Nittany Lions Return to Bryce Jordan Center to Host Bucknell SaturdayNittany Lions Return to Bryce Jordan Center to Host Bucknell Saturday
Penn State Athletics

Nittany Lions Return to Bryce Jordan Center to Host Bucknell Saturday




UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team returns home Saturday for a noon tipoff against local foe Bucknell inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air nationally on Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • The Nittany Lions return home Saturday to host local foe Bucknell in the 105th meeting between the two teams that are separated by less than 60 miles.
  • Penn State started the season 4-0, but is looking to get back in the win column after a three-game skid at the ESPN Events Invitational.
  • Kanye Clary is averaging 16.7 points per game on a 51.1 FG%. Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 14.0 points per game and a team-best 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS BUCKNELL

  • The Nittany Lions would move to 5-0 at home this season and win their 13th-straight home non-conference game.
  • Penn State would snap a three-game losing streak.

 
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY DAY

  • Saturday's game will be Schuylkill County Day inside the Bryce Jordan Center, an ode to Schuylkill County native and proud "Skook", head coach Mike Rhoades.
  • Rhoades grew up in Mahanoy City, Pa. where he attended Mahanoy Area High School before going on to a highly-decorated collegiate career at Lebanon Valley College. He is a member of the Mahanoy Area High School Hall of Fame, Lebanon Valley College Hall of Fame (team and individual), Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Hall of Fame, Central Chapter Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Eastern Chapter Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and Jerry Wolman, Northern Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

 
SCOUTING BUCKNELL

  • The Bison are 2-7 on the season and come to Happy Valley looking to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday.
  • Bucknell most recently dropped a 71-85 decision to a strong Princeton team Wednesday night.
  • Bucknell's two win this season came against Niagara (73-64, Nov. 11) and Southern Indiana (67-56, Nov. 20).
  • Jack Forrest leads the Bison with 15.4 points per game and 2.7 made 3-pointers per contest.
  • Elvin Edmonds IV (10.0 ppg). Noah Williamson (9.9 ppg) and Josh Bascoe (9.4 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST THE BISON

  • The Nittany Lions and Bison meet for the 105th time in program history Saturday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. The long-standing series dates back to 1897.
  • Penn State is 79-25 all-time against the Bison and the Nittany Lions have won 15 of the last 16 meetings dating back to 1994.
  • The two teams most recently met on Nov. 19, 2019, a 98-70 win for the Nittany Lions.

 
TURN UP THE PRESSURE

  • The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 17.14 turnovers per game, a mark that ranks 15th in the nation. Penn State forced a season-high 29 turnovers in its win over Morehead State.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored an average of 17.3 points off turnovers per game thus far this season.

 
NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINNING STREAK

  • The Nittany Lions have won 12-straight home non-conference games dating back to the 2021-22 season.
  • Penn State hasn't lost a non-conference game inside the Bryce Jordan Center since Dec. 1, 2021, a 58-63 loss to eventual Elite Eight-bound Miami (Fla.) in the 2021 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

 
CAN'T STOP CLARY

  • With a roster full of new faces, its a returning sophomore that has asserted himself for the Nittany Lions through the first seven games of the season in Kanye Clary.
  • Clary has scored 117 points through the first seven games of his sophomore season, matching his freshman year total of 117 points (32 games). The Virginia Beach, Va. native played limited minutes as a freshman behind Penn State's veteran 2022-23 backcourt that included two 2023 NBA Draft picks and five 1,000-point scorers. Clary's 16.7 points per game leads the team. He has scored in double figures in six games this season, including three 20-plus point efforts.

 
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 seven games as a Nittany Lion, averaging 14.0 points per game, 3.3 assists per contest and 2.1 steals per game.

 
BIG Q

  • Graduate student Qudus Wahab owns career marks of 1,100 points and 804 rebounds, making him one of just 15 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 points and 800 rebounds.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions open Big Ten play next week, beginning with a Wednesday trip to Maryland for a 7 p.m. tipoff on the Big Ten Network.

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