UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns to action Saturday when the Nittany Lions head to Philadelphia to take on Drexel inside the Wells Fargo Center at noon.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Eric Ohlson (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 389 & SXM App. Ch. 979
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Drexel
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State is 9-2 this season and returns to action following a brief break for final exams Saturday when the Nittany Lions take on Drexel inside Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
- Penn State ranks top 10 in the country in points per game (89.6), FG% (51.6%), steals per game (10.5), turnovers forced per game (17.64), scoring margin (+22.3) and assists per game (19.3).
- Six different Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.1 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS DREXEL
- The Nittany Lions would move to 10-2 on the season, Penn State's best record through 12 games since 2019-20.
- Penn State would improve to 7-0 all-time vs. Drexel.
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
- Drexel is 8-4 on the season and rides a three-game win streak into Saturday's meeting at the Wells Fargo Center.
- The Dragons are coming off back-to-back road wins at Albany (77-70) and Howard (68-65) within the last week.
- Drexel's four losses have come against Temple (61-69), La Salle (68-71), Purdue Fort Wayne (81-87) and Bryant (73-78).
- Kobe Magee leads Drexel with 15.3 points per game, while Yame Butler (13.7 ppg) and Cole Hargrove (11.2 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points. Hargrove leads the team with 9.0 rebounds per game.
AGAINST DREXEL
- Penn State and Drexel meet for the seventh time in program history Saturday.
- The Nittany Lions are 6-0 all-time vs. Drexel and the two teams will meet for the first time since 2015.
- Penn State earned a 63-57 road win in the most recent meeting between the two teams on Dec. 19, 2015.
BACK TO PHILLY
- The Nittany Lions return to the City of Brotherly Love for the first of two times this season Saturday when Penn State takes on Drexel inside the Wells Fargo Center, the home of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.
- Penn State will also head to Philly on Jan. 5 when the Nittany Lions host Indiana inside the historic Palestra.
- The 2024-25 Nittany Lion roster features two student-athletes with Philadelphia-area ties in Zach Hicks (Camden, N.J.; Camden Catholic) and Kachi Nzeh (Upper Darby, Pa.; George School).
9-2
- The Nittany Lions are off to a 9-2 start to the season, their best record through the first 11 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.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 10 in the country in points per game (89.6 - 2nd), FG% (51.6% - 4th), steals per game (10.5 - 6th), turnovers forced per game (17.64 - 6th), scoring margin (+22.3 - 7th), assists per game (19.3 - 8th) and effective FG% (0.587 - 9th).
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. 18:
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Points per game |
89.6 |
2 |
|
FG% |
51.6% |
4 |
|
Steals per game |
10.5 |
6 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
17.64 |
6 |
|
Scoring margin |
+22.3 |
7 |
|
Assists per game |
19.3 |
8 |
|
Effective FG% |
0.587 |
9 |
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Assists/game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
8.7 |
3 |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.0% |
16 |
|
3FG% - Zach Hicks |
47.9% |
19 |
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 89.6 points per game through the first 11 games of the season, a mark that ranks second in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in nine of their 11 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 51.6% from the field, which ranks fourth in Division I.
DOMINATION
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 22.3 points per game, a mark that ranks seventh in all of Division I.
- All nine of Penn State's wins have been double-digit victories. The Nittany Lions own three 40-plus point victories this season.
- Penn State has played 440 minutes of basketball this season and trailed for just 76 minutes and 4 seconds.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Six different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.1 ppg), Zach Hicks (13.1 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.5 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (11.6 pgg), Puff Johnson (10.5 ppg) and Freddie Dilione V (10.0 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.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks sixth in Division I in both steals per game (10.5) and turnovers forced per game (17.64).
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 245-120 advantage in points scored off turnovers through the first 11 games of the season.
DISHIN’
- Penn State is sharing the ball at an elite level as the Nittany Lions rank eighth in the country with an average of 19.3 assists per game.
- Point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. leads the way with 8.7 dimes per game, a mark that ranks third amongst all Division I players.
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,452), 700+ career assists (714) and 250+ career steals (296).
- 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 (296) and his 714 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
- Ace Baldwin Jr. currently ranks third in the country with his 8.7 assists per game. He is averaging stellar marks of 14.1 points, 8.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He's notched four points-assists double-doubles and has tallied double-digit assists in more games (5) than he did all of last season (4), including a single-game school record 16 helpers in Penn State's most recent game vs. Coppin State on Dec. 14.
- 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 12.5 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 |
12.5 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
67.9% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
5.9 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks ranks 19th in the country and second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage (47.9%). His 3.1 triples per game leads the conference.
KERN COMING ON
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. has scored in double figures in each of the last eight games. He has shot 68.6 percent (48-70) from the field this season while averaging 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
- Head Coach Mike Rhoades has inked the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the 21st-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 21st 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
- 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.