UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team heads to #12 Wisconsin Saturday afternoon to wrap up the 2024-25 regular season. Tipoff from the Kohl Center is slated for 1 p.m. ET/noon CT on Peacock.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Peacock – Paul Burmeister (pxp) & Jess Settles (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 389 & SXM App Ch. 979
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Wisconsin
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State wraps up the 2024-25 regular season with a road trip to #12 Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.2 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS #12 WISCONSIN
- The Nittany Lions would earn their first-ever victory inside the Kohl Center and win in Madison for the first time in over 30 years. Penn State's last road win at Wisconsin came inside the Wisconsin Field House on Jan. 26, 1995 (78-67).
- Penn State would earn its fourth win over a top-15 ranked opponent in the Mike Rhoades era and its highest-ranked road win since Feb. 1, 2009.
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
- The 12th-ranked Badgers have put together a stellar season, sitting at 23-7 overall and 13-6 in Big Ten play.
- Wisconsin has won seven of its last nine games and is coming off a 74-67 road win at Minnesota in their most recent game Wednesday night.
- The Badgers are 14-2 inside the Kohl Center this season.
- John Tonje leads Wisconsin with 19.1 points per game, while John Blackwell follows with 15.5 points per contest.
AGAINST WISCONSIN
- Penn State and and Wisconsin meet for the first time since Jan. 16, 2024 Saturday afternoon in the 2024-25 regular-season finale.
- The Nittany Lions haven't played on the road at Wisconsin since Jan. 17, 2023. Penn State has never won inside the Kohl Center and will be looking for its first road win in Madison since Jan. 26, 1995.
- Penn State won the most recent meeting with the Badgers on Jan. 17, 2023 as the Nittany Lions picked up their first top-15 win of the Mike Rhoades era with an 87-83 victory over #11/8 Wisconsin inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 78.9 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 15 games this season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Five different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.2 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.8 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (11.5 ppg), Zach Hicks (11.5 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 leads the Big Ten in steals per game (8.2) and ranks second in turnovers forced per game (14.23).
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- Penn State players currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on March 6:
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.8% |
3 |
|
Assists per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
7.0 |
6 |
|
Steals per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
2.34 |
12 |
|
Blocks per game – Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
2.21 |
19 |
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 15 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 10 of its 15 losses this season.
- The Nittany Lions own nine conference losses by six points or fewer this season, the most amongst major conference teams.
GETTING TO THE LINE
- The Nittany Lions are 9-0 this season when making 20+ free throws in a game. Penn State is 6-0 this season when attempting at least 30 foul shots in a contest.
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player and one of just five Division I players since the 1947-48 season (77 years) with 1,700+ career points (1,708), 800+ career assists (822) and 300+ career steals (339).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (339) and his 822 career assists are third amongst active Division I players.
- He currently is 16th all-time in career steals in the NCAA record book.
NOWHERE NEAR DUNN
- D’Marco Dunn has turned it up a notch over the last 13 games, including putting together two career-best scoring efforts with 18 points against both Michigan State and Minnesota:
|
Dunn |
First 17 Games |
Last 13 Games |
|
PPG |
5.2 |
11.3 |
|
FG% |
38.1% |
49.5% |
|
3FG% |
32.4% |
42.9% |
|
Minutes/game |
16.7 |
26.6 |
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.8 points per game, a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game and 2.21 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 |
12.8 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
61.0% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.2 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
REWRITING HISTORY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones this 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.
- Shot 60.7% from the field in win over Nebraska on Feb. 19, the first time shooting 60 FG% against a Big Ten opponent since Jan. 2007.
- 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.