Penn State Hosts St. Francis (Pa.) in Tuesday Night TiltPenn State Hosts St. Francis (Pa.) in Tuesday Night Tilt
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Hosts St. Francis (Pa.) in Tuesday Night Tilt


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team looks to continue its strong start to the 2023-24 season Tuesday night when the Nittany Lions host local foe St. Francis (Pa.) inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

  • PARKING: Parking for all athletic events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each game using Prepaid ParkMobile for $5.50, or can be purchased on game day for $10. Parking for men's basketball can be found at Jordan East, Stadium West, or Porter North lots.
  • MOBILE TICKETING: 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 updated Penn State Athletics App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app on the App Store and Google Play.
  • CLEAR BAG POLICY: The Bryce Jordan Center has a clear bag policy. 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, as well as one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags. 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 Nittany Lions play the third contest of a season-opening four-game homestand Tuesday night when Penn State welcomes local foe St. Francis (Pa.) to the BJC.
  • Penn State is 2-0 on the young season after collecting wins over Delaware State and Lehigh. The Nittany Lion defense has shined, holding its opponents to a 33.3 FG% and 13.8 3FG%.
  • Kanye Clary is averaging 21.0 points per game on a 60.0 FG%. Qudus Wahab is averaging a Big Ten-best 15.5 rebounds per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS ST. FRANCIS

  • Penn State would start the season 3-0 for the second-straight year and the third time in the last five years.
  • The Nittany Lions would win their 11th-straight home non-conference game.

 
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH

  • The Red Flash are 0-3 on the young season after a three-game California road trip to open the 2023-24 season.
  • St. Francis opened the season with a 44-75 loss at UCLA before falling to San Francisco (52-84) and Santa Clara (59-82) last week.
  • Cam Gregory has led the Red Flash with 9.7 points per game thus far this season, while Gestin Liberis (7.3 ppg) and Wisler Sanon (6.0 ppg) follow.
  • St. Francis is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the Red Flash finish 13-17 overall and 9-7 in the Northeast Conference.

 
AGAINST ST. FRANCIS

  • Penn State and St. Francis (Pa.), separated by just 62 miles, meet for the 12th time in program history and the first time since 2012.
  • The Nittany Lions are 9-2 all-time against the Red Flash.
  • Penn State has won the last five meetings, including a 65-58 home win in the most recent meeting on Nov. 9, 2012.
  • Penn State hasn't lost to St. Francis since a 63-68 overtime loss in 1978.

 
HOT START

  • The Nittany Lions are off to a strong start to the Mike Rhoades era as Penn State sits at 2-0 for the sixth time in the last season seasons.
  • Penn State opened the season with a dominant 79-45 wire-to-wire win over Delaware State last Monday night. The Nittany Lions then took down a strong Lehigh team 74-65 Friday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions and Mountain Hawks were tied at 38 at the half, but the Penn State defense clamped down in the second half as Lehigh shot just 30.0 percent from the field and Penn State racked up nine second-half steals.
  • Sophomores Kanye Clary (21.0 ppg, 60.0 FG%) and Jameel Brown (14.0 ppg, 80.0 3FG%) have been Penn State's leading scorers through the first two games of the season. Senior Ace Baldwin Jr. is averaging 10.5 points and 3.5 assists per game, while graduate student Qudus Wahab is averaging a Big Ten-best 15.5 rebounds per game to go along with 9.0 ppg.

 
HAPPY VALLEY HAVOC

  • The Penn State defense has shined through the first two games of the season.
  • The Nittany Lions have held their opponents to a 33.3 percent clip from the field and 13.8 percent mark from 3-point range, marks that rank 25th and fourth in the nation, respectively.  Penn State has collected 22 steals and 14 blocks through its first two games combined.

 
SOPHOMORES SHINING

  • With a roster full of new faces, it's two returnees that have asserted themselves for the Nittany Lions through the first two games of the season in Kanye Clary and Jameel Brown.
  • The two returning sophomores combined for 129 points a season ago while playing limited minutes behind Penn State's veteran 2022-23 backcourt that included two 2023 NBA Draft picks, a current NBA G League player and five 1,000-point scorers. Clary (21.0 ppg) and Brown (14.0 ppg) have already combined for 70 points through two games this season and are currently Penn State's top two scorers.

