UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team takes its 5-0 record down to Florida Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Sunshine Slam, beginning with a Monday matchup vs. Fordham. Tipoff from Daytona Beach is slated for 4 p.m. and the game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- TV: CBS Sports Network – Jake Marsh (pxp) & Mike O’Donnell (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 386 & SXM App. Ch. 976
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Fordham
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State takes its 5-0 record down to Florida to compete in the Sunshine Slam this week, beginning with a Monday afternoon matchup against Fordham.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 10 in the country in points per game (98.2 ppg - 2nd), steals per game (13.8 - 3rd), turnovers forced per game (19.2 - 7th) & scoring margin (+31.2 ppg - 8th).
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 16.4 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS FORDHAM
- Penn State would start the season 6-0 for the first time in 25 years (1999-2000 season).
- The Nittany Lions would advance to Tuesday's 4 p.m. Sunshine Slam championship game to face the winner of Clemson vs. San Francisco.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
- The Rams are 3-3 on the young season under third-year head coach Keith Urgo, who was a Nittany Lion assistant coach from 2012-21.
- Fordham's wins have come at Seton Hall (57-56) and at home vs. Binghamton (78-63) and Georgian Court (101-61). The Rams' three losses came at St. John's (60-92), at Manhattan (76-78) and against Drexel (71-73) in their most recent game Friday night.
- Jackie Johnson III leads the Rams with 19.0 points per game and a team-best 16 triples.
- Jahmere Tripp (11.0 ppg) and Japhet Medor (10.5 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
AGAINST FORDHAM
- Penn State State and Fordham meet for the sixth time in program history in a series that dates back to 1907.
- The Nittany Lions and Rams last met in 2014 and Penn State holds a 3-2 all-time advantage.
- Penn State won the last matchup, 73-54, on Nov. 16, 2014 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
FEAST WEEK
- Penn State heads to Florida to compete in the Sunshine Slam Monday & Tuesday. The Nittany Lions open action Monday at 4 p.m. against Fordham. Penn State will then face either Clemson or San Francisco at either 1:30 or 4 p.m. Tuesday.
- The Nittany Lions are 5-0 and eyeing their first 6-0 start to a season in 25 years. The last Penn State team to start a season 6-0 was the 1999-2000 squad.
- Should Penn State beat Fordham, the Nittany Lions would advance to Tuesday's Sunshine Slam championship game and look to start the season 7-0 for the first time in 29 years (1995-96 season). The Nittany Lions would seek their first in-season tournament title since the 2000-01 team won the two-game ECAC Holiday Classic in New York City.
REWRITING HISTORY…ALREADY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through just the first five games of the season:
- Scored 100+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history (108 vs. Binghamton, 103 vs. UMBC).
- Scored 80+ points in five-consecutive games for the first time in program history.
- Scored 100+ in three games in the same season for just the second time in program history. The 1954-55 team scored 100+ on three occasions.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- The Nittany Lions rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories (rankings listed through games on Nov. 22):
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Points per game |
98.2 |
2 |
|
Steals per game |
13.8 |
3 |
|
Turnovers forced/game |
19.2 |
7 |
|
Turnover margin |
+8.0 |
7 |
|
Scoring margin |
+31.2 |
8 |
|
FG% |
52.3% |
13 |
|
Effective FG% |
0.603 |
14 |
|
FT made/game |
20.8 |
14 |
|
Assists per game |
19.6 |
15 |
|
FT attempts/game |
28.2 |
17 |
|
Fastbreak points/game |
19.2 |
21 |
DOMINATION
- The Nittany Lions have played 200 minutes of basketball this season and trailed for just 10 minutes and 8 seconds.
- Penn State is one of just 44 Division I teams that remains unbeaten (through games on Nov. 22).
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 31.2 points per game, a mark that ranks eighth in all of Division I. All five of Penn State's wins have come by at least 13 points.
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 98.2 points per game through the first five games of the season, a mark that ranks second in the country, trailing only Utah State's 98.6 ppg.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 85-plus points in all five of their games this season, marking the first time in program history that Penn State has scored 80+ in five consecutive games.
- The Nittany Lions are shooting 52.3% from the field and averaging 19.6 assists per game, marks that both rank top-15 in the country.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks third in Division I in steals per game (13.8) and seventh in both turnovers forced per game (19.2) and turnover margin (8.0)
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 127-50 advantage in points scored off turnovers, an 86-48 edge in second-chance points and 96-40 advantage in fast-break points through the first five games of the season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Nine of the 13 players that have dressed in Penn State's first five 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 five games of the season.
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,379), 600+ career assists (657) and 250+ career steals (284).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (284) and his 657 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks leads the Big Ten and ranks 18th in Division I with 3.8 3-pointers made per game. He's shooting triples at a stellar 50% (19-38) clip.
- Hicks has scored in double figures in four of five games this season and is averaging 15.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 54.0% (27-50) from the field.
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.
- Baldwin Jr. currently ranks seventh in the country with his 7.8 assists per game. He is Penn State's leading scorer, averaging stellar marks of 16.4 points, 7.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game while shooting 47.1 percent (24-51) from the field, 43.5 percent (10-23) from 3-point range and 88.9 percent (24-27) from the free throw line. He's coming off back-to-back points-assists double-doubles in each of Penn State's last two games vs. Virginia Tech and Purdue Fort Wayne.
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 five games in the Blue & White.
- Konan Niederhauser is averaging 12.2 points and team-best marks of 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 63.6 percent (21-33) from the field. He is coming off his first double-double in the Blue & White, having notched 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in Wednesday night's game vs. Purdue Fort Wayne.
- The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
- Head Coach Mike Rhoades has inked the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the 20th-ranked class in the country as three highly-touted prospects signed to join the Nittany Lions during the November early signing period.
- Penn State's three-member class ranks 20th in the nation per 247 Sports. The three-member class is comprised of Mason Blackwood (Rochester, N.Y.), Justin Houser (Camp Hill, Pa.) and Kayden Mingo (Farmingdale, N.Y.). The three new Nittany Lions join the program as the Class of 2029 and bring accomplished athletic and academic pedigrees to Penn State.
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.