Nittany Lions Wrap Up Homestand Friday Night against Morehead StateNittany Lions Wrap Up Homestand Friday Night against Morehead State
Penn State Athletics

Nittany Lions Wrap Up Homestand Friday Night against Morehead State


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 3-0 Penn State men's basketball team looks to continue its strong start to the season Friday night when the Nittany Lions host defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Morehead State. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on Peacock.
 
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 close out their season-opening four-game homestand Friday night when Penn State hosts defending OVC regular-season champion Morehead State.
  • The 3-0 Nittany Lions have won two of their games by 30 or more points, the first time in 44 years that Penn State has recorded two 30-point wins within the first three games of the season.
  • Kanye Clary (18.7), Ace Baldwin Jr. (10.7) and Qudus Wahab (10.0) are all averaging double-digit points to lead the Penn State offense.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS MOREHEAD STATE

  • Penn State would start the season 4-0 for the second-straight year and the third time in the last five years.
  • The Nittany Lions would win their 12th-straight home non-conference game.

 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES

  • The defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Eagles sit at 2-2 on the young season.
  • Morehead State is coming off a 74-66 home win over Mercer Tuesday night.
  • The Eagles are 0-2 on the road thus far this season after falling at Alabama (73-105) and at #3 Purdue (57-87) in their two road games.
  • Riley Minix leads Morehead State with 18.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Drew Thelwell follows with 14.0 points per game and a team-best 12 assists.

 
AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE

  • Penn State and Morehead State meet for just the second time in program history Friday night.
  • The Nittany Lions won the lone matchup between the two teams, 63-46, on Nov. 10, 2006 in Happy Valley.
  • Penn State is 4-0 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

 
DOMINANT START

  • The Nittany Lions are off to a strong start to the Mike Rhoades era as Penn State sits at 3-0 on the young season, with two of those three wins coming by 30 or more points.
  • It marks the first time since the 1979-80 season (44 years) that the Nittany Lions have collected two 30-point wins within their first three games of the season.
  • Penn State earned a 34-point victory (79-45) over Delaware State in the Nittany Lions' season opener on Nov. 6 before defeating St. Francis (Pa.) by 30 points (83-53) in PSU's most recent game Tuesday night.  

 
HAPPY VALLEY HAVOC

  • The trademark Mike Rhoades defense has been on full display through Penn State's first three games of the season.
  • The Nittany Lions have held their opponents to a 33.9 percent clip from the field and 18.8 percent mark from 3-point range, marks that rank 21st and sixth in the nation, respectively.
  • Penn State has collected 9.7 steals and 5.7 blocks per game its first three games, both of which rank second in the Big Ten.
  • Penn State's opponents are averaging 19.0 turnovers per game. The Nittany Lions have scored an averaged of 18.0 points off turnovers per contest.

 
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. 16:

Team Stat

Value

National Rank

3FG% defense

18.8%

6

Scoring defense

54.3

13

FG% defense

33.9%

21

Turnovers forced per game

19.0

22

Player Stat

Value

National Rank

3FG% - Jameel Brown

80.0%

3

Rebounds/game – Qudus Wahab

12.3

10

Steals/game – Ace Baldwin Jr.

3.3

17



SOPHOMORES SHINING

  • With a roster full of new faces, two returnees have asserted themselves for the Nittany Lions through the first three 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 (18.7 ppg) and Brown (9.3 ppg) have already combined for 84 points through three games this season. Clary is Penn State's leading scorer and Brown is shooting 80% (8-10) from 3-point range, a mark that ranks third in all of Division I.

 
BIG Q

  • Graduate student Qudus Wahab currently leads the Big Ten in rebounds per game (as of Nov. 16) with 12.3 boards per contest and is one of five Big Ten players averaging a double-double (10.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg) thus far into the season.
  • Wahab, who came to Penn State for his fifth season after three seasons at Georgetown and one at Maryland, owns career marks of 1,060 points and 774 rebounds. His 774 career rebounds rank in the top 20 amongst active career NCAA leaders.

 
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. earned well-deserved preseason recognition as a preseason top 20 finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award as well as being ranked as the No. 40 player on The Almanac's list of Top 100 Players entering the 2023-24 season.
  • Baldwin Jr. has stuffed the stat sheet through his first three games as a Nittany Lion, averaging 10.7 points per game, a Big Ten-best 3.3 steals per contest, a team-high 3.7 assists per game and 2.3 rebounds per game. 
  • Baldwin Jr. is in his first season at Penn State after transferring from VCU to rejoin Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades. The Baltimore, Md. native put together three standout seasons at VCU as a two-time all-conference pick and the 2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged double-digit points during both his sophomore and junior seasons and led the Rams in assists in all three of his seasons at VCU, while guiding the Rams to a 68-25 record, two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance through his three seasons at VCU.

 
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 hit the road for the first time this season during Thanksgiving week when Penn State travels to Kissimmee, Fla. for the ESPN Events Invitational. The loaded eight-team tournament field features six squads that made NCAA Tournament appearances a season ago.
  • Penn State opens the three-game tournament at noon on Thanksgiving Day when the Nittany Lions face #13 Texas A&M on ESPN.

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