UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns home Saturday to take on Coppin State inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. and the game will air nationally on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- TV: Big Ten Network – Ryan Burr (pxp) & Myles Dread (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 85 & SXM App. Ch. 85
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Coppin State
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State is 8-2 this season and returns to non-conference play Saturday when the Nittany Lions host Coppin State.
- Penn State ranks top 10 in the country in steals per game (10.9), points per game (88.7), turnovers forced per game (17.6) and field goal percentage (51.1).
- Six different Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.4 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS COPPIN STATE
- The Nittany Lions would move to 9-2 on the season, Penn State's best record through 11 games since 2019-20.
- Penn State would move to 7-0 at home this season and win its 10th-straight home game.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- The Eagles are 0-11 on the season.
- Coppin State is averaging 54.7 points per game, while giving up an average of 76.6 points per game.
- Derrius Ward is the only Eagle averaging double-digit points and leads the team with 12.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
AGAINST COPPIN STATE
- Penn State and Coppin State meet for just the third time in program history Saturday afternoon.
- The Nittany Lions are 2-0 all-time vs. Coppin State, with the most recent meeting coming on Dec. 30, 2017 when Penn State took down the Eagles 88-43 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
FIGHT FOR LITERACY
- Penn State's staff will wear green wristbands and lapel pins in support of Fight for Literacy Saturday.
- The Fight for Literacy is Champions for Literacy’s national flagship initiative that brings the powerful platform of sports to the importance cause of childhood literacy, primarily through teams hosting Fight for Literacy Games. Through Fight for Literacy Games, awareness of the issue is brought locally and fans are given an opportunity to donate to support local work ensuring students are set up for success.
8-2
- The Nittany Lions are off to an 8-2 start to the season, their best record through the first 10 games of the season since the 2019-20 campaign. Penn State started the season 6-0 for the first time in 25 years before suffering its first loss of the season to 2024 Elite Eight team Clemson in the Sunshine Slam Championship game on Nov. 26.
- Penn State is a perfect 6-0 at home this season and has won nine-straight home games dating back to last season.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 10 in the country in steals per game (10.9 - 4th), points per game (88.7 ppg - 6th), turnovers forced per game (17.6 - 6th) and FG% (51.1% - 7th).
REWRITING HISTORY…ALREADY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through just the first 10 games of the season:
- Big Ten-opening win over #8 Purdue was Penn State's first win over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll since Dec. 2019.
- Started a season 6-0 for the first time in 25 years (since the 1999-2000 season).
- Started a season 8-1 for the first time in 10 years (since the 2014-15 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 six-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 currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on Dec. 12:
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Steals per game |
10.9 |
4 |
|
Points per game |
88.7 |
6 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
17.6 |
6 |
|
FG% |
51.1% |
7 |
|
Turnover margin |
5.8 |
11 |
|
Effective FG% |
0.580 |
16 |
|
Scoring margin |
19.7 |
18 |
|
Assists per game |
18.1 |
19 |
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Assists/game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
8.0 |
5 |
|
3FG% - Zach Hicks |
50.8% |
13 |
DOMINATION
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 19.7 points per game, a mark that ranks 18th in all of Division I.
- All eight of Penn State's wins have been double-digit victories.
- The Nittany Lions are outscoring their opponents by 28.0 points per game in home games this season.
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 88.7 points per game through the first 10 games of the season, a mark that ranks sixth in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in eight of their 10 games this season, including their first six games which marked the first time in program history that Penn State scored 80+ in six consecutive games.
- The Nittany Lions are shooting 51.1% from the field, which ranks seventh in Division I.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks in the top 10 in Division I in steals per game (10.9 - 4th) and turnovers forced per game (17.6 - 6th).
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 218-109 advantage in points scored off turnovers through the first 10 games of the season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Six different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.4 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.4 ppg), Zach Hicks (13.8 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (11.6 ppg), Puff Johnson (10.4 ppg) and Freddie Dilione V (10.1 ppg).
- Nine of the 13 players that have dressed in Penn State's first 10 games of the season have scored in double figures, with five different players recording 20-plus point games, in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,441), 600+ career assists (698) and 250+ career steals (294).
- When Baldwin Jr. passes the career marks of 1,500 points/700 assists/300 steals, he will just the ninth Division I player since the 1947-48 season (77 years) and the first since Richmond's Jacob Gilyard (2017-22) to do so.
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (294) and his 698 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
- Ace Baldwin Jr. currently ranks fifth in the country with his 8.0 assists per game. He is averaging stellar marks of 14.4 points, 8.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He's notched three points-assists double-doubles and has tallied double-digit assists in as many games (4) as he did all of last season.
- The reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, 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.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.4 points and team-best marks of 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The Switzerland native transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season following two years at Northern Illinois.
|
PSU (2024-25) |
NIU (2022-24) |
|
|
Points per game |
12.4 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
68.1% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
5.9 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks ranks 13th in the country and second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage (50.8%). His 3.2 triples per game leads the conference.
- Hicks has scored in double figures in seven of 10 games this season and is averaging 13.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 54.1% (46-85) from the field.
KERN COMING ON
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games. He has shot 66.7 percent (44-66) from the field while averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
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.