CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Penn State men's basketball team will take on Colorado State in the third-place game of the Charleston Classic Sunday night at TD Arena. Tipoff of the tournament finale is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: ESPNU – Jay Alter (pxp) & Debbie Antonelli (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network with Steve Jones & Dick Jerardi – 103.7 FM & 1450 AM
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- BRACKET: Charleston Classic Bracket
- GAME NOTES: Penn State Notes
- TICKETS: Tickets
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State and Colorado State meet in the third-place game of the Charleston Classic Sunday night. Both teams suffered their first losses of the season in Friday's semifinal matchups, with Penn State falling to Virginia Tech (59-61) and the Rams losing to Charleston (64-74).
- Preseason All-Big Ten pick Jalen Pickett is averaging 14.4 points and 8.4 assists per game to lead four Nittany Lions in double figures. Andrew Funk (12.6 ppg), Myles Dread (10.8 ppg) and Seth Lundy (10.8 ppg) follow.
IF PENN STATE BEATS COLORADO STATE
- Penn State would claim third place in the eight-team Charleston Classic.
- The Nittany Lions would improve to 5-1 on the season.
- Penn State would earn its first-ever win over Colorado State.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
- The Rams are off to a 4-1 start to the season after finishing the 2021-22 campaign with a 25-6 overall record and earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- Colorado State dropped its first game of the season in the Charleston Classic Semifinals on Friday, falling to tournament host Charleston 64-74. The Rams opened the Charleston Classic Thursday with a dominant 85-53 victory over South Carolina.
- The Rams' other three wins this season came against Weber State (77-52), Southeastern Louisiana (80-69) and Gardner-Webb (65-63).
AGAINST COLORADO STATE
- Penn State and Colorado State meet for the second time in program history Sunday evening.
- The only other meeting between the two programs came in the 1971 Volunteer Classic in Knoxville, Tenn., as Colorado State defeated the Nittany Lions 70-63.
- Penn State is 1-2 all-time against current members of the Mountain West, with meetings coming against New Mexico State (1-1) and Colorado State (0-1). The Nittany Lions haven't faced a current member of the Mountain West since 2003.
4-1
- Penn State is off to a 4-1 start to the season and coming off its first loss, a close 59-61 defeat to RV/RV Virginia Tech Friday.
- The Nittany Lions opened the season with a pair of 25-point wins over Winthrop (93-68) and Loyola Maryland (90-65). Penn State earned a pair of closer victories over Butler (68-62) and Furman (73-68) before falling to the Hokies in the Nittany Lions' first loss of the season.
- Four Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points to lead the Penn State offense. Preseason All-Big Ten selection Jalen Pickett leads the way with 14.4 points, 8.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Andrew Funk (12.6 ppg), Myles Dread (10.8 ppg) and Seth Lundy (10.8 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.
- Penn State opened the Charleston Classic with a 73-68 win over Furman Thursday afternoon. The Nittany Lions fended off a furious Furman comeback attempt to hold on for the five-point win. Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy led Penn State with 20 points apiece.
- The Nittany Lions had a comparatively cold shooting afternoon in Friday's semifinal matchup with Virginia Tech, as Penn State found itself in a 16-point hole midway through the first half. Penn State rallied back within two points and had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but the Hokies held on for the 61-59 win. Andrew Funk (21 points) and Myles Dread (15 points) combined for 10 3-pointers in the Penn State loss.
- Penn State now faces a Colorado State team that was a six seed in last year's NCAA Tournament Sunday evening in the third-place game of the Charleston Classic. The Rams defeated South Carolina (85-53) in their Thursday matchup before falling to tournament host Charleston (64-74) Friday evening.
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
- Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 25 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Nov. 19:
| Team Stat | Value | National Rank |
| 3FG made/game | 13.2 | 1 |
| 3FG% | 44.3% | 14 |
| Assist-to-turnover ratio | 1.81 | 14 |
| Effective FG% | 0.605 | 17 |
| Assists/game | 18.8 | 23 |
| Player Stat – Player | Value | National Rank |
| Total Assists – Jalen Pickett | 42 | 1 |
| Total 3FG made – Myles Dread | 18 | 1 |
| Total 3FG made – Andrew Funk | 17 | 3 |
| Assists/game – Jalen Pickett | 8.4 | 4 |
| 3FG% - Myles Dread | 54.4% | 28 |
MAKE IT RAIN
- Penn State leads the nation with 13.2 3-pointers made per game. The Nittany Lions are shooting the long ball at a 44.3 percent (66-149) clip, a mark that ranks 14th 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.
- Penn State has made double-digit 3-pointers in all five of its games this season.
THE MAESTRO
- Preseason All-Big Ten selection Jalen Pickett has put on a show through the first five games of the season, leading the Nittany Lions in points (14.4 ppg), rebounds (5.8 rpg), assists (8.4 apg), blocks (4) and steals (8).
- Pickett leads the nation with 42 assists thus far this season (as of Nov. 19), while his 8.4 assists per game lead the Big Ten and rank fourth nationally.
- Pickett put together the second triple-double and first points-rebounds-assists triple-double in Penn State history Nov. 14 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.
DREAD FROM DEEP
- Myles Dread is off to a hot start this season and currently leads the nation with 18 3-pointers made through games on Nov. 18. Dread is shooting 54.5 percent (18-33) from downtown, a mark that ranks in the top 30 amongst Division I players.
- Dread returned to Penn State for his fifth season to utilize his extra year of eligibility and already has his name etched in the Penn State record books. Dread has drained 250 career 3-pointers, the fifth-most in Penn State history.
SHARING THE ROCK
- The Nittany Lions have tallied 15 or more assists in all five of their games this season after reaching the 15-assist mark just six times all of last season.
UP NEXT
- Having played six games in a span of 13 days, Penn State returns home Friday to host in-state foe Lafayette in a Black Friday battle inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.