Nittany Lions Open 2022-23 Season Monday Night Against WinthropNittany Lions Open 2022-23 Season Monday Night Against Winthrop
PSU Athletics/Selders

Nittany Lions Open 2022-23 Season Monday Night Against Winthrop


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season officially begins Monday night when the Nittany Lions host Winthrop at 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Basketball Game Day Parking

  • Parking for Penn State men's basketball games at the Bryce Jordan Center will be available at the following locations two hours prior to the start of each game: Stadium West, Jordan East and Porter North.
  • There is no charge for patrons with a valid Penn State parking permit.
  • Pre-paid parking is available at a discounted rate of $5.50 through the ParkMobile app. Season-long packages are also available.
  • Parking will cost $10 on the day of an event without a valid permit or prepayment.
  • ParkMobile prepayment availability ends at 11:59 p.m. the night before each event. Events will not be selectable on the site after that time, and payment must then be made on site upon arrival to event parking staff (cash only).

Mobile Ticketing and Updated App

  • All Penn State Athletics tickets are once again mobile tickets.  Fans can access Penn State Athletics mobile ticket guide at GoPSUsports.com/mobiletickets.
  • Make sure to have the NEW Penn State Athletics App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app now on the App Store and Google Play.

 
Bryce Jordan Center Bag Policy

  • The University has updated its bag policy for the 2022-23 season.
  • Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVB and are 12" x 6" x 12" or smaller are permitted.
  • Small clutches or wristlets that are 4" x 6" x 1" are also permissible.
  • All clear bags and patrons are subject to metal detection and/or bag inspection upon entering the venue.
  • Bag policy details can be found HERE.

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The 2022-23 season officially begins Monday night when the Nittany Lions host Winthrop inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Penn State enters its second season under Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry. Shrewsberry immediately put his stamp on the Nittany Lion program during his first season at the helm, engineering the Big Ten's best scoring defense and leading the Nittany Lions to wins over five NCAA Tournament teams.
  • The Nittany Lions return three of their top five scorers, four starters and eight letterwinners from a season ago.
  • Jalen Pickett (13.3 ppg), a 2022-23 Preseason All-Big Ten selection, and Seth Lundy (11.9) were Penn State's top two scorers a season ago.
  • Penn State added three highly-accomplished graduate transfers over the offseason in Andrew Funk (Bucknell), Camren Wynter (Drexel) and Michael Henn (Denver). The three have combined for 3,666 career points, 1,236 career rebounds and 901 career assists in 341 Division I games.
  • Penn State's five-man freshman class, Shrewsberry's first recruiting class, is the highest-ranked class in program history. It ranks as a consensus top-30 class by all major recruiting services.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS WINTHROP

  • Penn State would win its season opener for the sixth-straight year.
  • The Nittany Lions would improve to 7-0 all-time against current members of the Big South Conference.

 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES

  • The Eagles are coming off a 2021-22 season that saw Winthrop go 23-9 overall and 14-2 in conference play. The Eagles advanced to the Big South Tournament title game before falling to champion Longwood.
  • Winthrop enters its second season under head coach Mark Prosser who led the Eagles to 23 wins in his first season, the most wins by a first-year head coach in Big South history.
  • The Eagles return three of their top five scorers from a 2021-22 season that saw Winthrop average 75.2 points per game.
  • Forward Cory Hightower is Winthrop's leading returning scorer after averaging 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
  • Kelton Talford (8.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Micheal Anumba (7.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg) also return for the Eagles.

 
AGAINST WINTHROP

  • Penn State and Winthrop meet for the first time in program history in the 2022-23 season opener.
  • The Nittany Lions are 6-0 all-time against current members of the Big South. Penn State's last contest against a current Big South team was against Campbell on Nov. 10, 2017, an 86-75 home win for the Nittany Lions.

 
YEAR TWO

  • Penn State enters its second season under head coach Micah Shrewsberry in 2022-23. Shrewsberry came to Penn State with a wealth of experience and success at both the collegiate and NBA levels, having coached in six NCAA Tournaments, two NCAA Final Fours, five NBA Playoffs and two NBA Conference Finals.
  • Shrewsberry immediately put his stamp on the Nittany Lion program during his first season at the helm. He engineered the Big Ten's best scoring defense in 2021-22 and guided the Nittany Lions to their best defensive season (65.0 points allowed per game) in 11 years. The Nittany Lions advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament after winning two postseason games, making Shrewsberry one of just two first-year Big Ten coaches since 2008 to win two Big Ten Tournament games. The regular season saw Penn State earn a number of statement wins, including victories over 19th-ranked Michigan State, Big Ten Tournament champion Iowa, and NCAA Tournament participants Indiana and Rutgers.

 
CORE RETURNEES

  • An experienced group of returnees headline the 2022-23 roster as Penn State returns four starters and eight letterwinners from the 2021-22 campaign.
  • The Nittany Lions' 2021-22 leading scorer returns in Jalen Pickett. The guard led Penn State in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (135), steals (35) and minutes played (37.2 mpg) a season ago. Senior Seth Lundy is coming off a 2021-22 season in which he finished as the team's second-leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.9 ppg) while emerging as the team's top defender.
  • Myles Dread sits in the top five in program history in career 3-pointers made and returns to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Penn State also returns junior Dallion Johnson who broke into the starting lineup for the final 14 games of the 2021-22 season, in addition to classmate Caleb Dorsey.