 
BIG Q ON THE BOARDS

  • Graduate student Qudus Wahab currently ranks second in the nation in rebounds per game (as of Nov. 13) with 15.5 boards per contest.
  • Wahab, who came to Penn State for his fifth season after three seasons at Georgetown and one at Maryland, owns career marks of 1,048 points and 768 rebounds. He tallied 13 rebounds and seven points in Penn State's season opener vs. Delaware State before pulling down a career-best 18 rebounds to go along with 11 points for his first double-double in the Blue & White against Lehigh.

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Penn State and Nittany Lion players rank in the top 25 in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Nov. 13:
Team Stat Value National Rank
3FG% defense 13.8% 4
Blocks per game 7.0 19
Scoring defense 55.0 20
FG% defense 33.3% 25
Player Stat Value National Rank
Rebounds/game – Qudus Wahab 15.5 2
3FG% - Jameel Brown 80.0% 4
3FG/game – Jameel Brown 4.0 17
Steals/game – Ace Baldwin Jr. 3.5 18

 
 
ALL RHOADES LEAD TO HAPPY VALLEY

  • Mike Rhoades was announced as the 15th men's basketball head coach in Penn State history on March 29, 2023.
  • Rhoades came to Penn State following a six-year stint as the head coach at VCU in which he guided the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a 129-60 overall record and 72-32 Atlantic 10 Conference record.
  • In his 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach prior to arrival at Penn State, Rhoades, a Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania native, produced a 373-189 record, a winning percentage of .664, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and nine national postseason appearances.

 
FUTURE SURE LOOKS BRIGHT

  • Mike Rhoades and his Penn State staff signed the 31st-ranked recruiting class in the nation (per Rivals) last week on National Signing Day.

    • Jahvin Carter - 6-3 Guard - Alcoa, Tenn. - Alcoa High School
      • Ranked as No. 2 player in state of Tennessee. 2,000-point scorer who led Alcoa High School to first state championship in 56 years as tournament MVP.
    • Miles Goodman - 6-11 Forward - Seattle, Wash. - SoCal Academy
      • Second-highest ranked signee in program history. Rivals Top-100 prospect.
    • Dominick Stewart - 6-5 Guard - Ocean Springs, Miss. - SoCal Academy
      • Sharpshooter that ranks as a top-35 combo guard in the 2024 class. Earned All-Breakout Team honors at 2023 Peach Jam.

 
LIONS IN THE LEAGUE

  • Penn State is well-represented on 2023-24 NBA rosters. Three Nittany Lion alumni are on NBA rosters, while two others are in the front office and coaching ranks:
    • Lamar Stevens '20 - Boston Celtics - Fourth season in NBA
      • Signed with Boston in September after 3 seasons with Cleveland
    • Jalen Pickett '23 - Denver Nuggets - Rookie season
      • Drafted as No. 32 overall pick by Nuggets in 2023 NBA Draft
    • Seth Lundy '23 - Atlanta Hawks - Rookie season
      • Drafted as No. 46 overall pick by Hawks in 2023 NBA Draft
    • Calvin Booth '98 - General Manager - Denver Nuggets
      • Front office mastermind behind Denver's first title run in franchise history in 2023
    • Andrew Jones '11 - Assistant Coach - Toronto Raptors
      • First season with Raptors after previous stops with Pistons, 76ers
  • The Nittany Lions also currently have three players on NBA G League rosters:
    • Andrew Funk M'23 - Grand Rapids Gold - Affiliate of Denver Nuggets
    • Josh Reaves '19 - Rio Grand Valley Vipers - Affiliate of Houston Rockets
    • Izaiah Brockington '21 – Birmingham Squadron – Affiliate of New Orleans Pelicans

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions close out their season-opening four-game homestand with a tough test against defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Morehead State Friday night at 7 p.m. on Peacock.

 
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.