UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 8-1 Penn State men’s basketball team faces its first true road test of the season Tuesday night when the Nittany Lions travel to Rutgers for a 7 p.m. Big Ten battle on Peacock.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Peacock – Paul Burmeister (pxp) & Stephen Bardo (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 | Rutgers
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State is off to an 8-1 start to the season, its best start to a season since the 2014-15 campaign, and faces its first true road test of the year Tuesday night at Rutgers.
- The Nittany Lions won their Big Ten opener in dominant fashion, taking down #8 Purdue 81-70 Thursday night for the Nittany Lions' first top-10 win since 2019.
- Penn State ranks top five in the country in FG% (51.9%), PPG (90.1) and steals per game (11.1).
IF PENN STATE BEATS RUTGERS
- The Nittany Lions would start Big Ten play 2-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season and just the fourth time in Penn State's 32 seasons in the Big Ten.
- Penn State's 9-1 start to the season would be its best since the 2014-15 team started 12-1.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
- The Scarlet Knights are 5-4 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play.
- Rutgers has lost four of its last five games, including three-straight coming into Tuesday night's game against Penn State.
- The Scarlet Knights opened conference play with an 80-66 loss at Ohio State Saturday.
- Rutgers is 4-0 at home this season and Tuesday's game will be the Scarlet Knights' first home game since Nov. 20.
- Highly-touted freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey lead Rutgers with 23.1 ppg and 17.9 ppg, respectively. They are the only two Scarlet Knights averaging double-digit points. Harper leads the team with 4.6 assists per game, while Bailey is averaging a team-best 6.0 rebounds per contest.
AGAINST RUTGERS
- Penn State travels to Rutgers for the first of two meetings this season Tuesday night.
- The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 46-36 and won last season's lone matchup 61-46 in Piscataway on Jan. 31. It was Penn State's first road win at Rutgers since 2019.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. led Penn State with 15 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. D'Marco Dunn had 14 points and seven rebounds.
B1G TIME
- Early-December Big Ten play continues Tuesday night when the Nittany Lions travel to Rutgers for their first true road game of the season. Penn State is eyeing its first 2-0 start to conference play since the 2007-08 campaign (17 years), and just the fourth 2-0 start to conference play in Penn State's 32 seasons in the Big Ten.
- The Nittany Lions opened conference play with a dominant win over #8 Purdue Thursday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State led by as much as 27, and was up by 20 win two minutes left, in the 81-70 victory. It marked Penn State's first win over a top-10 team since Dec. 2019 and the first time the Nittany Lions opened Big Ten play with a win since the 2017-18 season. Ace Baldwin Jr. led five Nittany Lions in double figures with 17 points and six assists.
8-1
- The Nittany Lions are off to an 8-1 start to the season, their best start since the 2014-15 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 eyeing its first 9-1 start since the 2014-15 team started 12-1.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 10 in the country in field goal percentage (51.9% - 3rd), points per game (90.1 ppg - 4th), steals per game (11.1 - 4th), turnovers forced per game (18.0 - 6th) and scoring margin (+22.3 ppg - 9th).
REWRITING HISTORY…ALREADY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through just the first nine 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).
- 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. 7:
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Field goal percentage |
51.9% |
3 |
|
Points per game |
90.1 |
4 |
|
Steals per game |
11.1 |
4 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
18.0 |
6 |
|
Scoring margin |
+22.3 |
9 |
|
Effective FG% |
.589 |
12 |
|
Turnover margin |
5.6 |
14 |
|
Assists per game |
18.4 |
15 |
|
FT made per game |
19.0 |
21 |
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Assists/game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
8.1 |
4 |
|
FG% - Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
69.2% |
7 |
|
3FG% - Zach Hicks |
49.1% |
17 |
DOMINATION
- The Nittany Lions have played 360 minutes of basketball this season and trailed for just 41 minutes and 53 seconds.
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 22.3 points per game, a mark that ranks ninth in all of Division I. All eight of Penn State's wins have been double-digit victories.
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 90.1 points per game through the first nine games of the season, a mark that ranks fourth in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in eight of their nine 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 51.9% from the field, which ranks third in Division I.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks in the top 10 in Division I in steals per game (11.1 - 4th) and turnovers forced per game (18.0 - 6th).
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 206-102 advantage in points scored off turnovers, a 128-83 edge in second-chance points and 126-89 advantage in fast-break points through the first nine games of the season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Nine of the 13 players that have dressed in Penn State's first nine 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.
- Five different players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (15.1 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (13.3 ppg), Zach Hicks (13.1 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (11.8 ppg) and Puff Johnson (10.6 ppg).
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,433), 600+ career assists (691) and 250+ career steals (290).
- 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 (290) and his 691 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
GOT AN ACE UP OUR SLEEVE
- Ace Baldwin Jr. currently ranks fourth in the country with his 8.1 assists per game. He is averaging stellar marks of 15.1 points, 8.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 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, leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in the country with his 69.2% (45-65) field goal percentage. Konan Niederhauser is averaging 13.3 points and team-best marks of 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 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 |
13.3 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
69.2% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.0 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks ranks 17th in the country and second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage (49.1%). His 2.89 triples per game leads the conference.
- Hicks has scored in double figures in six of nine games this season and is averaging 13.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 54.8% (40-73) from the field.
KERN COMING ON
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. has scored in double figures in each of the last six games. He has shot 67.2 percent (39-58) from the field while averaging 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 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.