Nittany Lions Open Big Ten Play at Maryland WednesdayNittany Lions Open Big Ten Play at Maryland Wednesday
Penn State Athletics

Nittany Lions Open Big Ten Play at Maryland Wednesday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team kicks off conference play Wednesday night when the Nittany Lions travel to Maryland for their Big Ten opener at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Big Ten play begins Wednesday night as the Nittany Lions travel to Maryland.
  • Penn State started the season 4-0, but is looking to get back in the win column after a four-game skid.
  • Kanye Clary is averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game, while Ace Baldwin Jr. has contributed 14.4 points and a Big Ten-best 2.4 steals per game. Qudus Wahab is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.0 points and 9.4 boards per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS MARYLAND

  • Penn State would win its Big Ten opener for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
  • The Nittany Lions would defeat Maryland in College Park, Md. for just the third time in series history.

 
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS

  • The Terrapins are 4-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference play after opening Big Ten action with a 53-65 loss at Indiana on Friday night.
  • Maryland is 4-0 at home, but Penn State will be the first power conference team to visit the XFinity Center this season.
  • Preseason All-Big Ten guard Jahmir Young leads the Terps with 16.4 points and 4.0 assists per game.
  • Big man Julian Reese is nearly averaging a double-double with 14.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Donta Scott (9.3 ppg) and DeShawn Harris-Smith (8.1 ppg) follow.

 
AGAINST MARYLAND

  • The Nittany Lions and Terrapins will meet in Penn State's Big Ten opener and the regular-season finale this season.
  • Maryland holds a slim 16-15 advantage in the all-time series.
  • The two teams split last year's regular-season series, with the home team winning each game.
  • The Nittany Lions erased a 16-point deficit and closed the game on a 20-7 run, capped off by an offensive rebound and putback by Camren Wynter with 0.5 seconds to play, to give Penn State a 65-64 victory over #21 Maryland in the most recent meeting between the two teams on March 5, 2023 in Happy Valley.

 
B1G TIME

  • Big Ten play begins Wednesday night for the Nittany Lions as Penn State travels to Maryland. Penn State finished tied for ninth in the conference standings a season ago at 10-10.
  • The Nittany Lions open Big Ten play on the road for the 11th time in the last 15 years, but the first time since the 2020-21 season.
  • The Big Ten Conference was the first to move to a 20-game league schedule and began the new format for the 2018-19 season. The first year of early December Big Ten Conference games in 2017-18 sent Penn State to Iowa and gave the Nittany Lions their first conference-opening win since 2010.

 
TURN UP THE PRESSURE

  • The Nittany Lions have forced their opponents into 16.75 turnovers per game, a mark that ranks 20th 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 16.6 points off turnovers per game thus far this season.

 
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 eight games of the season in Kanye Clary.
  • Clary has scored 121 points through the first eight games of his sophomore season, already outdoing his freshman year total of 117 points that was accomplished in 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 15.1 points per game leads the team. He has scored in double figures in six games this season, including three 20-plus point efforts.

 
BIG Q

  • Graduate student Qudus Wahab owns career marks of 1,118 points and 812 rebounds, making him one of just 15 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 points and 800 rebounds.
  • Wahab is shooting a team-best 69.8 percent from the field. He is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

 
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 eight games as a Nittany Lion, averaging 14.4 points per game, 3.3 assists per contest and a Big Ten-best 2.4 steals per game.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State returns home for its conference home opener Saturday when the Nittany Lions host the #RV/25 Ohio State Buckeyes at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

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