UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 12-3 Penn State men’s basketball team heads to #13/15 Illinois for a Wednesday night road test. Tipoff from Champaign, Ill. Is slated for 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Jeff Levering (pxp), Shon Morris (analyst) & Andy Katz (sideline)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Joe Putnam (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 385 & SXM App. Ch. 975
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Illinois
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State is 12-3 on the season, 2-2 in Big Ten play, and heads to #13 Illinois Wednesday night for the first of three-straight matchups vs. top-20 teams.
- Penn State ranks top 10 in the country in points per game (86.8) and turnovers forced per game (16.93).
- Six Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 14.8 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS #13 ILLINOIS
- The Nittany Lions would improve to 13-3 overall, their best start since 2008-09 (16 years).
- Penn State would win its fifth-straight game against the Illini.
- Penn State would earn its fourth win over a top-15 ranked opponent in the Mike Rhoades era.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
- The Illini are 11-3 on the season, 3-1 in Big Ten play, and ride a four-game win streak into Wednesday's game in Champaign.
- Illinois' three Big Ten wins have come at home against Wisconsin (86-80) and on the road at Oregon (109-77) and Washington (81-77).
- The Illini's lone conference loss of the young season came in their Big Ten opener at Northwestern on Dec. 6 as Illinois fell 70-66 in overtime.
- Kasparas Jakucionis leads five Illinois players in double figures with 16.4 points per game. Tomislav Ivisic follows with 13.8 points and a team-best 9.1 rebounds per game.
AGAINST THE ILLINI
- Penn State and Illinois meet for the only time this regular season Wednesday night in Champaign.
- The Nittany Lions have won each of the last four matchups with the Illini.
- Penn State is 9-16 all-time when playing in Champaign.
- Penn State electrified a sold-out Rec Hall crowd as the Nittany Lions rallied back from a double-digit deficit, including a seven-point deficit in the final 36 seconds, to stun #12 Illinois, 90-89, in the most recent meeting on Feb. 21, 2024.
12-3
- The Nittany Lions are off to a 12-3 start to the season, their best record through the first 15 games of the season since the 2019-20 campaign.
- The Nittany Lions own a top-10 win over then eighth-ranked Purdue and a victory over Northwestern in conference play as Penn State sits at 2-2 in Big Ten action.
- The Nittany Lions have been within three points in the final two minutes of all three of their losses.
- The Nittany Lions rank top 15 in the country in points per game (87.9 - 7th), turnovers forced per game (17.14 - 8th), assists per game (18.4 - 11th), turnover margin (5.4 - 13th) and scoring margin (+20.0 - 14th).
REWRITING HISTORY…ALREADY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through just the first 15 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. 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 Jan. 6:
|
Team Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
16.93 |
9 |
|
Points per game |
86.8 |
10 |
|
Turnover margin |
5.3 |
12 |
|
Scoring margin |
18.3 |
15 |
|
Assists per game |
18.1 |
15 |
|
FG% |
50.1% |
15 |
|
FT made per game |
18.1 |
23 |
|
Steals per game |
9.7 |
24 |
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
Assists/game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
8.4 |
4 |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
94.5% |
5 |
|
FT made – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
86 |
13 |
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 86.8 points per game, a mark that ranks 10th in the country.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 11 of their 15 games this season.
DOMINATION
- Penn State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 18.3 points per game, a mark that ranks 15th in all of Division I.
- Eleven of Penn State's 12 wins have been double-digit victories. The Nittany Lions own three 40-plus point victories this season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Six different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (14.8 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.7 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (12.3 ppg), Zach Hicks (12.2 ppg), Puff Johnson (10.3 ppg) and Freddie Dilione V (10.0 ppg).
- Nine players 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 ninth in Division I in turnovers forced per game (16.93) and 24th in steals per game (9.7).
- The Nittany Lions have owned a 317-166 advantage in points scored off turnovers through the first 15 games of the 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 (1,519), 700+ career assists (744) and 300+ career steals (303).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (303) and his 744 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 8.4 assists per game and fifth in free throw percentage (94.5%). He is averaging stellar marks of 14.8 points, 8.4 assists, 2.9 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.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.7 points and team-best marks of 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 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 |
12.7 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
63.5% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.9 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
ZACH ATTACK
- Senior Zach Hicks leads the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage (43.3%) and his 2.6 triples ranks second in the conference.
- Hicks has led Penn State thus far in conference play, averaging team-best marks of 14.5 points per game while making 3.0 3-pointers per game at a 46.2 percent clip.
KERN COMING ON
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. has scored in 11 of the last 12 games, and is coming off a season-high 21-point performance against Indiana on Sunday.
- He has shot 65.7 percent (71-108) from the field this season while averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
CONSISTENCY
- Puff Johnson has been a consistent threat for the Nittany Lions this season, averaging career-best marks of 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.4% from the field.
- He's already tallied more double-digit scoring games this season (8) than all of last year (7).
READY FREDDIE
- Freddie Dilione V has turned it up a notch over the last month:
|
Dilione V |
Nov. |
Dec.-Jan. |
|
PPG |
8.1 |
11.6 |
|
Assists/game |
1.0 |
2.6 |
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.