Penn State Faces Virginia Tech in Hall of Fame Series Baltimore Friday NightPenn State Faces Virginia Tech in Hall of Fame Series Baltimore Friday Night
Penn State Athletics

Penn State Faces Virginia Tech in Hall of Fame Series Baltimore Friday Night

Tipoff from CFG Bank Arena slated for 7:30 p.m. on Peacock

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team takes its 3-0 record on the road Friday night when the Nittany Lions take on Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Series Baltimore from CFG Bank Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Peacock.

FOLLOW ALONG

OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State heads to Baltimore Friday for its first game away from home when the Nittany Lions take on Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Series Baltimore from CFG Bank Arena.
  • Penn State is 3-0 on the young season and the Nittany Lions are averaging 101.0 points per game and outscoring their opponents by an average of 40.3 points per game thus far this season. Both of those marks rank in the top 10 in the country.

IF PENN STATE BEATS VIRGINIA TECH

  • Penn State would start the season 4-0 for the third-straight year and the fourth time in the last six seasons.
  • The Nittany Lions would win their fourth game against Virginia Tech in the last five meetings.

SCOUTING THE HOKIES

  • The Hokies are 3-0 on the young season with wins coming against Winthrop (58-52), USC Upstate (93-74) and Delaware State (83-60).
  • Virginia Tech is averaging 78.0 points per game thus far this season while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from 3-point range.
  • Four Hokies are averaging double-digit points, led by Tobi Lawal's team-best marks of 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Mylyjael Poteat follows with 12.7 points per contest, while Jaden Schutt (12.0 ppg) and Jaydon Young (11.0 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.

AGAINST VIRGINIA TECH

  • Penn State and Virginia Tech meet for the first time since the 2022 Charleston Classic semifinal game.
  • The Nittany Lions have won three of the last four meetings, but the Hokies own a 7-4 edge in the all-time series.
  • Virginia Tech earned a 61-59 win in the most recent meeting on Nov. 18, 2022 in the Charleston Classic. Penn State trimmed a 16-point deficit down to two and had a chance to win the game at the end, but RV/RV Virginia Tech held on in the final seconds.

BACK IN BALTIMORE

  • Friday's Hall of Fame Series Baltimore game will serve as a homecoming game for Baltimore natives Ace Baldwin Jr. and associate head coach Jamal Brunt.
  • Baldwin Jr. grew up in the Charm City and attended St. Frances Academy, just 1.5 miles down the road from CFG Bank Arena. Baldwin Jr. led St. Frances to four-straight Baltimore Catholic League championships while being crowned a three-time first team All-State selection, two-time All-Metro Player of the Year, three-time Baltimore County Tournament MVP and three-time first-team All-Baltimore County honoree.
  • Penn State associate head coach Jamal Brunt is also a Baltimore native and played his high school ball for St. Frances Academy.

HIGH OCTANE

  • Penn State is averaging 101.0 points per game (6th in Division I) and outscoring its opponents by an average of 40.3 points per game (7th in Division I) through the first three games of the season.
  • The Nittany Lions have scored 90-plus points in all three of their games this season, marking the first time since the 1995-96 season (29 years) that Penn State has scored 90+ in three-straight games.
  • Penn State scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history as the Nittany Lions opened the season with a 108-66 win over Binghamton and followed it with a 103-54 victory over UMBC. They were 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. It marked the first time Penn State has had two 100-plus point games in the same season since the 1954-55 season.

BALANCED ATTACK

  • Nine of the 13 players that have dressed in Penn State's first three games of the season have scored in double figures in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
  • Five different players are averaging double-digit points through the first three games of the season.

TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE

  • Penn State is averaging 15.0 steals per game through the first three games of the season, a mark that ranks third in the country.
  • The Nittany Lions have owned a 77-26 advantage in points scored off turnovers, a 60-19 edge in second-chance points and 69-23 advantage in fast-break points.

NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • The Nittany Lions currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories:

Team Stat

Value

National Rank

Steals per game

15.0

3

Points per game

101.0

6

Scoring margin

+40.3

7

Turnovers forced per game

20.7

9

Turnover margin

10.3

9

Fastbreak points

23.0

20

Bench points per game

41.0

24

ONE OF ONE

  • Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,335), 600+ career assists (636) and 250+ career steals (279).
  • Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (279) and his 636 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 three games in the Blue & White.
  • Konan Niederhauser is averaging team-best marks of 15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 65.2 percent (15-23) from the field through the first three games of the season.
  • The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.

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

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 12.7 points, 6.0 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game through the first three games this season.

ZACH ATTACK

  • Senior Zach Hicks is averaging 14.3 points per game through the first three games of the season in addition to his 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.7 steals per game. He has shot 55.2 percent (16-29) from the field and 45.0 percent (9-20) from deep through the first three 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 three games of the season, averaging 12.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He has scored in double figures in all three games while shooting 59.1% (13-22) from the field and 50% (5-10) 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.