Penn State Hosts St. Francis (Pa.) on Military Appreciation Night TuesdayPenn State Hosts St. Francis (Pa.) on Military Appreciation Night Tuesday

Penn State Hosts St. Francis (Pa.) on Military Appreciation Night Tuesday

Tipoff slated for 7 p.m. on Peacock

Tickets Watch - Peacock Listen Live Stats Game Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team wraps up a three-game, season-opening homestand Tuesday night when the Nittany Lions host local foe St. Francis (Pa.) on Military Appreciation Night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will stream 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 via ParkMobile prepayment, or on the day of via HONK (zone PSUCR). 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 HERE. Make sure to have the updated Nittany Lions 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

  • Penn State wraps up its season-opening homestand Tuesday night when the Nittany Lions host Saint Francis (Pa.) inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored 100+ points in each of their first two games, wins over Binghamton and UMBC. It marks the first time in program history that Penn State has scored 100+ points in back-to-back games.

IF PENN STATE BEATS ST. FRANCIS (PA.)

  • Penn State would start the season 3-0 for the third-straight year and the fourth time in the last six years.
  • The Nittany Lions would improve to 11-2 all-time vs. Saint Francis.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH

  • The Red Flash is 1-2 on the young season and coming off a dramatic 65-64 road win at Campbell Sunday afternoon. St. Francis opened the season with a pair of road losses at Dayton (57-87) and Clemson (62-88).
  • Ace Talbert is leading the team with 11.7 points per game and a 50.0 3FG% (7-14) through the first three games of the season. Bobby Rosenberger follows with 10.0 points per game.
  • The Red Flash is coming off a 2023-24 season that saw them finish 8-22 overall and 3-11 in the NEC. St. Francis returns seven letterwinners and three starters (Rosenberger, Talbert and Aidan Harris) from last year's team.

AGAINST ST. FRANCIS (PA.)

  • Penn State and St. Francis (Pa.), separated by just 62 miles, meet for the second-straight season and the 13th time in program history Tuesday night.
  • The Nittany Lions have won the last six meetings, including an 83-53 win last season on Nov. 14, 2023 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State led from wire-to-wire in the full-team effort that saw four Nittany Lions finish in double figures and 10 different players score.
  • Penn State hasn’t lost to St. Francis since a 63-68 overtime loss in 1978.

BACK-TO-BACK 100+

  • Two games, two 100+ point efforts. The Nittany Lions opened the season last Monday with a 108-66 win over Binghamton before earning a 103-54 victory over UMBC Friday night, marking the first time in program history that Penn State has scored 100+ points in back-to-back games.
  • It's the first time Penn State has had two 100-plus point games in the same season since the 1954-55 season.
  • They are Penn State’s first 100-plus point games since 2017 when the Nittany Lions scored 102 in triple overtime at Indiana and the 108-point effort vs. Binghamton was Penn State's first 100-plus point performance in a regulation game since 2009.

BALANCED ATTACK

  • Eight of the 12 players that have dressed in Penn State's first two games of the season have scored in double figures in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
  • Six different Nittany Lions scored in double figures in last Monday's season-opening win vs. Binghamton, marking the first time since Dec. 6, 2020 that Penn State had six double-digit scorers.

TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE

  • Penn State has collected 28 steals (14 steals per game) and owned a 52-15 advantage in points scored off turnovers through the first two games of the season.
  • Penn State has also controlled a 53-12 edge in second-chance points and 48-12 advantage in fast-break points.

 NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • The Nittany Lions rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through the first week of the regular season:

Team Stat

Value

National Rank

Scoring Margin

+45.5

5

Turnover Margin

11.0

5

Points per game

105.5

8

Blocks per game

7.5

8

Steals per game

14.0

10

Assist-to-turnover ratio

2.38

13

Bench points per game

45.5

13

Turnovers per game

8.0

15

Fastbreak points

24.0

22

Turnovers forced/game

19.0

25

 BRING ‘EM BACK

Stat

% returning in 2024-25

Points

58.9% (1,459/2,478)

Rebounds

48.3% (514/1,065)

Assists

73.4% (306/417)

Steals

65.1% (179/275)

Minutes

60.7% (4,038/6,650)

NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES

ONE OF ONE

  • Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,319), 600+ career assists (630) and 250+ career steals (276).
  • Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (276) and his 630 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.

BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE

  • Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, has burst onto the scene in his first two games in the Blue & White.
  • Konan Niederhauser is averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 63.2 percent (12-19) from the field through the first two games of the season.
  • The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.

GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Ace Baldwin Jr. earned a spot on the Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Watch List this preseason, in addition landing on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List and being named a Preseason All-Big Ten selection.
  • The point guard is coming off a senior season in which he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, a Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist, a Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, an NABC Second Team All-District 7 selection, a third-team All-Big Ten (coaches & media) pick and a Big Ten All-Defensive Team honoree. Baldwin Jr. was one of just four Big Ten players since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since 2011-12 to finish a season averaging 14.0+ points per game, 6.0+ assists per game and 2.0+ steals per game as season ago.
  • He is averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game through the first two games this season. He finished an astonishing +41 in Friday night's game vs. UMBC.

ZACH ATTACK

  • Senior Zach Hicks is averaging a team high-tying 17.0 points per game through the first two games of the season in addition to his 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He has shot 61.9 percent (13-21) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-13) from deep through the first two games of the season.
  • Hicks earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors a season ago after leading the Nittany Lions with 67 made 3-pointers and ranking second on the team in rebounds (130) and free throw percentage (81.3%). He averaged 12.2 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent (33-80) from 3-point range over the final 12 games of the season.

NOWHERE NEAR DUNN

  • Senior D'Marco Dunn has made a splash off the bench in Penn State's first two games of the season, averaging 14.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He has scored in double figures in both games while shooting 56.3% (9-16) from the field and 50% (4-8) from deep.
  • The North Carolina transfer had 10 double-digit scoring games and made 12 starts during his junior season at Penn State, while shooting 36.6 percent from 3-point range.

ON THE RIGHT RHOADES

  • Head Coach Mike Rhoades enters his second season at the helm of the Nittany Lions in 2024-25. Here's a look at what he and his staff accomplished during their first season in Happy Valley:
    • Two wins over top-15 ranked teams in #12 Illinois and #11 Wisconsin.
    • Win over #11 Wisconsin was the highest-ranked win under a first-year head coach in program history.
    • Nine Big Ten wins were the second-most by a first-year head coach in program history.
    • Engineered the highest-scoring offense under a first-year head coach at Penn State since 1954-55 (75.1 ppg).
    • Penn State led the Big Ten in steals per game (8.3), turnover margin (+3.6) and three-point percentage defense (30.3%).

LIONS IN THE LEAGUE

  • Penn State is well represented in NBA and G League organizations this season:
    • Jalen Pickett '23 - Denver Nuggets - second season
    • Seth Lundy '23 - Atlanta Hawks - second season
    • Calvin Booth '98 - General Manager - Denver Nuggets
    • Izaiah Brockington '21 - Birmingham Squadron (New Orleans Pelicans)
    • Andrew Funk M'23 - Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets)
    • Josh Reaves '19 - Rio Grand Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets)
    • Lamar Stevens '20 - Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons)
    • Andrew Jones '11 - Head Coach - Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors)

The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.