Penn State Opens Three-Game Charleston Classic Thursday Against FurmanPenn State Opens Three-Game Charleston Classic Thursday Against Furman
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Opens Three-Game Charleston Classic Thursday Against Furman

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Penn State men's basketball team begins the three-game Charleston Classic Thursday morning when the Nittany Lions face a strong Furman squad in an opening round matchup at 11:30 a.m. on ESPNU. The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
 
The winner of Thursday's Penn State-Furman game will then take on the winner of the Virginia Tech-Old Dominion game on Friday at noon, while the other two teams will match up at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

3-0

  • Penn State is off to its first 3-0 start to the season since the 2019-20 campaign.
  • The Nittany Lions opened the season with a pair of 25-point wins over Winthrop (93-68) and Loyola Maryland (90-65) before taking down Butler (68-62) in the Gavitt Tipoff Games Monday night.
  • Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points to lead the Penn State offense. Preseason All-Big Ten selection Jalen Pickett leads the way with 14.3 points, 9.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game and is coming off a triple-double performance against Butler Monday night. Camren Wynter (12.7 ppg), Andrew Funk (12.0 ppg), Myles Dread (10.0 ppg) and Seth Lundy (10.0 ppg) follow.


THE CHARLESTON CLASSIC

  • The 2022 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic features a loaded field of eight teams competing in 12 games over three days at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.
  • The strong field includes three teams that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago in Colorado State, Davidson and Virginia Tech.
  • Penn State begins action in the tournament opener at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 against Furman on ESPNU. The Nittany Lions then play either Virginia Tech or Old Dominion on Friday, Nov. 18 at either noon or 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU. Penn State then faces a team on the other side of the bracket in the College of Charleston, Colorado State, Davidson or South Carolina, on Sunday, Nov. 20.
  • The bracket-format tournament features 12 games over three days with teams competing once per day, regardless of results. The two unbeaten teams will face off in a championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20. All 12 games of the Charleston Classic will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.

 
SCOUTING FURMAN

  • The Paladins are 2-0 on the young season and will be playing for the first time since Friday, Nov. 11, when Furman and Penn State meet in the Charleston Classic opener Thursday.
  • Furman opened the season with a 91-55 win over North Greenville on Nov. 7 before taking down Belmont 89-74 on Nov. 11.
  • Mike Bothwell leads Furman with 20.5 points per game.

 
SCOUTING OLD DOMINION

  • Old Dominion is 2-1 on the season after picking up wins over Virginia Wesleyan (72-58) and UMES (84-65). The Monarchs' sole loss came at Drexel on Nov. 11, a 59-71 defeat.
  • Three Monarchs are averaging double-digit points, led by Ben Stanley's 17.3 points per game. Tyreek Scott-Grayson follows with 11.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg, while Mekhi Long is averaging 10.3 points and a team-best 9.3 boards per game.

 
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH

  • Virginia Tech is 3-0 heading to the Charleston Classic. The Hokies open tournament action Thursday against Old Dominion.
  • The Hokies' three wins have come over Delaware State (95-57), Lehigh (78-52) and William & Mary (94-77).
  • Four Hokies are averaging double-digit points, led by Sean Pedulla's 20.0 points per game.

 
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

  • Penn State's potent offense has led the Nittany Lions to their 3-0 start. The Nittany Lions are averaging 83.7 points per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from 3-point range. Penn State has tallied 63 assists on 93 made field goals through its first three games.
  • The 2022-23 season is just over a week old, but here's a look at where Penn State's offensive marks rank nationally as of Nov. 15:
Stat Value National Rank
3FG made per game 14.7 1
Effective FG% 0.653 6
Assist-to-turnover ratio 2.10 11
3FG% 47.8% 12
Assists/game 21.0 19

 
MAKE IT RAIN

  • Penn State leads the nation with 14.7 3-pointers made per game (as of Nov. 15). The Nittany Lions are shooting the long ball at a 47.8 percent (44-92) clip, a mark that ranks 12th in the country.
  • The 3-point line has existed in the college game for 36 years. Heading into this season, Penn State had never made more than 15 3-pointers in a single game, but the Nittany Lions did so twice in the first two games of the season.
  • Penn State drilled a program-record 18 3-pointers in the Nov. 7 season opener against Winthrop, besting the previous school mark of 15 that was reached on three occasions, most recently on Nov. 21, 2021 against Cornell. The Nittany Lions followed that up with 16 treys on Nov. 10 against Loyola Maryland.

