Aug. 4, 2015
|
August 4, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Highlighted by two games played in historic Rec Hall, the Penn State men's basketball team will play a 13-game non-conference schedule to kick off the 2015-16 season. The Nittany Lions will take on Canisius and Louisiana-Monroe Dec. 10 and 12, respectively, as part of the second Return to Rec.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to take our program and fans back to Rec Hall for two games this season," Patrick Chambers, Nittany Lion head coach, said. "It is such a storied venue and holds the opportunity to create an incredible atmosphere. I need to thank the administration and my fellow coaches who call Rec Hall home for making this second Return to Rec possible."
Tickets for both games played at Rec Hall will be included in the season ticket package, available now from 1-800-NITTANY or online via Virtual Venue, through which you can choose your Bryce Jordan Center season ticket location.
Because of the limited seating capacity of Rec Hall, the only guaranteed seats are through the season ticket package. Season ticket holders will have their seats from the BJC mirrored in Rec Hall to the best of the ticket office's ability; however, seating locations will not be guaranteed to be similar to BJC locations.
Any individual ticket information will be sent out at a later date. Single-game tickets for Nittany Lion non-conference games, as well as eight Big Ten matchups, will be available in September.
All full-time Penn State students will be admitted free to non-conference home games played at the BJC and will be able to purchase tickets for the two Rec Hall games for $13 each. Student Big Ten conference season tickets will go on sale Sept. 1, with those who purchase season tickets receiving a priority ordering period for the Rec Hall games at date to be announced. Student single-game tickets for Rec Hall, if available, will go on sale later in the Fall semester.
INSIDE THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Nittany Lions have won each of their last 10 non-conference games and are on a 14-game winning streak in non-Big Ten games played in the Bryce Jordan Center. They also have won three true road games in a row outside of league play, a streak that will be tested with the challenging slate ahead. Penn State's schedule includes five road trips ââ'¬" four away sites and one neutral ââ'¬" to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington and Las Vegas, in addition to the previously announced Big Ten showdown with Michigan in New York's Madison Square Garden.
November 14: VMI, Bryce Jordan Center
The Nittany Lions season opener marks the return of Nittany Lion great Dan Earl who is in his first season as head coach of the Keydets. A two-time All-Big Ten selection, Earl finished his PSU career in 1997 as the 15th all-time leader in scoring with 1,256 points and was second in assists (574). He later returned to University Park as an assistant coach for six seasons in 2006-11.
November 17: DePaul, Bryce Jordan Center
Penn State will host DePaul in the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games Nov. 17. The unique eight-game series between the Big Ten and Big East conferences is named to honor the late Dave Gavitt, the founder of the Big East and basketball visionary.
November 20: Duquesne, CONSOL Energy Center
The first of three non-conference games vs. in-state foes, this marks the sixth-consecutive season Penn State has played Duquesne. The Lions have won six of the last seven meetings, including the last matchup in CONSOL ââ'¬" a 68-59 victory in which Tim Frazier had a career-high 13 assists, the most for a PSU player since 1995 when Dan Earl had 13 vs. Iowa. Frazier's total tied Earl's for the third-most in a single game at Penn State.
November 24: Radford, Bryce Jordan Center
In the only other meeting of the series, Penn State defeated Radford 62-46 in the first game in the 2011 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament. Tim Frazier posted his second of 10 career double-doubles with 20 points and 10 assists.
November 28: Bucknell, Bryce Jordan Center
Heading into the 103rd meeting in the series, Penn State is 77-25 all-time against Bucknell with wins in 13 of the last 14 outings. In the win last season in Lewisburg, the Nittany Lions went 30-54 from the field for a season-high 56 percent mark in the win.
December 2: Boston College, Conte Forum (B1G/ACC Challenge)
Penn State and BC have met twice in the Challenge with the teams splitting meetings in 2011 and 2012. The Lions won, 62-54, in their last trip to the Conte Forum in 2011. They are 6-7 all-time vs. the Eagles and 3-3 as the road team, in a series dating back to 1967.
December 5: Eastern Michigan, Bryce Jordan Center
This is the first and only other meeting with the EMU Eagles since Penn State suffered an overtime loss in the second round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament in Syracuse.
December 8: George Washington, Charles E. Smith Center
The Nittany Lions will return the home-and-home series with George Washington, who they defeated last season 64-51 in the BJC, Dec. 8. Penn State held the Colonials to 34 percent shooting in the game last season and to a stifling 29 percent in the second half. Jordan Dickerson posted a career-high six blocks.
December 10: Canisius, Rec Hall (Las Vegas Classic)
Penn State will take on the Griffs for the third time in program history and the first since a 93-40 victory Nov. 16, 2007. The 53-point decision is the eighth-largest margin of victory in PSU history and was the largest for the Nittany Lions in 54 years dating to a 58-point win (105-47) over Ithaca in 1953. The teams also met in the 1995 NIT with the Lions capturing a 66-62 win in the third-place game.
December 12: Louisiana ââ'¬" Monroe, Rec Hall (Las Vegas Classic)
This will be the first meeting in program history against Warhawks, who finished last season with a 24-14 record and the third-largest turnaround (+14 wins) in the nation from the previous season. They fell to Loyola-Chicago in the CBI championship series.
Rec Hall Note: Penn State last played in Rec Hall during the 2013-14 season in a Return to Rec event that marked the first men's basketball game played there since the Nittany Lions defeated Wisconsin, 79-50, in the building on Jan. 7, 1996. From 1926-96, the Lions compiled a stellar 514-183 (73.7%) record in Rec Hall, including a 45-game win streak from 1951-55.
December 14-18: FINALS WEEK
December 19: Drexel, The Palestra
The Lions will try to tame the Dragons at Philadelphia's famed Palestra to close out the off-campus series started last season when Penn State took a home game to Allentown's PPL Center. Penn State is improved to 5-0 all-time vs. Drexel with the 73-68 win last season in the first meeting between the teams since 1992.
Colorado: December 22, Orleans Arena (Las Vegas Classic)
This is just the second meeting in program history between Penn State and Colorado and the first in 76 years. The Buffaloes defeated the Nittany Lions, 29-26, in a neutral-site game played in Hershey, Pa., Jan. 2, 1939.
SMU/Kent State: December 23, Orleans Arena (Las Vegas Classic)
Penn State is 2-1 all-time vs. SMU after playing three-consecutive seasons in 1980-82. The Lions are 12-3 vs. Kent State all-time, dating back to 1937. The last meeting was a 81-74 PSU victory in the quarterfinals of the NIT March 22, 2000.
Las Vegas Classic Note: The two games scheduled in Las Vegas as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic will be the first trip to the Pacific Time Zone for the Nittany Lions since playing in the Golden Bear Classic to close out the non-conference slate during 2001-02 season. They defeated Coppin State, 66-49, Dec. 28 before falling to host Cal, 76-73, Dec. 29.
Big Ten Breakdown
The Big Ten schedule will be announced later this summer with the following home and away games.
Home: Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Away: Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers
Home/Away: Iowa, Michigan (home game at MSG), Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern
Michigan Matchup
The Nittany Lions and Wolverines will take part in a historic Big Ten men's basketball and hockey doubleheader Jan. 30, 2016, in the first of four annual events at The World's Most Famous Arena, which also will host the 2018 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Feb. 28-March 4 of that year. Big Ten men's basketball and hockey programs will play regular-season games at Madison Square Garden in late January or early February in 2016 through 2019.