 
TRANSFER HAUL

  • The Nittany Lions added three highly-accomplished graduate transfers this spring who have combined for 3,666 career points, 1,236 career rebounds and 901 career assists in 341 Division I games.
  • Guards Andrew Funk (Bucknell) and Camren Wynter (Drexel) each averaged double-digit points in their final three seasons at their respective previous institutions and are primed to bolster an already strong backcourt. Forward Mikey Henn (Denver) will add experience to an otherwise young frontcourt. 

 
HIGHEST-RANKED CLASS IN PROGRAM HISTORY

  • Penn State's five-man freshman class, Shrewsberry's first recruiting class, is the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and ranks as a consensus top-30 class in the nation by all major recruiting services.
  • The five-man class is comprised of guards Jameel Brown (Philadelphia, Pa.), Kanye Clary (Virginia Beach, Va.), wing Evan Mahaffey (Cincinnati, Ohio), and forwards Demetrius Lilley (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Kebba Njie (Centerville, Ohio).

 
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 6,215 career points, 2,034 career rebounds and 1,614 career assists throughout their collegiate careers.

 
THE CAPTAINS

  • Four Nittany Lions were elected as captains for the 2022-23 season: Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy, Myles Dread and Andrew Funk.
  • Shrewsberry had this to say about his four captains: "Jalen, Seth, Andrew and Myles have each been great leaders for our program throughout the summer and fall. Not only have they served as on-court leaders for their teammates, but each of them has also helped drive and enforce the culture of our program. All four of them play an important role for our team this year and are very deserving of the captain title."

 
PRESEASON NODS FOR PICKETT

  • Guard Jalen Pickett was named to the 2022-23 Preseason All-Big Ten Team heading into the 2022-23 season.
  • Pickett is coming off a 2021-22 season in which he led the Nittany Lions in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (135) and steals (35). The guard ranked second on the team in blocks (19), third in rebounds (133) and served as one of the Nittany Lions' toughest defenders. He led the Big Ten and ranked 11th in all of Division I with 37.2 minutes per game and ranked second in the conference and 27th in the country with a 2.45 assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • The Rochester, N.Y. native scored in double figures in 25 games a season ago with four 20-point efforts. Pickett led Penn State at the Big Ten Tournament, averaging 18.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per tournament game.

 
1,500/500/500

  • Jalen Pickett (1,552 points, 506 rebounds, 598 assists) enters the 2022-23 season as one of just two active Division I players with career marks of 1,500+ points, 500+ rebounds and 500+ assists.
  • Wyoming's Hunter Maldonado (1,707 points, 668 rebounds, 513 assists) is the only other active DI player to have reached the multi-faceted achievement.
  • Grad transfer Camren Wynter (1,657 points, 493 rebounds, 577 assists) is just seven rebounds away from joining Pickett in the exclusive 1,500/500/500 club.

 
LOCKED IN ON LUNDY

  • Senior Seth Lundy emerged as one of the Big Ten's best defenders during the 2021-22 season and was consistently tasked with guarding the opposing team's top scoring threat. He finished his junior campaign as the team's second-leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.9 ppg), while leading the team in blocks (20) and finishing third in steals (30). Lundy shot a team-best (min. 10 att.) 86.7 percent (52-60) from the free-throw line and drained a team-leading 64 3-pointers.
  • Lundy enters his fourth year with the Nittany Lion program, but it will be the first time in his collegiate career that he's playing for the same head coach in back-to-back years. Both Lundy and Shrewsberry have noted that Lundy looks and feels much more comfortable this year than he has in the past thanks to the continuity in systems between year one and year two under Shrewsberry.

 
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 enters his final season in the Blue & White with 232 career 3-pointers, the fifth-most in Penn State history.
  • Dread has proven to have a knack for clutch shots throughout his Nittany Lion career. He hit game-winning 3-pointers in the final minute vs. Yale (11/23/19), Rutgers (2/26/20) and VCU (12/2/20), and the game-tying 3-pointer to send game to double-overtime vs. Iowa (1/31/22).
  • Dread shot a career-best 40.7 percent (55-135) from 3-point range during the 2021-22 season and ranked second on the team with 55 made 3-pointers despite battling a season-long injury.

 
THE 2022-23 SLATE

  • Penn State hosts 16 home games inside the Bryce Jordan Center to highlight the 2022-23 schedule.
  • The Nittany Lions play their first three games of the season at home before heading to the Charleston Classic for three tournament contests. Penn State's only true road game of non-conference play comes on Nov. 29 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Clemson.
  • The Nittany Lions open conference play at home on Dec. 7 when Penn State hosts Michigan State. Five weekend games inside the Bryce Jordan Center highlight the Nittany Lions' home conference slate, while Penn State will also host Purdue in the historic Palestra on Sunday, Jan. 8.

 
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY

  • The home court advantage has been friendly to the Nittany Lions, as Penn State is 64-30 (.681) when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center over the last six years.
  • Penn State announced in June 2022 that the Legion of Blue, the official student section for Penn State Men's Basketball, will be relocated to behind the home and visiting team benches, with additional student seating continuing to be behind the baskets.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State remains home Thursday to welcome Loyola (Md.) to the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.