UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team brings its unblemished 4-0 record home to Happy Valley Wednesday night to host Horizon League preseason favorite Purdue Fort Wayne in an on-campus matchup of the Sunshine Slam. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is slated for 7 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- VIDEO: B1G+
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 382 & SXM App. Ch. 972
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Purdue Fort Wayne
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
- PARKING: Parking for all athletic events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance via ParkMobile prepayment, or on the day of via HONK (zone PSUCR). Parking for men's basketball can be found at Jordan East, Stadium West, or Porter North lots.
- MOBILE TICKETING: All Penn State Athletics tickets are once again mobile tickets. Fans can access Penn State Athletics mobile ticket guide HERE. Make sure to have the updated Nittany Lions App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app on the App Store and Google Play.
- CLEAR BAG POLICY: The Bryce Jordan Center has a clear bag policy. Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVB and are 12" x 6" x 12" or smaller are permitted. Small clutches or wristlets that are 4" x 6" x 1" are also permissible, as well as one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags. All clear bags and patrons are subject to metal detection and/or bag inspection upon entering the venue. Bag policy details can be found here.
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State puts its 4-0 record on the line when the Nittany Lions host Horizon League preseason favorite Purdue Fort Wayne in an on-campus game of the Sunshine Slam Wednesday night.
- The Nittany Lions lead the country in steals per game (15.3) and turnover margin (10.8), rank fourth in scoring margin (+35.8) and eighth in points per game (97.3).
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Zach Hicks' 15.5 points per game.
IF PENN STATE BEATS PURDUE FORT WAYNE
- Penn State would start the season 5-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
- The Nittany Lions would move to 2-0 all-time vs. Purdue Fort Wayne.
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
- The Mastodons are 3-1 on the young season.
- Purdue Fort Wayne's wins have come over Bluffton (99-47), Bethune-Cookman (91-69) and Southern Indiana (93-74). The Mastodons' lone loss was a 68-75 road defeat at UCF.
- Rasheed Bello leads Purdue Fort Wayne with 18.5 points per game, while Jalen Jackson follows closely with 17.0 points per contest. Eric Mulder is averaging 10.8 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game.
- Purdue Fort Wayne was picked to finish atop the Horizon League this season and is coming off a 23-13 campaign in 2023-24 that saw the Mastodons finish as the runner-up in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
AGAINST PURDUE FORT WAYNE
- Penn State and Purdue Fort Wayne meet for just the second time in program history Wednesday night.
- The only other meeting came on Dec. 28, 2005, a 74-59 Penn State win inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
DOMINATION
- The Nittany Lions have played 160 minutes of basketball this season and trailed for just 20 seconds. Penn State trailed St. Francis (Pa.) from 2:17 to 1:57 in the first half.
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 35.8 points per game, a mark that ranks fourth in all of Division I. All four of Penn State's wins have come by 22 or more points.
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 97.3 points per game through the first four games of the season, a mark that ranks eighth in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 85-plus points in all four of their games this season, marking the first time since 2019 that Penn State has scored 80+ in four consecutive games. Should Penn State score 80+ Wednesday night vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, it would be the first time in program history that the Nittany Lions have scored 80+ in five-straight games.
- Penn State scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history as the Nittany Lions opened the season with a 108-66 win over Binghamton and followed it with a 103-54 victory over UMBC. They were Penn State’s first 100-plus point games since 2017 when the Nittany Lions scored 102 in triple overtime at Indiana and the 108-point effort vs. Binghamton was Penn State's first 100-plus point performance in a regulation game since 2009. It marked the first time Penn State has had two 100-plus point games in the same season since the 1954-55 season.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State leads the nation in both steals per game (15.3) and turnover margin (+10.8) through games on Nov. 18.
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 105-33 advantage in points scored off turnovers, a 65-29 edge in second-chance points and 82-27 advantage in fast-break points through the first four games of the season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Nine of the 13 players that have dressed in Penn State's first four games of the season have scored in double figures in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
- Five different players are averaging double-digit points through the first four games of the season.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- The Nittany Lions rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories (rankings listed through games on Nov. 18):
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Steals per game |
15.3 |
1 |
|
Turnover margin |
+10.8 |
1 |
|
Scoring margin |
+35.8 |
4 |
|
Turnovers forced/game |
21.5 |
4 |
|
Points per game |
97.3 |
8 |
|
Fastbreak points |
20.5 |
24 |
|
FT attempts/game |
27.8 |
25 |
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,354), 600+ career assists (646) and 250+ career steals (282).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (282) and his 646 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks is Penn State's leading scorer through the first four games of the season and has put up impressive numbers with his 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Hicks is shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from deep thus far this season and has drained a team-leading 14 triples.
- Hicks earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors a season ago after leading the Nittany Lions with 67 made 3-pointers and ranking second on the team in rebounds (130) and free throw percentage (81.3%). He averaged 12.2 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent (33-80) from 3-point range over the final 12 games of the season.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, has burst onto the scene in his first four games in the Blue & White.
- Konan Niederhauser is averaging 11.3 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 62.5 percent (15-24) from the field through the first four games of the season.
- The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
- Ace Baldwin Jr. earned a spot on the Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Watch List this preseason, in addition landing on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List and being named a Preseason All-Big Ten selection.
- The point guard is coming off a senior season in which he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, a Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist, a Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, an NABC Second Team All-District 7 selection, a third-team All-Big Ten (coaches & media) pick and a Big Ten All-Defensive Team honoree. Baldwin Jr. was one of just four Big Ten players since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since 2011-12 to finish a season averaging 14.0+ points per game, 6.0+ assists per game and 2.0+ steals per game as season ago.
- He is averaging 14.3 points, 7.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game through the first four games this season.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
- Head Coach Mike Rhoades has inked the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the 19th-ranked class in the country as three highly-touted prospects signed to join the Nittany Lions during the November early signing period.
- Penn State's three-member class ranks 19th in the nation per 247 Sports. The three-member class is comprised of Mason Blackwood (Rochester, N.Y.), Justin Houser (Camp Hill, Pa.) and Kayden Mingo (Farmingdale, N.Y.). The three new Nittany Lions join the program as the Class of 2029 and bring accomplished athletic and academic pedigrees to Penn State.
LIONS IN THE LEAGUE
- Penn State is well represented in NBA and G League organizations this season:
- Jalen Pickett '23 - Denver Nuggets - second season
- Seth Lundy '23 - Atlanta Hawks - second season
- Calvin Booth '98 - General Manager - Denver Nuggets
- Izaiah Brockington '21 - Birmingham Squadron (New Orleans Pelicans)
- Andrew Funk M'23 - Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets)
- Josh Reaves '19 - Rio Grand Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets)
- Lamar Stevens '20 - Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons)
- Andrew Jones '11 - Head Coach - Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors)
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.