UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team returns home Saturday afternoon to host Washington in the Nittany Lions’ annual THON game. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will air on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TICKETS: Tickets
- PROMOTIONS: THON game – free THON Hoops t-shirt for all students
- TV: Big Ten Network – Jason Horowtiz (pxp) & Stephen Bardo (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 | Washington
OPENING TIPS
- The Nittany Lions return home to the Bryce Jordan Center to host Washington in Penn State's annual THON game Saturday afternoon.
- Saturday's matchup will serve as the first-ever meeting between Penn State and new Big Ten-member Washington.
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 13.8 ppg.
IF PENN STATE BEATS WASHINGTON
- The Nittany Lions would improve to 11-2 when playing inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Penn State would snap its six-game losing streak.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
- The Huskies are 12-12 on the season and 3-10 in conference action in their first season in the Big Ten and first season under head coach Danny Sprinkle.
- Washington is coming off a 69-93 road loss at Ohio State Wednesday night.
- The Huskies are 1-6 in true road games this season, with the lone road win coming at Minnesota (71-68) on Feb. 1.
- Great Osobor leads Washington with 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Tyler Harris (12.5 ppg) and Zoom Diallo (10.9 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
AGAINST WASHINGTON
- Penn State and Washington will meet for the first time in program history Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley.
FOR THE KIDS
- Saturday’s game will be Penn State's annual THON game. The Penn State student section will don colorful t-shirts and in-game activities will be focused around raising awareness for the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.
- The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, or THON, is a year-long effort which raises funds and awareness for the fight against childhood cancer. With the support of students from all across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and supporters all around the world, THON continues to make great strides towards finding a cure for all childhood cancers and has raised over $236 million since it began.
- THON efforts culminate with a 46-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon in February. This year's dance marathon is set for Feb. 21-23 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
HOME SWEET HAPPY VALLEY
- Penn State is 10-2 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season and has won 12 of its last 15 home games in Happy Valley dating back to last season.
|
Stat |
PSU average in BJC Games |
|
Points per game |
88.7 |
|
FG% |
49.9% |
|
3FG% |
37.1% |
|
3FG made per game |
8.4 |
|
Assists per game |
18.4 |
|
Turnovers forced per game |
11.9 |
|
Steals per game |
10.3 |
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 79.7 points per game, which currently tracks to best the program record for single-season scoring average of 78.7 ppg that was set by the 1994-95 team.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 14 of their 25 games this season.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Five different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (13.8 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (12.4 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.3 ppg), Zach Hicks (11.8 ppg) and Puff Johnson (10.2 ppg).
- Nine players have scored in double figures, with six different players recording 20-plus point games, in the Nittany Lions' balanced offensive attack.
- Seven different players have led Penn State in scoring in a game this season.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
- Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten in turnovers forced per game (14.64) and steals per game (8.3).
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- Penn State players currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on Feb. 12:
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.1% |
5 |
|
Assists per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
7.2 |
5 |
|
Blocks per game – Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
2.04 |
23 |
INJURY BUG
- Penn State has been plagued with injuries since the turn of the calendar year, as the Nittany Lions have played each of the last 10 games without at least one of their double-digit scorers.
CLOSE LOSSES
- Penn State has been within four points in the final two minutes of seven of its 12 losses this season.
PUT ‘EM ON WATCH
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. earned the following midseason recognition just last week:
NOWHERE NEAR DUNN
- D’Marco Dunn has turned it up a notch over the last eight games, including putting together two career-best scoring efforts with 18 points against both Michigan State and Minnesota:
|
Dunn |
First 17 Games |
Last 8 Games |
|
PPG |
5.2 |
10.6 |
|
FG% |
38.1% |
43.5% |
|
3FG% |
32.4% |
40.6% |
|
Minutes/game |
16.7 |
27.1 |
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 (1,628), 700+ career assists (791) and 300+ career steals (318).
CONSISTENCY FOR KERN
- Senior Nick Kern Jr. leads the Nittany Lions with 19 double-digit scoring efforts this season and is currently leads Penn State with 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per Big Ten game.
- He has shot 59.7 percent (117-196) from the field this season while averaging 12.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 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 12.3 points per game, a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game and a Big Ten-best 2.04 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 |
12.3 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
62.1% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.0 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
REWRITING HISTORY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through the first 25 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.
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.