UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team remains on the road for a Monday night matchup at #21/20 Michigan. Tipoff from the Crisler Center is set for 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Dave Revsine (pxp) & Shon Morris (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 380 & SXM App. Ch. 970
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Michigan
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions seek their first Big Ten road win of the season Monday night when Penn State travels to Ann Arbor to take on #21/20 Michigan.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 20 in the nation in points per game (83.8) and turnovers forced per game (15.80).
- Six Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.3 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS #21 MICHIGAN
- The Nittany Lions would earn just their fourth-ever win in Ann Arbor.
- Penn State would earn its first Big Ten road win of the season.
- Penn State would grab its first road win against a top-25 ranked team since Dec. 10, 2022.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
- The Wolverines are 14-5 on the season and 6-2 in Big Ten play under first-year head coach Dusty May.
- Michigan's two conferences losses have come in their last three games as the Wolverines dropped a pair of road games at Minnesota (84-81 OT) on Jan. 16 and at Purdue (91-64) on Jan. 24.
- The Wolverines are a perfect 9-0 at home this season.
- Vladislav Goldin leads five Wolverines in double figures with 16.3 points per game. Tre Donaldson (12.5 ppg), Danny Wolf (12.1 ppg), Roddy Gayle Jr. (11.7 ppg) and Nimari Burnett (10.7 ppg) follow.
AGAINST MICHIGAN
- Penn State and and Michigan meet for the only time this regular season Monday night when the Nittany Lions travel to Ann Arbor for the first time since Jan. 4, 2023.
- Penn State has won each of the last three meetings with the Wolverines, including a 79-73 win at The Palestra in Philadelphia last season and a 66-57 victory over Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on March 13.
- The Nittany Lions are 3-23 all-time when playing Michigan in Ann Arbor. Penn State last won inside the Crisler Center on Jan. 22, 2020, the Nittany Lions' first win in Ann Arbor since 2010.
FRONT LOADED
- Penn State's Big Ten schedule has been frontloaded with teams that have emerged at the top of the league standings through the first half of the conference slate.
- The eight teams that Penn State has already played in Big Ten action are a combined 41-30 (.577) in conference play, while the nine Penn State has left to face in the remainder of its conference slate are a combined 34-42 (.447) in Big Ten play.
SECOND HALF CATS
- The Nittany Lion offense has come to life in the second half this season, as Penn State has exploded to the tune of an average of 46 ppg in the second half, the top mark in the Big Ten and third-best among major conference teams.
|
Highest second-half scoring average by major conference teams this season |
|
|
Alabama |
47 |
|
Kentucky |
46.8 |
|
Penn State |
46 |
REWRITING HISTORY…ALREADY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through just the first 20 games of the season:
- Finished non-conference play at 10-1, marking just the sixth time since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1992-93 that the Nittany Lions have finished regular-season non-conference action with one or fewer losses.
- 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 the season 6-0 for the first time in 25 years (since the 1999-2000 season). Started the 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.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- The Nittany Lions currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on Jan. 24:
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
15.8 |
17 |
|
Points per game |
83.8 |
19 |
|
Turnover margin |
4.1 |
23 |
|
FT made per game |
17.5 |
25 |
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Assists per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
8.0 |
4 |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.0% |
5 |
|
Blocks – Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
43 |
11 |
|
FT made – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
106 |
18 |
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 83.8 points per game, a mark that ranks 19th in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 14 of their 20 games this season.
- Penn State's 83.8 points per game currently tracks to best the program record for single-season scoring average of 78.7 ppg that was set by the 1994-95 team.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Six different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.3 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (12.9) , Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.5), Zach Hicks (12.0), Puff Johnson (10.2) and Freddie Dilione V (10.2).
- Nine players have scored in double figures, with six different players recording 20-plus point games, in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks 17th in Division I in turnovers forced per game (15.8) and 28th in steals per game (9.2).
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 379-246 advantage in points scored off turnovers through the first 20 games of the season.
CLOSE LOSSES
- Penn State has been within four points in the final two minutes of six of its seven losses this season.
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player and one of just nine Division I players since the 1947-48 season (77 years) with 1,500+ career points (1,568), 700+ career assists (770) and 300+ career steals (310).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (310) and his 770 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 8.0 assists per game and fifth in free throw percentage (93.0%). He is averaging stellar marks of 14.3 points, 8.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. He's notched five points-assists double-doubles and has tallied double-digit assists in more games (6) than he did all of last season (4), including a single-game school record 16 helpers on Dec. 14 vs. Coppin State.
- 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.
CONSISTENCY FOR KERN
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. has scored in double figures in 15 of the last 17 games, including two 20-plus point efforts. He leads the Nittany Lions with 16 double-digit scoring efforts this season and is currently Penn State's leading scorer in Big Ten play, averaging 14.0 points per conference game.
- He has shot 60.9 percent (98-161) from the field this season while averaging 12.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.5 points per game, a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, and Big Ten-best marks of 2.2 blocks per game and 40 dunks. 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% |
62.7% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.3 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks leads the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage (42.1%) and his 2.55 triples per game ranks second in the conference.
- Hicks is averaging 12.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in conference play.
READY FREDDIE
- Freddie Dilione V has turned it up a notch since the first month of the season:
|
Dilione V |
Nov. |
Dec.-Jan. |
|
PPG |
8.1 |
11.3 |
|
FG% |
39.2% |
46.9% |
|
3FG% |
15.8% |
36.7% |
|
Assists/game |
1.0 |
2.3 |
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.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.