Classic, the Nittany Lions are back in the BJC to host Miami (Fla.) in the 2021 Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 1. The Nittany Lions have won three-straight B1G/ACC Challenge games and six of their last seven, and Penn State is 3-0 all-time against the Hurricanes.
Penn State then welcomes 2020-21 regular-season NEC champion Wagner on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 all-time against the Seahawks, with the last meeting coming in 2019.
After a break for final exams, the Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday, Dec. 18 when Penn State travels to face 2021 NCAA Tournament team VCU. The Nittany Lions defeated the Rams, 72-69, last season in the first-ever meeting between the two programs thanks to a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer from Myles Dread and a career-best 32 points from Seth Lundy.
The final two non-conference games will take place in the Bryce Jordan Center with Penn State hosting Quinnipiac on Wednesday, Dec. 22 and Delaware State on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Nittany Lions will face the Bobcats for the first time, while Penn State owns a 3-0 all-time advantage against Delaware State.
Tip-off times and TV designations will be announced at a later date. The Big Ten schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
Season ticket renewals are now underway for the 2021-22 men's basketball season, with more information available HERE. The student season ticket sale will begin Tuesday, September 7 with season ticket pricing staying at $35. Single-game tickets will go on sale at the end of October with a Nittany Lion Club pre-sale, group sales and a general public sale. Pricing will be announced closer to the single-game sales.
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