Nittany Lions Open 2024-25 Season Against Binghamton Monday NightNittany Lions Open 2024-25 Season Against Binghamton Monday Night
Mark Selders

Nittany Lions Open 2024-25 Season Against Binghamton Monday Night

Tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m. inside Bryce Jordan Center

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season officially begins Monday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center when the Nittany Lions host Binghamton in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

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.
  • DOUBLEHEADER: Monday’s men’s basketball game will be the backend of a Penn State women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader. Arrive early to catch some of the Penn State women’s basketball game vs. Bucknell (5 p.m. tipoff) inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

OPENING TIPS

  • The 2024-25 season officially gets underway Monday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center when Penn State hosts Binghamton on the opening night of college basketball season.
  • The Nittany Lions return five of their top seven scorers from a season ago, headlined by reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and 2025 Naismith Player of the Year Watch List member Ace Baldwin Jr. 2024 honorable mention All-Big Ten picks Nick Kern Jr. and Zach Hicks also return, in addition to key contributors D'Marco Dunn and Puff Johnson.
  • Penn State brings back 60.7% of minutes played from a season ago, the second-highest returning percentage among Big Ten teams, and 58.9% of their scoring production.
  • The Nittany Lions enter their second season under head coach Mike Rhoades who guided Penn State to the second-most Big Ten wins under a first-year head coach in program history a season ago. Rhoades also engineered the highest-scoring offense under a first-year head coach at Penn State since 1954-55.

IF PENN STATE BEATS BINGHAMTON

  • The Nittany Lions would win their season opener for the eighth-straight year.
  • Penn State would improve to 2-0 all-time against the Bearcats.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS

  • The Bearcats are coming off a 2023-24 season that saw them win 15 games, their most regular-season wins in 15 years. Binghamton has increased its overall win total in three straight seasons under head coach Levell Sanders.
  • Binghamton returns two starters in Tymu Chenery (14.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Nehemiah Benson (10.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and eight lettermen from a season ago.
  • The Bearcats were picked to finish sixth in the America East preseason poll.
  • Binghamton earned an 83-70 exhibition game win over D-II Queens College on Oct. 30. Benson led the Bearcats with 22 points, while Ben Callahan-Gold scored 15 and Gavin Walsh had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double.

AGAINST BINGHAMTON

  • Penn State and Binghamton meet for just the second time in program history in Monday night's season opener.
  • The Nittany Lions and Bearcats lone meeting came in 2017, an 80-65 Penn State win inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Lamar Stevens led five scorers in double figures with 16 points. Tony Carr, Josh Reaves and Shep Garner each tallied 15 points, while Mike Watkins had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

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

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%).

TEST RUN

  • The Nittany Lions got a head start on the 2024-25 season on Oct. 25 when Penn State took down Lafayette, 79-64, in a charity exhibition game on the campus of Lebanon Valley College. Head coach Mike Rhoades brought his team to his alma mater where he won the 1994 Division III National Championship, was the 1995 Division III National Player of the Year and was a two-time All-American.
  • The Nittany Lions shot 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from 3-point range and 50.0 percent (24-for-48) from the field. Penn State scored 21 points off of 15 Lafayette turnovers and limited the Leopards to a 38.1 percent (24-for-63) field goal percentage and 27.6 percent (8-for-29) clip from 3-point range.
  • Yanic Konan Niederhauser led four Nittany Lions in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds and four blocks. D’Marco Dunn scored 13 points and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals, while Zach Hicks added 11 points and four assists.

ONE OF ONE

  • Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. enters the 2024-25 season as the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,297), 600+ career assists (618) and 250+ career steals (271).

GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE

  • Ace Baldwin Jr. has 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. wrapped up his first season in the Blue & White leading the Nittany Lions with 14.2 points, 6.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game in 2023-24. He 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.

KEEP AN EYE ON KERN

  • Senior Nick Kern Jr. is coming off an honorable mention All-Big Ten season in 2023-24 and returns for his second season in the Blue & White. Kern Jr.'s production went up throughout the season last year as he was one of Penn State's most efficient players in conference play, averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game against Big Ten opponents while shooting 58.0 percent from the field. Eleven of his 12 double-digit scoring games came in Big Ten play.

SHOOTER

  • Senior Zach Hicks earned honorable mention All-Big Ten selection a season ago and returns for his second season at Penn State. He led the Nittany Lions with 67 made 3-pointers and ranked second on the team in rebounds (130) and free throw percentage (81.3%). Hicks 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.

BACK FOR MORE

  • Puff Johnson returns for his fifth and final season of eligibility in 2024-25. Johnson turned it up a notch when it mattered most last season, averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field over the last four games of the season.

NOWHERE NEAR DUNN

  • Senior D'Marco Dunn is primed for a big season in his second year in Happy Valley. 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.

THE 2024-25 SLATE

  • Penn State is set to host seven non-conference home games and 10 Big Ten matchups, including a Sunday, Jan. 5, tilt with Indiana inside the historic Palestra in Philadelphia, and a Thursday, Jan. 30, Return to Rec game against Ohio State inside Rec Hall on Penn State's campus.
  • The 2024-25 schedule features seven Friday, Saturday or Sunday home games inside the Bryce Jordan Center, three of which come in conference play.
  • The Nittany Lions will visit CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore to face Virginia Tech on Nov. 15 in the Hall of Fame Series Baltimore, in addition to taking a trip to Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the home of the NBA's 76ers, on Dec. 21 to meet Drexel. Penn State will head to Florida during Thanksgiving week for the two-game Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach where the Nittany Lions will match up with Fordham before facing either Clemson or San Francisco.

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.