UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team looks to keep its momentum going Wednesday night when the Nittany Lions travel to Indiana for an 8:30 p.m. battle on Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Kevin Kugler (pxp) & LaPhonso Ellis (analyst)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sirius XM Ch. 391 & SXM App. Ch. 981
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Indiana
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State closes out the month of February with a Wednesday night battle at Indiana.
- Penn State has won each of its last two games, an 89-72 home win over Nebraska and a 69-60 road victory at Minnesota.
- Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Ace Baldwin Jr.'s 13.7 points per game. Baldwin Jr. ranks top five in the country in assists per game (7.3) and FT% (93.8%).
IF PENN STATE BEATS INDIANA
- The Nittany Lions would win their third-straight game and second-straight Big Ten road game.
- Penn State would earn a road win in Bloomington for the second-straight year and just the fifth time in program history.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
- The Hoosiers are 16-11 overall and 7-9 in Big Ten play. Indiana is 12-4 when playing in Assembly Hall this season.
- Indiana has dropped eight of its last 11 games, but the Hoosiers are coming off a dominant 73-58 victory over #13 Purdue Sunday afternoon at home.
- Oumar Ballo leads Indiana with 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Malik Reneau (12.8 ppg), Mackenzie Mgbako (12.6 ppg) and Myles Rice (10.9 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
AGAINST INDIANA
- Penn State and Indiana meet for the second time this season Wednesday night in Bloomington.
- The two teams first met on Jan. 5 at The Palestra in Philadelphia, with Indiana claiming a 77-71 victory. The score was tied at 29 at halftime before Indiana opened the second half on a 12-0 run. IU led by as much as 16 before the Nittany Lions rallied within two with 1:43 to play, but the Hoosiers were able to hang on for the 77-71 win.
- Nick Kern Jr. led Penn State with 21 points. Ace Baldwin Jr. finished with 12 points, seven assists and three rebounds. Freddie Dilione V rounded out Penn State’s double-digit scorers with 11 points.
BACK-TO-BACK
- The Nittany Lions have won their last two games, earning an 89-72 win over Nebraska on Feb. 19 and a 69-60 road win at Minnesota on Feb. 22.
- Penn State exploded for 89 points in its win over Nebraska as the Nittany Lions shot 60.7% from the field, their highest FG% against a Big Ten team since 2007.
- The Nittany Lions let their defense lead the way in their 69-60 win at Minnesota, holding the Gophers to a 33.9 FG% and 21.7 3FG%, as Penn State picked up its first Big Ten road win of the season.
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser led the way with an average of 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game with a 66.7 FG% average in the two wins combined. D'Marco Dunn followed with 13.0 ppg and a 76.9 FG% in the two victories.
HIGH OCTANE
- Penn State is averaging 79.4 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 1954-55 team.
- The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 15 games this season.
PARTY IN THE PAINT
- The Nittany Lions attack the interior at an elite level.
|
PSU Interior Offense Stat |
Value |
B1G Rank |
Major Conf. Rank |
|
Points in the paint per game |
39.1 |
1st |
2nd |
|
% of points via points in the paint |
49.2% |
1st |
2nd |
|
At the rim FGA% |
42% |
1st |
1st |
|
Layups & dunks made |
475 |
1st |
1st |
|
Layups & dunks attempted |
770 |
1st |
1st |
Rankings listed through games on Feb. 23
GETTING TO THE LINE
- Penn State's style of play lends itself to getting to the free throw line at a 38.2% clip, tied for the highest free throw rate by Big Ten teams this season.
- The Nittany Lions are 9-0 this season when making 20+ free throws in a game. Penn State is 6-0 this season when attempting at least 30 foul shots in a contest.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Five different Penn State players are averaging double-digit points: Ace Baldwin Jr. (13.7 ppg), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12.9 ppg), Nick Kern Jr. (11.9 ppg), Zach Hicks (11.7 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 both steals per game (8.3) and turnovers forced per game (14.46).
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- Penn State players currently rank in the top 25 in the country in a number of statistical categories through games on Feb. 23:
|
Individual Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
|
FT% - Ace Baldwin Jr. |
93.8% |
2 |
|
Assists per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
7.3 |
5 |
|
Blocks per game – Yanic Konan Niederhauser |
2.19 |
17 |
|
Steals per game – Ace Baldwin Jr. |
2.26 |
19 |
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 13 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 eight of its 13 losses this season.
- The Nittany Lions and Northwestern both own seven conference losses by six points or fewer this season, the most amongst major conference teams.
PUT ‘EM ON WATCH
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. earned the following midseason recognition:
NOWHERE NEAR DUNN
- D’Marco Dunn has turned it up a notch over the last 11 games, including putting together two career-best scoring efforts with 18 points against both Michigan State and Minnesota:
|
Dunn |
First 17 Games |
Last 11 Games |
|
PPG |
5.2 |
11.2 |
|
FG% |
38.1% |
48.2% |
|
3FG% |
32.4% |
44.2% |
|
Minutes/game |
16.7 |
26.8 |
ONE OF ONE
- Graduate student Ace Baldwin Jr. is the ONLY active Division I player and one of just five Division I players since the 1947-48 season (77 years) with 1,600+ career points (1,668), 800+ career assists (814) and 300+ career steals (332).
- Baldwin Jr. is Division I's active career leader in steals (332) and his 814 career assists are third amongst active Division I players. He currently is 19th all-time in career steals in the NCAA record book.
BIG FELLA BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's mobile and versatile seven-foot forward, is averaging 12.9 points per game, a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game and a Big Ten-best 2.19 blocks per game. He leads the Big Ten with 51 dunks this season. 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 |
12.9 ppg |
5.1 ppg |
|
FG% |
62.1% |
51.4% |
|
Rebounds per game |
6.2 rpg |
3.2 rpg |
REWRITING HISTORY
- The Nittany Lions have accomplished the following Penn State milestones through the first 28 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.
- Shot 60.7% from the field in win over Nebraska on Feb. 19, the first time shooting 60 FG% against a Big Ten opponent since Jan. 2007.
- 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.