UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team hosts Nebraska Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- TV: Big Ten Network – Ed Cohen (pxp) & Shon Morris (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 380 & SXM App. Ch. 970
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Nebraska
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions remain home Wednesday night to host Nebraska inside the Bryce Jordan Center in Penn State's Autism Awareness game.
- Penn State is 10-3 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.0 points per game. Baldwin Jr. ranks top five in the country in assists per game (7.2) and FT% (93.3%).
IF PENN STATE BEATS NEBRASKA
- The Nittany Lions would improve to 11-3 when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Penn State would snap its seven-game losing streak.
SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
- Nebraska is 17-9 on the season and 7-8 in Big Ten play.
- The Huskers have won five of their last six games, including a 68-64 road win at Northwestern in their most recent game Sunday.
- Nebraska's string of five wins in six games from Jan. 30 to Feb. 16 followed a five-game losing streak from Jan. 12 to Jan. 26.
- The Huskers are 5-5 away from home this season, including a 3-5 mark in Big Ten road games.
- Brice Williams leads Nebraska with 19.5 points per game. Juwan Gary (13.6 ppg) and Connor Essegian (10.5 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
AGAINST NEBRASKA
- Penn State owns a slim 14-13 advantage in the all-time series with Nebraska, but the Nittany Lions are 8-3 vs. the Huskers when playing in Happy Valley.
- The teams met just once last season, a 68-49 win for Nebraska in Lincoln.
- The two teams will play in Happy Valley for the first time since Jan. 21, 2023 when the Nittany Lions took down the Huskers 76-65.
AUTISM AWARENESS
- Wednesday’s game will be Penn State’s Autism Awareness game. The Nittany Lion coaching staff will wear purple lapel pins to support of Coaches Powering Forward and Autism Speaks.
- Autism Speaks is dedicated to creating an inclusive world for all people with autism throughout their lifespan through advocacy, services, supports, research and innovation, and advances in care for autistic individuals and their families.
- More information can be found HERE.
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY
- Penn State is 10-3 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season and has won 12 of its last 16 home games in Happy Valley dating back to last season.
|
Stat |
PSU average in BJC Games |
|
Points per game |
84.8 |
|
FG% |
48.8% |
|
3FG% |
35.0% |
|
3FG made per game |
7.9 |
|
Assists per game |
17.5 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
16.0 |
|
Steals per game |
9.2 |
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 79.5 points per game, which currently tracks to best the program record for single-season scoring average of 78.7 ppg that was set by the 1954-55 team.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 14 games this season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Five different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.0 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (12.2 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.2 ppg), Zach Hicks (11.7 ppg) and Puff Johnson (10.2 ppg).
- Nine players have scored in double figures, with six different players recording 20-plus point games, in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
- Seven different players have led Penn State in scoring in a game this season.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten in turnovers forced per game (14.58) and steals per game (8.3).
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- Penn State players currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on Feb. 16:
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.3% |
4 |
|
Assists per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
7.2 |
5 |
|
Blocks per game – Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
2.08 |
21 |
|
Steals per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
2.12 |
25 |
INJURY BUG
- Penn State has been plagued with injuries since the turn of the calendar year, as the Nittany Lions have played each of the last 11 games without at least one of their double-digit scorers.
CLOSE LOSSES
- Penn State has been within four points in the final two minutes of eight of its 13 losses this season.
- The Nittany Lions and Northwestern both own seven conference losses by six points or fewer this season, the most amongst major conference teams.
PUT ‘EM ON WATCH
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. earned the following midseason recognition:
NOWHERE NEAR DUNN
- D’Marco Dunn has turned it up a notch over the last nine games, including putting together two career-best scoring efforts with 18 points against both Michigan State and Minnesota:
|
Dunn |
First 17 Games |
Last 9 Games |
|
PPG |
5.2 |
10.8 |
|
FG% |
38.1% |
43.1% |
|
3FG% |
32.4% |
40.5% |
|
Minutes/game |
16.7 |
27.2 |
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player and one of just nine Division I players since the 1947-48 season (77 years) with 1,500+ career points (1,648), 700+ career assists (799) and 300+ career steals (324).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (324) and his 799 career assists are third amongst active Division I players. He is four steals away from breaking into the top 25 all-time in career steals in the NCAA record book.
CONSISTENCY FOR KERN
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. is tied for the team lead with 19 double-digit scoring efforts this season and is Penn State's leading rebounder (5.7 rpg) and second-leading scorer (12.3 ppg) in Big Ten play.
- He has shot 58.5 percent (120-205) from the field this season while averaging 12.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.2 points per game, a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game and a Big Ten-best 2.08 blocks per game. The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.
|
PSU (2024-25) |
NIU (2022-24) |
|
|
Points per game |
12.2 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
61.5% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.2 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
REWRITING HISTORY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through the first 26 games of the season:
- Finished non-conference play at 10-1, marking just the sixth time since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1992-93 that the Nittany Lions have finished regular-season non-conference action with one or fewer losses.
- Big Ten-opening win over #8 Purdue was Penn State's first win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll since Dec. 2019.
- Started the season 6-0 for the first time in 25 years (since the 1999-2000 season). Started the season 8-1 for the first time in 10 years (since the 2014-15 season).
- Scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history (108 vs. Binghamton, 103 vs. UMBC).
- Scored 80+ points in six-consecutive games for the first time in program history.
- Scored 100+ in three games in the same season for just the second time in program history.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
- Head Coach Mike Rhoades has inked the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the 21st-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 21st 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.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.