Sept. 15, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Sept. 15 , 2008 - The Nittany Lion basketball team will play four non-conference games on the Big Ten Network, have three carried on an ESPN network, and four web-streamed on BigTenNetwork.com it was announced Monday when the Big Ten Conference released tip times and television arrangements for the 2008-09 non-conference season.
Penn State will get a final tune-up before the season with an exhibition game vs. Bloomsburg on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 2:00 p.m in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be among the four Nittany Lion non-conference games streamed at no charge on BigTenNetwork.com.
Penn State will get the season started on Friday, Nov. 14 with a home match-up with William and Mary. That game, set for a 6:30 p.m. tip the night before the Penn State football team faces Indiana in Beaver Stadium, will be the first carried by Big Ten Network for the 2008-09 season.
The William and Mary game will also be the first of at least 20 Penn State men's basketball games, including 16 conference games, carried on the Big Ten Network this season. With more than 170 basketball games, the Big Ten Network will televise more than twice the number of Big Ten men's games and more than three times the number of Big Ten women's games of any other network this season and nearly every Big Ten Network game will be available in high definition.
Among the four Nittany Lion non-conference games to be carried by BTN will be home match-ups with New Jersey Tech (Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m.), New Hampshire (Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m.) and 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Temple (Dec. 6 at 6:00 p.m.).
"We're thrilled to bring so much Big Ten basketball action to fans across the country," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said. "With nightly episodes of Big Ten Tonight and the Big Ten Tip-Off Show to complement our extensive game coverage, the Big Ten Network is the fans' ultimate destination for basketball."
The Big Ten Network's schedule features 110 men's games, including three Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament contests. Sixty of those regular-season games will be intra-conference match-ups. During the conference season, the network will typically air games on Tuesdays and Sundays as well as doubleheaders on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Prior to the start of the season, fans can go to www.BigTennetwork.com for the full schedule and television location for all conference the games they want to see.
Among the Nittany Lions' four games to be streamed live to the BigTenNetwork.com will be home games vs. Hartford (Nov. 20, 7:00 p.m.), 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Mt. St. Mary's (Dec. 13 at 4:00 p.m.) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 23 at 7:00 p.m.).
Penn State's home games vs. Army (Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m.) and Lafayette (Dec. 21 at 4:00 p.m.) will both be televised on ESPNU. The Nittany Lions' ACC/Big Ten Challenge match-up at Georgia Tech (Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.) was previously announced as being televised on ESPN2. Penn State could potentially face intra-state rival Villanova in the Philly Hoops Classic at the famed Palestra in Philadelphia. Penn State's early November home match-ups with New Jersey Tech and Hartford will serve as opening round games for the Classic. Penn State will play two more Classic games at the Palestra during Thanksgiving Week. The Nittany Lions will take on Rhode Island at 6:30 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 28 in the first game. Penn State will then face either Villanova or Towson on Sat., Nov. 29, depending on the outcomes of Friday's games. The Saturday games will be played at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The final two rounds of the Classic will be televised by Comcast network CN8.
Penn State will also play Pennsylvania at the Palestra during Thanksgiving week. The Nittany Lions and Quakers will meet on Tues, Nov. 25. Tip time and television arrangements for the game have not yet been determined.
Coming off its most conference wins (7) and best Big Ten finish (7th) since 2001, Penn State returns seven players that started 12 or more games in 2007-08 and its top two scorers and four of the top five rebounders from last season. Among the returnees are team Co-MVPs and leading scorers Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) and Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio). Battle, a sophomore point-guard, posted 10.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 3.1 apg last season leading the Lions in assists and steals. Cornley, who averaged 12.1 ppg and 6.0 rpg last season, earned third-team All-Big Ten honors despite missing six games due to injury. He is among four returning seniors that also include guard Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio), the team's leading three-point shooter in three seasons, and Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.), a starter in 12 games who shot better than 40 percent from the arc last year.
A complete Penn State basketball schedule with tip times and television arrangements can be found at GoPSUsports.com