 
THE MAESTRO

  • Preseason All-Big Ten selection Jalen Pickett has put on a show through the first three games of the season, leading the Nittany Lions in points (14.3 ppg), rebounds (6.0 rpg), assists (9.0 apg), blocks (3) and steals (4).
  • Pickett put together the second triple-double and first points-rebounds-assists triple-double in Penn State history Monday night against Butler with his 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Penn State's only other triple-double came in 1998 when all-time great Calvin Booth tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against Dayton in an NIT game.
  • Pickett's triple-double was the first by a Big Ten player since the 2020-21 season when Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois reached the milestone on Feb. 22, 2021.
  • Pickett leads the nation with 27 assists thus far this season (as of Nov. 15), while his 9.0 assists per game lead the Big Ten and rank fifth nationally.

 
90+

  • Penn State's 90 points against Loyola Maryland and 93 points against Winthrop marked the first time since December 2016 that Penn State scored 90 points in back-to-back games (92 in win over St. John's on Dec. 18, 2016 and 96 in win over Morgan State on Dec. 21, 2016).

 
SHARING THE ROCK

  • The Nittany Lions have tallied 18 or more assists in all three of their games this season after reaching the 18-assist mark just once a season ago.
  • Penn State dished 21 assists on Nov. 10 against Loyola Maryland after tallying 24 in the Nov. 7 season opener against Winthrop. It marked the first time Penn State has recorded 20-plus assists in back-to-back games since Jan. 2, 2018 (20 at Maryland) and Dec. 30, 2017 (22 vs. Coppin State).

 
NITTANY LION DEPTH

  • The Penn State bench has scored 73 points (24.3 ppg) through the first three games.
  • Seven Nittany Lions are averaging 6.7 or more points per game. All 13 scholarship players have scored so far this season, while 10 different players have made a 3-pointer. 

 
1,500/500/500

  • Jalen Pickett (1,595 points, 524 rebounds, 625 assists) and Camren Wynter (1,695 points, 503 rebounds, 586 assists) are two of just three active Division I players with career marks of 1,500+ points, 500+ rebounds and 500+ assists.
  • Wyoming's Hunter Maldonado (1,747 points, 687 rebounds, 530 assists) is the only other active DI player to have reached the multi-faceted achievement.

 
TWO OF THE TOP SIX

  • Jalen Pickett and Camren Wynter rank No. 2 and No. 6 respectively in career assists amongst active Division I players. Pickett owns 625 assists while Wynter has 586.

 
DREAD FROM DEEP

  • Myles Dread returns to utilize his extra year of eligibility and already has his name etched in the Penn State record books. Dread has drained 242 career 3-pointers, the fifth-most in Penn State history.
  • Dread has been Penn State's most accurate shooter through the first three games of the season, shooting the long ball at a 62.5 percent (10-16) clip. That mark ranks second in the Big Ten and 31st in the country as of Nov. 15.

 
BEWARE OF THE BACKCOURT

  • Penn State boasts a strong and experienced backcourt for the 2022-23 season. The six upperclassmen of Jalen Pickett, Myles Dread, Andrew Funk, Dallion Johnson, Seth Lundy and Camren Wynter have combined for 6,402 career points, 2,098 career rebounds and 1,667 career assists throughout their collegiate careers.

 
UP NEXT

  • Following results of Thursday's and Friday's Charleston Classic games, Penn State will face a team on the other side of the bracket (College of Charleston, Colorado State, Davidson, South Carolina) on Sunday. Tipoff time and television designation will be dependent on Thursday and Friday results. The Charleston Classic Championship game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff Sunday.